Diary Of A Busker Day 2591 Sunday August 30th 2025 Winchester.
First time back since the Roman/Florentine holiday and I’m really excited. But not because it’s my first time back but because Don Lavelle’s nearing the end of the painting he was working on before I left and the next one will be the one with me in it, he says. ‘That’s great Don!’ ‘Well, I HAVE to put you in it because that’s what the client has asked for.’ ‘That’s alright Don, I won’t take it personally.’ ‘Ah, good. Anyway that chap who has the skeleton drummer, what’s his name?’ ‘Rob. Rob Berry.’ ‘Yes, well he’s just packed up so you’ve come at the right time.’ ‘Right then, I’ll do a few numbers.’ As I’m setting up, Rob and his missus appear and Rob notices my new guitar. ‘What happened to the Gretsch, Marvin?’ he says. ‘The Gretsch, well I haven’t played that for ages. I’ve been on the Squiers for awhile now.’ ‘Very shiny!’ ‘Yeah, it’s new. I thought it would be nice to actually buy a new guitar for once.’ ‘Nice. What is it, a “vibe” or something? A 50’s thing?’ ‘Yeah, “classic vibe”, 50’s.’ ‘Nice. All my guitars are a bit bashed up. Could do with a good clean.’ ‘Well, if you pay me I’ll shine one up for you. I love polishing guitars!’ This makes his wife laugh. ‘Yeah, well good luck today. Every time I started to play, it started to rain!’
Actually, apart from Don’s imminent painting, I’m also excited about a new addition to the repertoire. On the last night in Rome, we sat outside a restaurant opposite the Pantheon and there was a bloke busking with a classical guitar who did one or two of my selections, including Here Comes The Sun. He also played Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears For Fears and I was listening to it and thinking I wouldn’t mind learning that one because it’s got a good melody, some good guitar bits and most importantly, it’s a classic that everyone will know. So on my return I set to it and learned it over the previous two days and I reckon I can now give it a shot, although my arrangement is a bit all over the place at the moment. So I started the set with it…but there’s something wrong. The sound isn’t right. It sounds really loud and distorted. I take a quick look at the amp and it looks like the amp setting is on “classic” – one after “Brit combo”, my usual. It actually sounds not too bad but it’s a bit too distorted and I’ll have to sort it out so I finish the song and adjust it back to what it should be and start up Albatross…but now it’s really quiet. But it shouldn’t be, it should be the right sound. I wonder if I’m going nuts or if my hearing has suddenly got a lot worse. Fuck it, I’ll have to stop and see what’s happening…and what’s happening is the batteries are going dead. At least I think that’s what it is, so I get the reserves in and presto, sorted, and I’m able to carry on.
But just then, it starts fucking drizzling. Bollocks to this, I start up Here Comes The Sun…and stop after a minute and put the nice shiny and now wet guitar into the case and wait for a bit, in the hope it stops drizzling, which it does after a few minutes. Right, get the guitar and do Everybody Wants To Rule The World again, this time with my usual sound. And…result; I get two donations, one of five pound coins. Excellent, I knew that would be worth learning. I think that will be my newest song. I mean it’s from 1985 so it’s ONLY FORTY years old! I was lucky in that the rain held back for the rest of the two hour set. I was a bit rusty on a few things. For instance, I completely forget that little Clapton lick at the very end of the intro of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, just before the first verse. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember it even after I’d finished the song and was going over it with the volume turned down. I forgot a couple of other things but I can’t remember what they are now! Anyway, I’ll get some more sessions in this week – I need to be match fit for a wedding next Saturday. The takings (including three fivers) weren’t that good, especially for a Sunday; £35.8, but better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick AND there’s now a new song; I did it again near the end, so that makes three times for the debut of EWTRTW.*
*In the heady days of the Polydor record deal in the mid 1980s, we (Salvation Sunday) had the same management as Tears For Fears, which was Outlaw, and I was loaned a Peavey amp that Tears For Fears used on their recent American tour. It was liberated from a cage at John Henry’s rehearsal studio in the Pentonville Road, or wherever John Henry’s was in those days. I don’t think tears For Fears ever got that amp back, actually.