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Season 2, Episode 5 15:58 running time

Busking

In this episode, we look at street entertainment through the centuries in and around Covent Garden.

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Hosted by

Robbie Stamp

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Sound Editing

Viel Richardson

Listen now:
  • West End, London
  • 55 Albany Street, London

A Tom-Tom Player

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Written by

Sarah Fleming

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Performed by

Doctor Shama Rahman

About this story

Journalist and social reformer Henry Mayhew interviews Bengali drum players busking on the 19th-Century streets of Victorian London.

Delve Deeper

Want to know more? Try starting here:


Read Mayhew’s about street entertainers in London Labour and the London Poor Volume 3 at Gutenberg.org. The Guardian has an article about Mayhew’s books and their impact.

  • Piazza, Covent Garden, London

The Sound of a Whole Orchestra

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Written by

James Rampton

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Performed by

Lulu Freeman

About this story

Teenage Ed Sheeran is practicing his trade in 2010, busking on the streets of Covent Garden.

Delve Deeper

Learn more about this story’s themes with these links:


NME has an article about Sheeran learning how to use a loop pedal. Facebook has busker Charlotte Campbell talking about being banned from Facebook. Watch on Charlotte cover a Sheeran song on YouTube.

  • Trafalgar Square, London

Busking Changes Everything

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Written by

James Rampton

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Performed by

Zak Ghazi-Torbati

About this story

London busker Stephen Barry is surprised in 2016 when Broadway singer Ramin Karimloo unexpectedly drops by for an impromptu duet in Trafalgar Square.

Delve Deeper

Learn more about this story’s themes with these links:


Find out about Ramin Karimloo on his website. See Karimloo and Stephen Barry sing togetheron YouTube.