Diary Of A Busker Day 2516 Saturday March 29th 2025 Winchester.
In the words of Jim Morrison, people are strange. I mean, I wouldn’t dream of coming up to someone I don’t know and more or less insulting them when they’re trying to do their work.I’ve been in The Square and playing for an hour or so when a man comes up…
‘My wife thinks your box sounds awful.’
‘Sorry?’
‘We’re sitting over there. My wife, she says your box – your amplifier, sounds terrible and I agree. We think you play really well but your amp sounds awful.’
I’m gobsmacked and although I’ve been doing this for years, it’s still a surprise when I get this sort of thing. It’s never predictable.
‘Well, I don’t know what to say apart from no one’s ever said that before.’
‘Well…that’s what my wife says (but HE’S just said it, as well!)…you know what women are like!’ He goes back to his table and half an hour later, walks past with two women, I don’t know which is the wife but they both look at me stoney-faced. I mean, you’d think one of them would smile or even thank me for playing, despite the “awful” sound. This bloke walks a step behind the women, and when they’ve gone past, looks back at me and shrugs. I mean, you know what women are like, right?
It’s stupid and I KNOW the amp sounds good but even so, I ask a man who comes up to compliment me how the amp sounds and he reassures me – ‘Sounds good, quite a jazzy sound (really?), cuts through and it’s a good sound, good volume.’
After two hours, my fingers are quite cold so I decide to pack up and head off home but coming into the high street, there’s no one at the Buttercross and I can’t resist so I set up for a short set…and no sooner have I started the first song, Albatross, when three drunk men in their forties turn up and chuck some coinage in with great velocity.
One, clearly the ringleader, says ‘What’s your favourite song?’
‘My favourite song?’
‘Yeah, your favourite song? What’s you’re favourite song to play?’
‘I don’t know…this one.’
‘What’s this? ‘oo did this?’
‘Albatross. Fleetwood Mac, 1968.’
”ee (indicating one of his mates) plays the guitar (please god, don’t ask on behalf of your mate if he can have a go), don’t you?’
His mate has his eyes closed and is swooning along (“I’ll have whatever HE’S having”!)
At the end of Albatross, I go into the Tales Of The Unexpected Theme.
Ringleader says ‘What’s the name of that? What’s it called?’
‘It’s the theme from the TV series, Tales Of The Unexpected.’
‘Yeah, I know that but what’s it called?’
Well, that’s what it is, it doesn’t have a name, that’s what it’s called, the Theme From…’ he interrupts me.
‘No, I know that, but it’s got a NAME!’
‘Does it? Right, what is it?’
‘It’s called CAROUSEL.’
‘Carousel, really?’ ‘
‘Yeah, Carousel (he points his finger at me)…do your research, look it up! CAROUSEL!’ (alright mate, calm down!)
‘I will!’
‘…anyway, you carry on…come on lads’ he says, heading off towards The Old Vine or Eclipse in The Square for a top up, I’m reckoning.
Well, I did indeed look it up when I got home but nowhere can I find any other name other than Theme From Tales Of The Unexpected, or Tales Of The Unexpected Theme. However, what I did find out was the name of the dancer in the famous dance/credits bit. It’s Karen Standley, a secretary whose boyfriend worked on Top Of The Pops, something the bloke knew, no doubt.