Latest news with #JasonAllan
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'There will always be demand for street buskers'
Buskers have entertained city-centre crowds throughout history, with many famous faces starting out on the streets. But with the music industry going digital, fewer consumers carrying cash - and increasing fears about safety – how is the artform faring? Last week, Jason Allan announced he was no longer setting up his pitch in Leeds after a number of violent incidents. He also cited the move from cash to card payments as a reason playing on the streets was increasingly difficult. "It was a couple of things that happened in a very short period of time," he said. "People have less money, you know it's gone from cash to card so I think it was difficult from the get-go but I could handle that, it was just more that when the threat of violence came in, that's when it became a little bit too much for me." Mr Allan's recent confrontation with some teenagers went viral last week with more than 17m views. While busking around the UK – including in London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle – Mr Allan films his performances for his Instagram and TikTok pages. His approach as a musician is to use busking to promote shows inside venues and meet new people. "I give myself a month to promote the show," he said. "I'm meeting lots of new people on the streets, building a bit of a community, selling tickets, telling them about me and my music. "Leeds was a bit more difficult this time and I think that it's just become more difficult for all buskers." Bradford-based Jake Keating, 28, also busks in Leeds. But he does not stream his performances to TikTok and is "not looking for a viral video either". "I understand the way the music industry is geared up," he said. "A significant portion of breaking into the industry is in and around online content. "I busk to connect with people. I personally choose not to stream because I'm not looking for a traditional career in the music industry." Mr Keating is a leading member of Keep Streets Live, a community group set up to support and protect buskers. He said a lot of the group's work was about promoting the benefits of art in public spaces. "Performances in public spaces are a really important foundation and cornerstone of our national identity," he said. "I can see all aspects of society come together, whether it's people who are sleeping rough, people who are out on the town having a night out - they all come together and dance or party or enjoy an experience and a lot of people respect that and really appreciate it. "I'm really sorry to see the interaction Jason had and it wasn't a positive one this time around. "I want to reassure people that Leeds isn't a dangerous place. It's such a brilliant city and it's a safe city, it's a really welcoming city. " But on the streets of Leeds on Wednesday, busker Katie Gittins described a recent incident in which her takings were stolen. "He literally took everything I'd made that day and I'd only made like 15 quid," she said. "I was pretty hungry at the time and I was trying to get the money together for a gas and electric bill. "When it is most of your income, it does weigh on you a hell of a lot more. Buskers like Jason have the luxury of having income from another place." Ms Gittins has been busking for about three years, mostly in Leeds, but also in Leicester, Wakefield, Bradford, Newcastle, Sheffield and Richmond. While we're talking a busker approaches Ms Gittins to warn her that another performer has had their sound equipment stolen. "In the last couple of months, that's the second load of someone's musical equipment that's been stolen," she said. "This whole week has just felt weird. I don't know if that's the result of all the tensions that fizzled over during the heatwave. "But to me, the altercation I saw that Jason caught on video. Honestly, that looks like a regular Saturday night." She blames the increasing difficulty of busking on streaming and lack of music education in school. "Withdrawing the funding from the arts has meant young children are not introduced to music or taught to respect it," she said. "The modern streaming system means everybody can just download music for free. "A lot of my friends are independent artists. It just seems like they're not getting anything back for the effort they're putting in and it's not just them." A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said any safety concerns should be reported to the police. "We are proud to support busking as a vibrant part of our city's culture," they said. "Keeping people safe, and ensuring they feel welcome in the city, is a priority for us and our Safer Leeds team works in partnership with other organisations across the city, including emergency services, to achieve this." Nick Broad is co-founder and former CEO of The Busking Project, which is behind the busking payment platform allows performers to get tipped via Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal. "There are fewer street performers today because of cashless payments," he said. "The cost-of-living crisis and gentrification push struggling artists out of city centres and add to that the rising inflation, street performers need to be earning more than ever before but they are earning less." But despite backing the revolution in digital payments, Mr Broad is wary of encouraging buskers to push their art online. "I can't stand the digital landscape," he said. "During lockdowns people set up online and put time and money into looking good for Zoom concerts. That's all good but then we came out of lockdowns. "If you create music and upload it to platforms like TikTok or Spotify you're competing with an algorithm for views and it's not always about artistic integrity." works with artists in Australia, the US, Canada and the UK. And safety is not a concern Mr Broad regularly hears people complain about. "Busking is the one part of outdoor city life that has lasted from ancient times until now. The hawkers, market traders, kids playing games, news callers and so on have all been eradicated," he said. "Street performers are still there for a very good reason: there will always be demand for entertainment, and people will always be willing to support a good show." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Busker quits playing in Leeds to 'put safety first' Busker 'struggled' to keep Sam Fender gig a secret Keep Streets Live
