A song for the road!

Busker magic at Covent garden

What’s better than some foot-tapping tunes on your way to work? P T Jyothi Datta finds street musicians making magic in London

Foot-tapping music leads you down the lane into Covent Garden, where Richard sings his blues away, busking in the afternoon sun.

Beer-can strapped to his left foot and a woolen skull-cap pulled over his long, black, curly hair, the casually dressed musician renders his version of Eric Santana's  `Black-magic Woman' on his guitar, accompanied by a base-guitarist sitting next to him. And the little gathering of Saturday-shoppers around him sways gently to the rhythm.

His music-album, titled `Richard's got the blues', lies in front of him on a tray set out to collect money from his audience and passers-by. "I've been busking here for the last 15 years," he says, as he takes a quick break to bite into an apple.

Richard is a busker, or street musician, as they are called in other parts of the world like the United States. Buskers play in London Underground stations, in parks and other public-places.

"I did have an audition, after which I was allowed to play here in Covent Garden," Richard recollects, though he's rather hazy about who auditioned him. Though they appear to be impromptu singers, the buskers are a regulated tribe with rules that change in different locations.

Local authorities are in charge in some cases. Performing in an underground station requires a licence, a system that became effective in 2003.

According to the Transport for London website (www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/arts/busking), there are nearly 400 buskers playing 3,000 hours of  music every week. Renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, brother of music composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, became the first official busker on the London Underground in 2003.

According to Richard of Covent Garden fame, buskers may have to give auditions, may have a fixed time to perform, are liable to be taxed and even need to have insurance. Quite understandable then, that a middle-aged busker who was preparing to sing at Covent Garden, declined to be drawn into a conversation that would eat into his performance time and earnings
for the day. "If you wish to speak to me, you will have to
contribute," he says bluntly, unwilling to talk for anything less than
£20.

Covent Garden has an array of shops and food-outlets and bustles with activity during the week-ends. So besides competing with the marketing tactics of shops, buskers here also have to compete with other performers like magicians, jugglers, people painted like statues and so on, to catch the attention of families and shoppers flocking here.

The festive mood at Covent Garden is broken by lilting strains of traditional Chinese music, as a busker of Chinese origin plays the "Sheng".

A placard placed in front of him informs the passer-by that "Sheng" is the oldest wind instrument in the world, dating back over 3,000 years. The church organ and the accordion are based on this instrument, the placard says. He too is hawking his music-album, priced at £ 10. Grudgingly, he speaks a little about the instrument he plays and soon clamps down with, "You will have to pay me to speak now!"

"Money has never been a consideration for me," Richard replies, when he hears of the experience with fellow-buskers. He gathers the coins from his tray, puts them in his pocket and flips a one pound coin back into the tray to encourage audiences to be more generous in their contributions.

"I used to play my guitar at home. One day my friend asked me to accompany him and I did," he says, reflecting on how he got into busking. "If money was the consideration, I would not be here," he adds, as he prepares for his next bout of singing.

A site for singers, vocalist.org.uk, estimates that buskers earn about £ 20 per hour and some of them use the money to support education or travel-plans, besides supplementing family income.

Richard sings for the love of music and he performs for three hours every-day, till he is replaced at the same spot by another musician. Dressed in jeans, shirt and a straw hat, the busker replacing Richard provides the crowd now gathering for him with lively  country music.

As I walk away, having got just a glimpse into the busker's world, an elderly busker strums on his guitar and soulfully begins to sing"Killing me softly with his song", as the warm sunlight draws the day to a close, giving way to a chilly-evening.