Busking Report – Kings Cross (Pitch 1)
Second time in as many weeks! I practiced a bunch of songs that I haven’t played in a while during the week and brought them back today.
Again I went with no signage or encouragement to tip - just my guitar case and guitar. New strings, too.
I’ve done some better performances, but it was an improvement on last week. I earned £14.76, which over a two-hour period means £7.38 an hour, more than £2 shy of the London Living Wage of £9.75. I think I need a sign.
Nonetheless, the practice of the last week on songs I haven't performed in a while paid off, because I'm expanding my repertoire once again. I've got a few new songs I'd like to try learning, too.
The first tip
For Big Yellow Taxi. Not sure who did it, but it wasn’t a particularly memorable rendition. Thanks for the £2 though, stranger!
The biggest tip
A young man came up from the platform to pay me £2.50 during a pretty good performance of The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars, and told me “I really like your song”. I didn’t have time to eschew the credit for this excellent song, so I’m Bruno Mars now.
The best performance
Easily the first performance of New Shoes by Paolo Nutini. Really excellent I think. I put heart and soul into it. Many people watched from afar… but nobody tipped me for it. Oh well!
Special mention to a performance of Oasis’s Don’t Look Back In Anger which captured the imagination of a friendly man and two women who all sang along and even got a few other people involved. And maybe the video they took will show up on Instagram or Facebook, we’ll have to see!
How to improve
Keep practicing the classics, the money-makers. Practice my own songs too, they might work well - worth a try.