Latest news with #busker
News.com.au
21-07-2025
- News.com.au
‘I'll start whacking you, dog': Man abuses woman, passers-by in Cairns CBD
A man has been filmed intimidating and abusing a woman in front of a crowd watching a busker in the Cairns CBD, while also violently lashing out at members of the public who stepped in to intervene. Footage posted to Reddit over the weekend showed the man, wearing a white T-shirt, shorts and a bum bag, threatening the woman in the middle of the busy strip, repeatedly wandering away and back towards her as he hurls abuse. 'Do something and I'll start whacking you, dog,' he says. 'I'll start whacking you, dog. Do something, c**t.' The man intimidatingly pushes his face into the woman's as he continues to threaten her. 'Sir, that's not how you talk to a lady, yeah?' the street performer chimes in over the microphone. An elderly man with his partner man then approaches in an attempt to defuse the situation. 'What the f**k you going to do, dog?' the man yells, pushing the man backwards causing him to drop his phone. 'Do something, c**t!' The busker asks onlookers to get the police as the fracas explodes. The woman prods the man with a bottle, sparking a furious reaction as he begins chasing her. As another member of the public attempts to hold the man back, he turns and strikes him in the side of the head and attempts to start a fight. He then turns his attention back to the woman, following her around the square before kicking and punching her. The man eventually walks away, with a police officer seen arriving a short time later. 'Hey, lady, go straight to the cop shop, just get some help,' the busker tells the woman. 'Yes I do think the police will help you. They're right there. Police, violent individual running that way.' The user who posted the footage said they had provided the video to police. 'If he's willing to behave like this in public, imagine what he is capable of behind closed doors,' one commenter wrote. A Queensland Police spokeswoman told 'Police are aware of this matter and investigations are continuing.'
Daily Mail
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Rita Ora cringes as ukulele busker Liam Cowan hops in her car for an impromptu performance
Rita Ora was left cringing after a ukulele busker hopped in her car to give an impromptu performance of his original tune, Dolla Dolla. The musician known as 'Liam C', real name Liam Cowan, went viral last year for his 'cringe-worthy' serenade of Dua Lipa, 29, and has also bombarded fellow stars including Stormzy, 31, at Glastonbury Festival. Now, a new video shared by Liam on Instagram sees the musician enthusiastically playing his tune to an uncomfortable-looking Rita, 34. At the beginning of the clip, Rita gets escorted to her car by security as she is mobbed by fans and photographers shouting out her name. Meanwhile, Liam could be seen pushing his way through people to get into Rita's car as well with his cameraman. Once inside the car, Liam introduced Rita to the camera and said: 'We just had an absolute madness. Now, a new video shared by Liam on Instagram sees the musician enthusiastically playing his tune to an uncomfortable-looking Rita, 34 He continued: 'Very very lovely of her to just let me come in her car so I can play her a good tune. Is that alright? Rita simply replied: 'Always.' Liam then explained what his song is about, he said: 'This is called Dollar Dollar. So, like I'm living out my rucksack, running around doing the whole Ed Sheeran thing, doing everything I can to get noticed. So this is my song about that.' As he began to strum on his ukulele, Rita's unimpressed expression said it all, and she appeared lost for words. Following his quick performance, Liam asked Rita: 'Was it good?' and she politely replied: 'I loved it.' After posting the video to his Instagram, several people flocked to the comment section to share their opinions on the 'cringe-worthy' moment. One jokingly quipped: 'Her face says it all (laughing emojis); 'She was stressed (crying emoji)'; 'She's kool but she don't like it (laughing emoji).' Last year, Liam claimed he 'blagged' his way into Glastonbury Festival without a ticket in a bid to promote his fledgling music career. Joined by cameraman pal Andreas Tomoiaga, Liam documented his journey from his house to Somerset on his Instagram page which he has flooded with videos of himself performing his songs to both established artists and punters during the three-day bash. According to festival-goers, the wannabe singer played to 'anyone who would care to listen', many of whom mirrored Dua's unimpressed reaction which went viral. However, rapper Stormzy gave a far more sympathetic response moments after he joked 'not you again!' when Liam managed to locate him for the second successive year after he performed in front of him during the 2023 festival. The busker also serenaded Woody Cook, the son of DJ Fatboy Slim - aka Norman Cook - and Zoe Ball, and singer Hak Baker, plus festival-goers on site and the train down to the event. A festival source told MailOnline at the time: 'Liam was literally playing that song to everyone. 'Anybody who cared to listen, he was there with his ukulele. 