Diary Of A Busker Day 125 Tuesday July 5th Winchester High Street (outside Debenhams, Time: 1:04-2:10pm).
As I’m setting up, a suited lady in her early 30s puts a £2 coin in my bucket. “Thanks, I haven’t even played anything yet!” This is Annelies, who manages Goadsby – a nearby business. She’s read the article of diary extracts (the 2nd one) and asks me how I got here, which leads me to give her my hard luck story – ear problems, sacked from “cabaret” group, awful time busking in Southampton, Focal Dystonia, Tinnitus… I went on and on. We talk about the high price of wedding guitarists – she booked a Flamenco player for her wedding. I say some people, who see me out here, ask me if I can play at their wedding – “of course”, I say. Then they ask me how much I charge. “How about £100?” Many seem to think this is an unreasonable, even outrageous amount so I (politely) ask them to go on the internet and check out what a “proper” wedding/function musician charges – they’ll find they’ll be lucky to get one for under £250, as Annelies knows. Sure, they might have Royal College of Music or BS Hons. after their mane, but can they switch from Edelweiss to Romance de Espana at the drop of a (coin in the) hat? Maybe, but can they do it for less than a quarter of their usual fee? They can but they won’t.
I start playing, some guy walks by, “Do you wanna buy some DVDs?” – he holds up a plastic bag. “Um, sorry, no.” “Why d’ya say sorry ?- I asked you a question.” He’s right but his attitude annoys me, “Sorry, what was that?” I say. He keeps walking. Yeah, keep walking. After 25 minutes it rains and I drag my stuff a couple of feet into the Fire Exit. Five minutes later, I’m playing again. Five minutes later I’m back in the Fire Exit. Five minutes later, I’m out again.
My regular, Colin, turns up. He’s remembered he asked if I would play at his 64th birthday party. I hadn’t forgotten this but haven’t brought it up, as, when he approached me about this he had “taken drink”, and quite a substantial amount, so I didn’t take him too seriously. This was a few months back and he hasn’t mentioned it since. However, today he revives the subject. “Now, I don’t know how you are booked in your diary, but on July the 15th, I’ve booked The Royal Oak – I tried to get The Concorde Club in Eastleigh but they won’t allow young children in…so, anyway the fee would be £150*” I interupt, “Done!” He would like to know if I could “slip in” The Beatles’ tune When I’m Sixty-Four, “you know, will you still need me, will you still feed me, you know…when I’m sixty-four.” “I sure can, Colin.” I promise. (For £150 – an almost “cover” band gig fee, I’ll learn the whole album if he wants).
Anthony drops by, just when I’m thinking of packing up, due to the rain, which is getting worse. We get on the subject of hearing – a common one to get on if anyone talks to me for more than a few minutes. Anthony didn’t know I wear a hearing-aid – two in fact. I mention my recently collected replacement for the one I left on a train is very tight and is hurting my ear. “Do you know Beethoven was deaf – completely deaf when he wrote the 9th Symphony. He wrote all that!” “I knew he was deaf – I didn’t know he was completely deaf, though. But I don’t know the 9th Symphony, or much other orchestral music – it’s mainly Chopin with me.” “No Shubert?” “Not really.” “Mozart?” “I’m not keen on Mozart – too many notes!” Anthony likes some piano music they play at the beginning of Book Of The Week on Radio 4 at 9:45 in the morning. He doesn’t know what it is but likes it alot. “I’ll listen in tomorrow and see if I can identify it – I’m good at finding out stuff like that!” I say. **
It starts raining again, and again I move into the Fire Exit…and count my money – £11 for an hour’s playing, or rather an hour’s playing and talking. Not bad, but the rain keeps on. I decide to “abort” the mission and pack up – for good, besides, just before I left home, I took delivery of an old, stringless Alpine Zither in need of a good polishing.
Earnings: £11.45p.
* The original fee was £200.
** Book Of The Week – The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs. Oscar Wilde. I’ve tried to find out the name of this misic – a Chopin Mazurka-like piece, but cannot find anyone at the BBC who knows – they’ve suggested I put a comment on some BBC “message board”, and maybe someone (another “member of the public”!) will know what it’s called!