Diary Of A Busker Day 2238 Tuesday September 26th 2023 Salisbury Market and Fish Row
It’s Tuesday in Salisbury which means Market Day and I set up next to that bloody horrible concrete platform in the corner. I’ve got The Ox Row and a load of other eateries on my right and a load of other eateries in front of me. A long stint – just over 2 1/2 hours – but I secure sales of three CDs…a man comes up who’d bought one a few weeks ago.
‘I bought one of your CDs…doesn’t sound QUITE as good as how you sound today.’
‘Right…well, the CDs – the recorded stuff, never sounds the same, it’s just one of those things. The situation is different – the whole sound, like the reverb, the volume…the AMBIENCE, whatever. It’s never going to sound the same but I do offer a refund is you’d like to return it.’
‘Oh no, it’s fine. Anyway, I knew it was you before I saw you. I was coming across the square and I thought “I know that sound!”‘
Near the end, a musician comes up.
‘I’m a drummer but I love guitars. I was in a rehearsal with my band near Andover and there was a bloke there with a 1976 Les Paul. He said it wasn’t his, it was James Martin’s and this bloke plays in his band.’
‘James Martin?’
‘Yeah, you know, the Saturday morning chef, on TV.’
‘Oh yeah, he lives in Winchester, where I live.’
‘Does he? Well, this bloke says James Martin plays guitar with one finger so whenever he buys one he gets his guitarist to try it out.’
Says it all really. A poncy TV chef who can afford a 1976 Les Paul but plays it with one finger.