'Lots of people took it in good grace and admired his positive attitude but there was also a hefty percentage of festival-goers who found him quite irritating'. After he claimed to have evaded security to enter the site, Liam told his followers how he wore wristbands from the previous year's festival to avoid further checks. The busker was so desperate to attend festivals and promote his music he even set up an online Crowdfunding page. His Facebook page states he grew up in Colchester, Essex, before moving to Shrewsbury, Shropshire. Liam, who has 67,000 followers on Instagram, attended the Isle of White Festival in June where he actually performed on stage. But he's most known for performing to random people on the street, as well as bidding to impress celebrities with his tunes. During his first trip to Glastonbury in 2023, he performed to not only Stormzy but ex-footballers Peter Crouch and Jamie Carragher, singer Tom Grennan, rapper Aitch and former Made in Chelsea star Spencer Matthews. Before his trip to the Isle of White, he managed to perform to both Strictly winner Stacey Dooley and Inbetweeners star James Buckley outside the stage door of their London theatre show 2:22. And in May 2023, he sang to Eighties crooner Rick Astley and rapper Professor Green at Kendal Calling and Girls Aloud duo Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts at Mighty Hoopla. But it was his serenation of Dua at the festival which really put him on the map courtesy of her awkward reaction which went viral. Speaking to her behind the Pyramid Stage, Liam asked the superstar: 'I saw your Camden documentary and I thought it was amazing. 'Right now I am busking around Camden and I wanted to play you 30 seconds of my song and if you like it, I just want to get your reaction and that's it.' At 30 seconds Dua politely tells Liam 'I love it mate, so good, so good,' while walking away as he continues to sing. Her unimpressed reaction went viral with one tweeting: 'That video of the lad singing to Dua Lipa at Glastonbury has given me third degree cringe. Another shared a screenshot of Dua's unimpressed face as they quipped: 'Every woman on earth can identify with Dua Lipa waiting for the guy to stop playing guitar.' 'If you look closely you can actually pinpoint the exact moment her heart breaks in two'; 'She thought it would be like a chorus but he kept going lmao'; 'Dua hun, blink twice if you need help'; 'That Dua Lipa video nearly made me fold within myself like a camping chair.' Others though defended Liam with one musing: 'IDK man, if playing a sh***y song and looking like an idiot gets you a hug from Dua Lipa then I'm going to buy a ukulele.'
The Sun
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Chaotic moment busker PUNCHES yob who slapped him across the face as chaotic brawl breaks out
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. 4 4 4 4 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.'
BBC News
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Sam Fender Newcastle concert: Young busker plays at St James' Park
A young busker said he struggled to keep it secret he was going to play on stage with Sam Fender. Joe Bartley often plays his guitar outside St James' Park before Newcastle United home games, but on Thursday he got the chance to perform inside during the star's opening 15-year-old said his performance - watched on by 50,000 fans - was organised about a month ago by the North Shields-born musician and their guitar teacher Phil Martin."It was hard to keep it quiet - I thought it would be better to keep it a surprise and have people be more shocked when they saw me up there," he said. Despite playing in front of his biggest-ever crowd, the young musician said it "felt natural" once he was on he did admit to feeling a little nervous before the gig. "We got to St James' at about five o'clock and I wasn't nervous all day," he told BBC Radio Newcastle's Breakfast with Matt Bailey."But five minutes before I came on, we came outside and I saw the ground was full and that's when the nerves really hit." Fender played three gigs at St James' Park on Thursday, Saturday and United defender Dan Burn was in the crowd during the first concert and his presence was noted by Fender, who then played a version of Ultrabeat's Pretty Green Eyes, with the lyrics changed to Toon fan favourite "He's from Blyth".Burn then repaid the favour by appearing on stage on Sunday, bringing with him the Carabao Cup, which Newcastle won earlier this year, in part to his opening appearing with Fender were members of the Easington Colliery Band from County Durham, who feature on the track Remember My Name - which is dedicated to his grandparents - on his People Watching album. Joe has become a favourite with Newcastle United fans as he can regularly be seen playing outside the ground and using his music to raise money for playing outside Sam Fender's concerts he has raised nearly £2,000 for the West End Food Bank and cancer support charity Maggie' student said his performance with Fender had only boosted his confidence and ambition as a musician."I don't want to copy [Fender]," he said. "I want to be my own thing and hopefully get in a band and take over the world." Follow BBC Newcastle on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Three teens charged with assaulting street violin player at Erie bus stop
The Erie Bureau of Police has charged three teenagers with assault for punching and kicking a 23-year-old man at a bus stop at the corner of Peach and West Ninth streets. Deputy Chief Rick Lorah said the incident, which occurred May 20 at around 3 p.m., began as an argument between the parties aboard an EMTA bus and then turned physical at the bus stop. Lorah said he couldn't confirm what triggered the argument. '(The victim) was on the ground and sustained injuries consistent with getting punched and kicked while down, consistent with being assaulted by multiple actors,' Lorah said. The victim, who Lorah said frequently played the violin in the area as a busker, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was treated at a local hospital. Lorah said five teenagers were at the scene but two didn't participate in the assault. More: "We will openly and happily smash you": More revealed in Erie biker fight with 16 charged He said police were able to track down the teenagers after speaking to witnesses and the bus driver and looking at surveillance video from the bus and surrounding businesses. The three teenagers will appear in juvenile court at a later date. A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@ Follow him on X @ETNRao. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Street violin player assaulted at Erie bus stop; three teens charged
