You’ve NOT got the X Factor! City council crackdowns on ‘bully buskers’ after receiving raft of complaints about tone-deaf musicians butchering songs and singing too loud
They’re normally a welcome accompaniment on town centre shopping trips but businesses and shoppers in one city have complained that buskers there are too loud – or too untalented.
The row has broken out in Norwich, one of the few areas that doesn’t require street performers to have a licence.
Locals say the resulting free-for-all by the market means they are swamped by substandard and tone-deaf musicians, many of whom crank their amps up too high, drowning out conversations up to 150ft away.
Drunks and drug addicts have also been accused of getting in on the act to earn some cash for their next bottle or fix, while police ignore complaints about the racket.
Now the historic Norfolk cathedral city is reviewing its policy in a move many hope will usher in a more refined atmosphere.
Saxophone player Matthew Bolton, who is in his 40s, was braving the rain over the weekend to earn some money. He said it ‘true that some people can sing or play instruments better than others’
Professional musician Keane Francis, 24, who occasionally busks in the city, said: ‘Norwich is one of the last places in the country where you don’t need a licence. I would like to see it stay like that’
A row has broken out in Norwich over ‘bully buskers’ who locals say are swamping their city centre. The city is one of the few places that doesn’t require street performers to have a licence
Those who have been demanding change include Mike Read, 66, who runs a fruit and veg stall with his wife, Debs.
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He said: ‘I don’t mind proper buskers who play acoustic instruments and sing properly so they can only be heard by people walking past.
‘But the lack of proper rules in Norwich means we get people who are free to make a horrendous noise singing through amplifiers powered by batteries. It is not a nice sound. One of them plays an electric guitar but he hasn’t got a clue.
‘Sometimes their speakers are not wired up properly and make a constant weird buzzing noise which makes things even worse. When two or three of them get together, they bounce off each other and the noise is deafening.
‘You can’t hear yourself think and it makes it very difficult to take to customers. It’s so loud that it does your head in. It’s like listening to an out-of-tune karaoke session in a pub and it goes on for hours and hours.’
He added: ‘Once upon a time, the police would arrest them for being drunk and disorderly but now they just don’t want to know. It’s too much paperwork for them.
‘I had a word with a policeman last week to see if he could ask these guys to turn their music down because they were causing a disturbance and he did not do anything.
‘It’s brilliant that the council are reviewing their policies. Hopefully it will mean that we can get some peace and quiet from people who can’t sing.’
Mike Read, 66, who runs a fruit and veg stall with his wife, Debs, said the ‘lack of proper rules in Norwich means we get people who are free to make a horrendous noise singing through amplifiers powered by batteries’
Joe Silvester, who used to run a pet food stall in the city’s market place, said some buskers are ‘absolutely useless’ and ‘come here with amplifiers and guitars (and) just cannot sing’
Lewis Ward, 28, who works on a Japanese street food stall, said some buskers just ‘butcher’ popular songs
Joe Silvester, who used to run a pet food stall, said: ‘Some of them are inspirational but others who come here with amplifiers and guitars just cannot sing. They are absolutely useless.
‘It is a nightmare listening to them every day. They help to scare away the decent buskers because they make so much noise.
‘Some only know about six songs, which they sing over and over up to ten times a day each. One only sings stuff by Take That or Robbie Williams.
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‘A lot of them mime to recorded music, so they are conning people by making out that they are playing instruments.’
A food stall owner, who asked not to be named, added: ‘Most of them are too loud. When I have customers here, it is not possible to speak.’
Lewis Ward, 28, who works on a Japanese street food stall, said: ‘There are some buskers who play really bad versions of songs. They try and do songs which they think are popular and they just butcher it.’
Peter Turrell, a classical guitarist who has been busking in the city for more than ten years, said: ‘I’ve been busking less and less and one of the main reasons is a couple of very loud buskers who stay on the same pitch all day and dominate the city centre.
‘We call them ‘bully buskers’ because they force everyone else out. Busking is a lifeline for a lot of musicians and I fear this generation of performers won’t get the same opportunities because a small group is refusing to be considerate.’
But others – particularly those further away from the areas where buskers typically set up – supported the current system.
Jin Lim, 40, said: ‘It is generally a happy sound to have in the background. Some of it is very good and I prefer to have it instead of listening to nothing.’
One former busker complained online about the ‘rude, disrespectful buskers who turn their amps up so loud that kids in the street are covering their ears’.
The individual, who didn’t name themselves, added: ‘I genuinely love the art form and don’t want it to disappear. I just want some regulation so we can see more buskers get a chance.’
The historic Norfolk cathedral city is reviewing its policy in a move many hope will usher in a more refined atmosphere.
However, Jin Lim, 40, was positive about the buskers, saying she would ‘prefer to have it instead of listening to nothing’
The post triggered a string of comments, with one person referring to a specific performer, saying: ‘HE CAN’T SING. He f****** awful. How the obnoxious mug is allowed to turn his amp all the way up making sure the entire surrounding area unpleasant for shoppers is beyond me.’
Another said: ‘I wrote to the council a few years back about this and they answered the buskers could do as they wanted.’
The market is a major attraction in the city. Founded in the 11th century, there are around 200 stalls with colourful striped awnings standing near the Grade 1 listed 15th century guildhall.
Buskers who congregate in the area can earn up to £100 a day as shoppers throw change in hats or guitar cases.
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Saxophone player Matthew Bolton, who is in his 40s, was braving the rain over the weekend to earn some money.
He said: ‘It is true that some people can sing or play instruments better than others. Some shop owners complain sometimes but most are fine.
‘There are also some buskers with drug issues or a history of drug problems. They think it is their right to play in the zone and they don’t like being disturbed.’
Professional musician Keane Francis, 24, who occasionally busks in the city, said: ‘Norwich is one of the last places in the country where you don’t need a licence. I would like to see it stay like that.
‘I know people on the market have moaned. But the market has been there since Iceni times and it has existed side-by-side with bards, buskers and even prostitutes.
‘If they bring in licences for buskers in Norwich, I will not try and get one. I just don’t agree with it. People should be allowed to go out and sing.’
The city council’s website had a section explaining rules for buskers that included ‘not causing a public nuisance’ and avoiding being ‘heard at a distance of 50 metres’.
But it was taken down last week and replaced with a message that states: ‘The city council is currently reviewing its busking policy and will update this page once that process is complete.
A council spokeswoman confirmed: ‘We are reviewing our busking policy.’
A Norfolk Police spokeswoman said: ‘Complaints made in regard to noise made by buskers in Norwich would be a matter for the council.’
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