------------------------------------------------------ JANUARY 10, 2005 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: Yorkshire Post http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx/?SectionID=55&ArticleID=916893 Rock star turns busker and earns 14p By Andrew Vine Chief Contributed by Donna Hayes He's an icon of stadium rock, who can pack out the world's biggest venues. But in York, all Rick Wakeman could make as a busker was 14p. That was the miserable handful of coppers that the rock legend managed to raise during half-an-hour's busking in York city centre for a television documentary to be shown tonight. Wakeman, the former keyboard player with rock supergroup Yes, was put to shame by a 20-year-old trumpet player, who raised £45 in less than an hour's busking. Wakeman is now a regular contributor to BBC2's Grumpy Old Men series, and he grumbled that his audience in York, where he played a keyboard in the city centre, had been less than appreciative. "I played Madison Square Gardens once and filled it five nights running and they took a lot more notice than the crowd here," he said. The trumpeter who outshone him was Josie Wicks, from Brighton, who is the city's first licensed busker, and plays on the street to help finance her degree in English at York University. She tells the Inside Out documentary, which was filmed in the run-up to Christmas: "The most I ever made was last Thursday during late-night shopping. In the space of 50 minutes I had £45, which is just under £1 a minute." York's licensing scheme for buskers is an attempt to clamp down on begging. But the documentary reveals that the system launched by a partnership involving the police, council and traderrs is causing friction between musicians and those who have taught themselves a few songs to circumvent anti-begging laws. Most of the local beggars are only able to play When the Saints Go Marching In on a penny whistle, and the authorities say that few would be able to pass the test that Josie passed in order to gain her official busker's badge. Those who carry on playing without a badge could face arrest and a fine, or being made the subject of an anti-social behaviour order. One homeless man, who gave his name as Jacko, said: "What do they want me to do, go out shopliftiing or robbing old ladies? It's just not fair." Inside Out is on BBC 1 at 7:30 p.m. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com