Latest BBC feature: Musicians audition for Tube busking licences

Ben Hudson I told Ben Hudson ‘You look like a young Michael Hutchence’. He said ‘Who’s he?’.

The sound of No Woman, No Cry emanates from a disused platform at Charing Cross Underground station as weekend engineering works are announced and a man plays scales on a bamboo flute.

It’s the last audition day for performers hoping to gain the busking licences for the Tube which were first made available 10 years ago.

Over three weeks, 250 people have played for a panel of three – sometimes including record company professionals – hoping to join the 350 performers who try to entertain commuters. There are up to 100 licences available.

Continue reading here and see my gallery of pictures here.