A Tulse Hill busker has taken his fight to improve conditions for entertainers at London Underground stations to City Hall.
Dad-of-two Michael Ball, 47, of Leigham Vale, performed with dozens of other buskers outside City Hall on Wednesday before a meeting with Transport for London (TfL).
The musicians want to improve relations with TfL, who Mr Ball said had been “destroying” busking by a string of poor management decisions since taking control of regulation of buskers on the Tube last year.
They are now banned from selling CDs, can be banned for life for playing at “audible” levels and face a £20 “stealth tax” every week from booking pitches over a premium phone line, according to guitarist Mr Ball who has been a busker for 25 years.
The number of buskers playing in the Underground has fallen from 450 to 200 members as a result and “the busking that London is world famous for” was under genuine threat, he added.
As a result of the meeting, TfL is now to hold regular meetings with busking representatives, with support from the Musician’s Union.
A TfL spokeswoman said: “We highly value the contribution licensed buskers make to the Underground.
"That is why we have moved busking from an illegal and completely unregulated activity to a managed scheme that we know is very popular with our customers.”
The meeting last week was organised by Lambeth and Southwark London Assembly member Valerie Shawcross.
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