Buskers: Breakfast for dog-eat-dog society

photo by Daily Mail

Tom Jones attracted hundreds of people while busking on London's South Bank for charity last Wednesday. His performance, consisting of a medley of his own songs as well as some covers, thrilled a huge crowd that was trying to make the best pictures of the 68-year-old singer. One man even climbed on a tree to get a better look at him, AFP revealed. Some members of the crowd supported him with backing vocals. Why isn’t it always like that? Why do you have to be a Tom Jones to attract such a huge and impressed crowd when busking?

Society is looking down on buskers. The stereotype is that they are unemployed, beggars or homeless. Some people refuse to give them money as they think the buskers will spend it on drugs. Other people heckle them or steal their money.

The Independent’s journalist Robert Hanks put it this way: “Traditionally, busking has been the province of toothless old men with penny-whistles and annoying students trying to sound like Bob Dylan and succeeding all too well.”

Other people complain about the noise, saying it is distracting them from their work in the office. Authorities are mad at buskers because they think the music will be even heard in nearby houses and churches. I am occasionally busking in my home town Cottbus in Germany and I have to face all these prejudices. Some people even go one step further saying that I should not beg for money since my mother is driving a BMW and my father a Mercedes.

But I dont busk for money. I don’t think many people do. I don’t even keep the money. Everything that I am earning from playing cover songs on the street is given to charity. But that doesn’t mean I don’t get anything out of it. It makes me happy to hear passers-by saying “she’s got a wonderful voice” when I am singing “Everybody hurts” by R.E.M. The best gift I can get from a kid that I have not seen before is a smile when I play the first chords of “Animal Instinct” by The Cranberries. I am amazed by those businessmen, who have been rushing to get back to the office but stopped to hear me sing and play “Kiss me” by Sixpence Non The Richer. These workaholics, who try to forget their loneliness by spending their life in the office, touch me when they take a break to listen to a song that reminds them of their ex-wives. It makes me laugh when bicyclists nearly drive into lampposts because they get distracted by me.

Buskers put passers-by in the good mood and encourage them to forget about their busy and miserable lives for a few minutes. What they might get back is much more valuable than money. They get back feedback, a smile and the knowledge that they made someone feel good for a short while. I feel sorry for those people who have prejudices against busking and complain about the noise. They obviously lack the ability to switch off their grumpiness. They are just miserable.

People in England seem to appreciate the art of busking much more. A BBC audio shows people’s views on busking. Passers-by say busking would “brighten up the place”, “work for tourists” and “get a nice atmosphere”, as long as it is not “too much in-your-face”.

In England buskers have to go to an audition to be allowed to busk on the underground or on the street. The quality of busking music is therefore much better than the one you can hear in Germany as everyone is allowed to busk everywhere for up to 30 minutes. That is probably why Britons appreciate this art more.

Even though the public opinion about buskers is slightly more positive in England, it doesn’t mean buskers have more importance in their lives. Tim Rutherford Johnson said in his post "Busking Bell" his blog "Rambler":

“Whenever I’m on the Underground, it’s usually because I have to be somewhere, by a certain time. That’s what I’m doing: buskers are great, and I often enjoy them, but it would take a hell of a lot more than Joshua Bell playing Bach to make me break my appointment and stop and listen for any length of time.”

But why is that so? People in England as well as Germany live in a dog-eat-dog society where everyone just minds their own business. They are staying in the office for more than twelve hours, have shorter breaks and much more work to do. Everything is getting more expensive and people just have too much to worry about: They want to please everyone, keep their jobs and own expensive cars. But what is the point in having an expensive car when you do not have time to travel? What is the point in losing yourself by trying to keep your job? What is the point pleasing everyone but yourself?

We all have to be nicer with each other. A simple smile can enhance the whole day. One minute of relaxation can improve your life. One nice word to someone else can not only make them but also you feel better.

The reason why Tom Jones attracted such a huge crowd is that those people wanted to show off by telling people they had listened to a celebrity. If he had played the same songs without being famous, they clearly wouldn’t have bothered.