BBC News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Is Leeds safe for buskers? City performers give their views
Buskers have entertained city-centre crowds throughout history, with many famous faces starting out on the streets. But with the music industry going digital, fewer consumers carrying cash - and increasing fears about safety – how is the artform faring?Last week, Jason Allan announced he was no longer setting up his pitch in Leeds after a number of violent also cited the move from cash to card payments as a reason playing on the streets was increasingly difficult."It was a couple of things that happened in a very short period of time," he said."People have less money, you know it's gone from cash to card so I think it was difficult from the get-go but I could handle that, it was just more that when the threat of violence came in, that's when it became a little bit too much for me."Mr Allan's recent confrontation with some teenagers went viral last week with more than 17m busking around the UK – including in London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle – Mr Allan films his performances for his Instagram and TikTok approach as a musician is to use busking to promote shows inside venues and meet new people."I give myself a month to promote the show," he said."I'm meeting lots of new people on the streets, building a bit of a community, selling tickets, telling them about me and my music."Leeds was a bit more difficult this time and I think that it's just become more difficult for all buskers." Bradford-based Jake Keating, 28, also busks in Leeds. But he does not stream his performances to TikTok and is "not looking for a viral video either"."I understand the way the music industry is geared up," he said."A significant portion of breaking into the industry is in and around online content."I busk to connect with people. I personally choose not to stream because I'm not looking for a traditional career in the music industry." 'A welcoming city' Mr Keating is a leading member of Keep Streets Live, a community group set up to support and protect said a lot of the group's work was about promoting the benefits of art in public spaces."Performances in public spaces are a really important foundation and cornerstone of our national identity," he said."I can see all aspects of society come together, whether it's people who are sleeping rough, people who are out on the town having a night out - they all come together and dance or party or enjoy an experience and a lot of people respect that and really appreciate it."I'm really sorry to see the interaction Jason had and it wasn't a positive one this time around."I want to reassure people that Leeds isn't a dangerous place. It's such a brilliant city and it's a safe city, it's a really welcoming city. " But on the streets of Leeds on Wednesday, busker Katie Gittins described a recent incident in which her takings were stolen."He literally took everything I'd made that day and I'd only made like 15 quid," she said."I was pretty hungry at the time and I was trying to get the money together for a gas and electric bill."When it is most of your income, it does weigh on you a hell of a lot more. Buskers like Jason have the luxury of having income from another place."Ms Gittins has been busking for about three years, mostly in Leeds, but also in Leicester, Wakefield, Bradford, Newcastle, Sheffield and we're talking a busker approaches Ms Gittins to warn her that another performer has had their sound equipment stolen."In the last couple of months, that's the second load of someone's musical equipment that's been stolen," she said."This whole week has just felt weird. I don't know if that's the result of all the tensions that fizzled over during the heatwave."But to me, the altercation I saw that Jason caught on video. Honestly, that looks like a regular Saturday night."She blames the increasing difficulty of busking on streaming and lack of music education in school."Withdrawing the funding from the arts has meant young children are not introduced to music or taught to respect it," she said."The modern streaming system means everybody can just download music for free."A lot of my friends are independent artists. It just seems like they're not getting anything back for the effort they're putting in and it's not just them."A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said any safety concerns should be reported to the police."We are proud to support busking as a vibrant part of our city's culture," they said."Keeping people safe, and ensuring they feel welcome in the city, is a priority for us and our Safer Leeds team works in partnership with other organisations across the city, including emergency services, to achieve this." How do buskers take cashless payments? Nick Broad is co-founder and former CEO of The Busking Project, which is behind the busking payment platform allows performers to get tipped via Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal."There are fewer street performers today because of cashless payments," he said."The cost-of-living crisis and gentrification push struggling artists out of city centres and add to that the rising inflation, street performers need to be earning more than ever before but they are earning less."But despite backing the revolution in digital payments, Mr Broad is wary of encouraging buskers to push their art online."I can't stand the digital landscape," he said."During lockdowns people set up online and put time and money into looking good for Zoom concerts. That's all good but then we came out of lockdowns."If you create music and upload it to platforms like TikTok or Spotify you're competing with an algorithm for views and it's not always about artistic integrity." works with artists in Australia, the US, Canada and the UK. And safety is not a concern Mr Broad regularly hears people complain about."Busking is the one part of outdoor city life that has lasted from ancient times until now. The hawkers, market traders, kids playing games, news callers and so on have all been eradicated," he said."Street performers are still there for a very good reason: there will always be demand for entertainment, and people will always be willing to support a good show." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Busker Jason Allan to stop playing in Leeds to 'put safety first'
