Callum Johnstone
2003-08-03 09:11:45 UTC
Scotland on Sunday
3 August 2003
Glasgow's underground buskers set to get training
ANDREW MURRAY-WATSON
There may be light at the end of the tunnel for commuters tired of
listening to drunks crooning tunelessly into their beer cans on
Glasgow's Clockwork Orange' underground system.
The company that sponsors training for buskers on London's Tube system
said it was considering extending the scheme north of the border.
Carling, which has provided £600,000 to set up a scheme to audition
and license buskers in London, said it will do the same in Glasgow if
the English trial is successful.
Peter Kendall, chief executive of Coors Brewers, the company which
owns Carling, said: "If the scheme is a success in London, I see no
reason why we could not do the same thing in Glasgow."
Although it was illegal to busk in London's underground, a change in a
by-law paved the way for officially approved busking to go ahead.
Buskers have been issued permits to play in 25 areas in 12 Tube
stations in central London. They must now stand on large semi-circles
emblazoned with the Carling logo. The trial will be reviewed in
September.
The buskers had to go through an extensive audition process to ensure
they were tuneful enough to be allowed to entertain passengers.
Councillor Alistair Watson, chair of the Strathclyde Passenger
Transport Authority which controls the Glasgow Underground, said he
would be delighted to talk to Carling about a similar scheme in
Glasgow.
He said: "Our underground is obviously a bit smaller than London's
system but we do have situations where we get people begging, or
selling the Big Issue, or busking in our stations.
"I understand that for some of our passengers, these people are seen
as a bit of a nuisance - though I don't share that view myself - so we
would be delighted to talk to Carling about working together."
Councillor James Coleman, the city's deputy leader, defended Glasgow
buskers against the implication that they might be a public nuisance.
He said: "We get quite a lot of buskers in Glasgow, round about the
pedestrian precincts in Argyle Street. But the buskers I have heard
are all pretty good, and people enjoy hearing them, so I don't think
they should be controlled."
The London Tube initiative was in response to calls by customers for
buskers to be allowed to play in the tunnels leading to platforms.
Eight out of 10 passengers said buskers brightened their day, as long
as they could sing or play their instruments.
The Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive, which runs the Glasgow
Underground, could not be reached for comment.
3 August 2003
Glasgow's underground buskers set to get training
ANDREW MURRAY-WATSON
There may be light at the end of the tunnel for commuters tired of
listening to drunks crooning tunelessly into their beer cans on
Glasgow's Clockwork Orange' underground system.
The company that sponsors training for buskers on London's Tube system
said it was considering extending the scheme north of the border.
Carling, which has provided £600,000 to set up a scheme to audition
and license buskers in London, said it will do the same in Glasgow if
the English trial is successful.
Peter Kendall, chief executive of Coors Brewers, the company which
owns Carling, said: "If the scheme is a success in London, I see no
reason why we could not do the same thing in Glasgow."
Although it was illegal to busk in London's underground, a change in a
by-law paved the way for officially approved busking to go ahead.
Buskers have been issued permits to play in 25 areas in 12 Tube
stations in central London. They must now stand on large semi-circles
emblazoned with the Carling logo. The trial will be reviewed in
September.
The buskers had to go through an extensive audition process to ensure
they were tuneful enough to be allowed to entertain passengers.
Councillor Alistair Watson, chair of the Strathclyde Passenger
Transport Authority which controls the Glasgow Underground, said he
would be delighted to talk to Carling about a similar scheme in
Glasgow.
He said: "Our underground is obviously a bit smaller than London's
system but we do have situations where we get people begging, or
selling the Big Issue, or busking in our stations.
"I understand that for some of our passengers, these people are seen
as a bit of a nuisance - though I don't share that view myself - so we
would be delighted to talk to Carling about working together."
Councillor James Coleman, the city's deputy leader, defended Glasgow
buskers against the implication that they might be a public nuisance.
He said: "We get quite a lot of buskers in Glasgow, round about the
pedestrian precincts in Argyle Street. But the buskers I have heard
are all pretty good, and people enjoy hearing them, so I don't think
they should be controlled."
The London Tube initiative was in response to calls by customers for
buskers to be allowed to play in the tunnels leading to platforms.
Eight out of 10 passengers said buskers brightened their day, as long
as they could sing or play their instruments.
The Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive, which runs the Glasgow
Underground, could not be reached for comment.