Diary Of A Busker Day 2492 Thursday February 6th 2025 Southampton.
Another first-time-back-in-ages event. This time it’s Southampton, where I began my glorious rise to notoriety almost FIFTEEN years ago. My, how time flies when you’re having fun. Down at the bottom near the Bargate end, is Kai Choi and his dinner suit and violin…and halfway up and facing the mall entrance is Rob Berry. Bugger, where am I going to go? The only place is further up at the top of the pedestrian area – one of the two spots I did all them years ago. It’s cold and windy and I’m not looking forward to it…but it gets off to a decent start and I’ve made the £4.15 train fare back by the end of the second song. After that, it died down a bit but the train fare bit cheered me up, if not warming me up. A couple filmed me and donated a five euro note and before they left I got them to film me doing a shortened Third Man and you can see how windy it is.
I managed 45 minutes before I had to stop; the fingers were freezing and I needed the bog. Just before I packed up, Rob and missus came by with their big trolley of stuff. Rob says ‘Marvin, I told you before, you need a bigger amp (I’ve got the tiny MicroCube today)…it’s too noisy here, with the buses and everything!’ I said ‘I know and I’ve got a Cube Street at home but it’s heavier and I’ve got a bad back and I’ve had to walk up from the station.’ ‘Oh well, good luck!’
Kai is now where Rob was but says he’ll be gone by 2:30. I go in the mall and it appears the toilets are now open, having been shut for months. Fucking Hallelujah!
Back out, I set up at the big circular concrete thing where Rob sits on but unlike Rob, I’m standing and I’m not facing the mall. I’m a few feet around the concrete circle, facing down towards the Bargate. Unfortunately, it’s even colder here. Some bloke with a permanent grin sits down on the concrete and begins a conversation…
‘Did you hear? Someone collapsed outside Sainsbury’s.’
‘No.’
‘Yeah, there were five police cars, two ambulances and an air ambulance helicopter.’
‘Really? What, here?’
‘No, in Winchester. The most exciting news of the day.’
Later, an old couple stop, the woman is in a wheelchair. He says ‘Cry For A Shadow?’ I’m amazed; I’ve never ever had a request for this obscure Beatles instrumental from 1961. I can even remember some of it, which I learned in Canada probably around 1980, and I’m thrilled to be able to play the intro and main chords and lead guitar bit – ‘Sorry, I can’t play both guitar parts at once!’ After that, I give them Wonderful Land, which is obviously related to Cry For A Shadow. There’s no pleasing some, though – as they’re going off, he says ‘Any chance of Man Of Mystery?’ Sorry mate.
I get to the 45 minute mark and I’m fucking freezing and thinking of packing it in but that will mean I’ve done a mere hour and a half in total and it’s not long enough so I soldier on for another half hour and then that’s it, enough! I start packing up when a bloke turns up and says ‘Can’t…Help Falling…In…Love?’ Now, I’m sure I’ve seen him before, ages ago when I was here last. He’s definitely got some “special needs” issues; his voice is weak, he speaks really slowly and holds his phone just under his chin. He just doesn’t look “right” and I feel sorry for him so I get the guitar out, plug in and do the song for him. At the end, he says he would like to buy an £8 CD and fumbles around for ages for some change. The problem is, that song isn’t on that CD, it’s on the £10 one. He gets his £8 change and gives it to me. Fuck it, he can have the £10 one as well. I mean, there for the grace of god, etc.
Heading back to the station, I think there must be a shorter route so I go into the mall and ask a security bloke. He says I should go to John Lewis, get a lift down to the street level (Level 0) and that should cut off a couple of minutes, which is what I do…and it’s a bit warmer for a few minutes.
In the end, the coinage wasn’t that good; after the train fare was taken off I came away with £29.94. Still, better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick…I think.