A singer with more than one million TikTok followers has announced he will no longer busk in Leeds after he was harassed while Allan is a musician from Shropshire who travels around the UK busking and playing small venues.A TikTok video he posted showing a confrontation with group of young men reached 1.2 million views last said the confrontation was a result of the men repeatedly touching his equipment. The video shows Mr Allan being approached by four or five men, one of whom slaps him, then he squares up to him in Allan said it was becoming increasingly difficult to busk, with people having less money and not carrying said: "I've been doing it for like 20 years. It's got more difficult to be a busker."I have found other ways to make an income so that the busking isn't my full-time income."After the incident Mr Allan made a video saying his last busk in Leeds would be on Thursday, followed by a gig at Belgrave Music Hall on 5 July. "It was a couple of things that happened in a very short period of time, which just didn't make me feel like the seven-hour round trip was becoming worth it any more for me," he said."It's not a decision that I made lightly, but I think sometimes you've just got to put your safety first."These kind of things can happen anywhere and everywhere. I wasn't singling Leeds out as the worst place ever, I've had situations in Birmingham, in Liverpool, Glasgow, it's not just Leeds, these things do happen all over the place. "It was just the perfect storm of a couple of bad things happening and the virality of the video meant the reason I was in Leeds got lost and I wasn't able to focus on the main thing, which was the music." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Daily Mail
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Shocking moment busker takes revenge after teen attacker brutally SLAPS him across the face
Watch the moment a street performer takes swift revenge after a teen attacker brutally slapped him across the face. Jason Allan, 28, claimed that a group of brazen teenagers had touched his guitar while he was singing on a busy high street in Leeds. Click above to see how he gets his revenge.
Scottish Sun
18-06-2025
- Scottish Sun
Chaotic moment busker PUNCHES yob who slapped him across the face as chaotic brawl breaks out
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A BUSKER has shared footage of him appearing to bravely defend himself against a group of yobs trying to disrupt his act. James Allan, who has more than 1.3m followers on TikTok, confronted the gang of thugs as they attempted to tamper with his equipment in Leeds city centre. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 The busker James Allan shared footage of him defending the young group Credit: Jason Allan via Storyful 4 They were trying to distract his set Credit: Jason Allan via Storyful 4 He films and confronts the gang of thugs as they try to tamper with his equipment Credit: Jason Allan via Storyful 4 One lad tries to slap James, but he wades in and clobbers the attacker Credit: Jason Allan via Storyful One hooded youth in a light blue body warmer even gives the impression that he is carrying a knife. In the video's on-screen captions, James wrote: "A gang of lads kept touching my guitar. "So I thought I'd put them on camera to stop them doing it again." As one of the boys approaches again, James tells him: "You can touch if you want. "I'll go on the TikTok Live and show everyone what you're doing." He then turns the camera to the group, who beat a hasty retreat once they realise they are being filmed. As they slink off, James asks the group: "Why are you hioding your faces? Do you want to touch my stuff again or what?" James' friend Brad then tips him off that one of the boys, wearing a jeans and a sleeveless pukka jacket that partially covers his face, is coming back. The intrepid busker goes to intercept the intruder - but it was only when reviewing the footage afterwards that he realised that the boy appeared to be reaching for what could be a knife. As James writes in the caption: "It's only upon watching this back do I realise he's reaching for his pocket. "Luckily I was able to grab his arms." Glasgow man appears to take money from buskers before teeth fall out in bizarre viral video The boy then slaps James with what appears to be an open palm, before James wades in and clobbers the attacker, plus several of his friends who also try to defend their mate. Several bystanders then step in to try and cool tensions. As James wrote: "People step in to break it up, which is good for me because there was about five of them. "People think they can just absue buskers and we won't defend ourselves." The boy in the puffa jacket then aims a kick at James, who catches his foot and pulls him to the ground. He then goes back to the mic and tells shoppers: 'I'm just trying to make a living, man. Do you know what I mean?' West Yorkshire Police have been contacted for comment. James posted the video on his social media accounts with the question: 'Was I right to defend myself?" One Facebook user said: 'Sometimes gotta stand up to bullies.' Another added said: 'Nice jabs mate…be careful though those little scabs will be back with knives.' Meanwhile a commentator on TikTok said: "You know how embarrassing it is to try throw a kick but the guy grabs your leg and drops you."
