In defence of ‘nuisance’ buskers

I’ve always been partial to buskers. I’m sympathetic to beggars of most kinds – except the aggressive rotters, of which there are relatively few – as they enable us to actually show kindness as a daily action rather than merely show off on social media about ‘empathy’. If you can beg and play a merry tune at the same time, all the better.

Buskers are often talented; I met composer Robin Watt when he was a busker, and I’ve often been amazed by the brilliance of the girl singers who frequent Brighton’s East Street restaurant quarter in the summertime. Looking at the state of the Top 20, infested with cruise ship moo-ers like Sam Smith and Adele, I’d say that there’s probably more talent on the streets right now than there is in the charts. So I’m not sympathetic to those people in Norwich who, according to the Daily Mail, are complaining about being bothered by ‘sub-standard and tone-deaf musicians, many of whom crank their amps up too high, drowning out conversations up to 150ft away.’

What’s wrong with these people? Have they no sense of humour? As anyone who’s ever watched The X Factor knows, really bad singers are terrifically entertaining.