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Sound actions by category: Economic 2

Sound action recordings are of sounds designed to affect people, including situations where many make sounds together towards a common goal. Often they're of voices, but they also include sirens, bells, fireworks and more.

NEWSPAPER AND OTHER STREET SELLERS
Anybody lost or needs information A man with a large London street atlas offers to help tourists find their way around town. 0:45 2010
Big Issue 1 Big Issue seller in Hammersmith, west London, repeats his call but no-one's buying. 1:00 2008
Brick Lane curry touts Curry touts in Brick Lane, east London, try to encourage the recordist to go inside different restaurants. 1:02 2009
Croydon phone card seller A man stands behind a tiny stall and repeats his sales cry for international phone and SIM cards. 1:08 2009
Dickybird whistle seller A street seller at Bankside demonstrates a warbling bird toy whistle. 0:41 2012
Evening Standard 1 Evening Standard newspaper seller outside Whitechapel tube station, east London. 0:12 2008
Evening Standard 2 Evening Standard seller on the forecourt of London Bridge station. 0:33 2009
Evening Standard 3 A woman distributes copies of the Evening Standard inside Kings Cross tube station. 0:30 2015
Flyer distributor Camden A man repeats the cry of 'Drum and Bass, Dub, Roots and Culture' while handing out flyers in Camden. 0:40 2010
Get your royal wedding flags Flag sellers shout their wares at Embankment during the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. 1:00 2011
Ice cream van January An ice cream van prowls the streets of south-east London while sounding its chime. 0:28 2009
Kiosk owner St Giles Circus A kiosk owner advertising drinks and sweets keeps up a steady stream of sales patter 1:07 2009
Knife grinder East Finchley A knife grinder raises his cry in an East Finchley street. 1:03 2017
Newspaper distributor London Bridge An Evening Standard distributor near London Bridge station repeatedly calls out the newspaper's title. 1:21 2017
One pound your Pope flags A man in Hyde Park sells flags and badges commemorating the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. 0:42 2010
Perfume seller Oxford Street A perfume seller hands out free samples to a crowd of enthusiastic bystanders. 1:37 2010
Rickshaw bells and horns Rickshaw operators ring their bells and sound toy horns as theatregoers spill out onto Drury Lane. 1:25 2015
Show ticket seller A man working for a ticket agency calls out the titles of West End shows. 0:21 2008
Ticket seller Leicester Square A Leicester Square ticket seller calls out the names of West End shows. 1:30 2009
STREET ENTERTAINERS
Acrobat South Bank 1 A street acrobat on the South Bank pushes a six-inch nail up his nose. 1:47 2008
Acrobat South Bank 2 A street acrobat on the South Bank speaks at length to elicit money. 1:03 2008
Bagpipes Kings Cross tube A busker plays the bagpipes in the ticket hall for the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines at Kings Cross. 4:50 2016
Bankside accordion buskers Two buskers perform with their backs to the river wall. One sings and plays the accordion, the other beats a rhythm on a speaker cabinet. 2:22 2013
Bongo busker Oxford Street A man crouches on the pavement and plays a bongo drum on Oxford Street, near Oxford Circus. 1:35 2012
Busker under Hungerford Bridge A busker sings to a backing track under Hungerford Bridge. 5:40 2013
Busking band Clink Street A two-piece band play drums and guitar in an archway off Clink Street near London Bridge. 3:13 2015
Chinese busker Covent Garden A busker plays a traditional one-stringed Chinese instrument with syrupy backing music. 1:38 2010
Conjuror Covent Garden A street conjuror performs magic tricks to onlookers at Covent Garden. 2:09 2008
Daniel Waples busker By the river near Bankside, a busker plays a small steel drum-like instrument called a 'hang'. 3:39 2009
Drum machine busker Oxford Street A woman sets a rhythm playing on a small drum machine before accompanying it by blowing notes on a recorder. 3:20 2019
Dulcimer busker Portobello Road A man busks with a dulcimer on Portobello Road during a busy Saturday afternoon. 2:25 2013
Ebony steel band A steel band plays 'Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer' to an appreciative audience of Oxford Street Christmas shoppers. 1:08 2009
Guinean flute busker Blackfriars A man plays the flute in traditional Guinean style on the Thames Path beneath the south end of Blackfriars station. 2:00 2014
Guitar busker Marble Arch A busker near Marble Arch plays the nursery melody 'Frère Jacques' on an amplified acoustic guitar. 2:02 2015
Harmonica South Bank A busker plays the harmonica on the South Bank near the London Eye. 1:11 2008
Human beatbox Oxford Circus A human beatbox with a mic and portable amp performs at Oxford Circus. 3:40 2015
Hungerford Bridge mandolin busker Hungerford bridge with mandolin-playing busker, fireworks to the south-east and pedestrians walking by. 2:02 2012
Improvised drums busker Oxford Street A busker plays an improvised drumkit on the pavement made up of pots, pans and a plastic container. 2:00 2015
Operatic busker Kings Cross An opera-singing busker recorded at Kings Cross station. 0:40 2009
Oxford Street bagpipes busker A man in Highland dress plays the bagpipes on Oxford Street, changing tune when children have their picture taken with him. 1:58 2013
Rabimsha plays the musical bow Rabimsha the street musician plays a single-stringed musical bow by the Thames Path near Bankside. 3:58 2015
Randolph the Remarkable A fire-eater banters with onlookers and performs his act outside St Paul's church, Covent Garden. 2:30 2010
Sax player Soho A saxophonist plays 'The Girl from Ipanema' at night in Soho, central London. 0:41 2008
Soprano sax busker Oxford Street An Oxford Street busker plays a curved soprano sax in a slow and warbling style. 1:55 2010
South Bank blue busker An otherwise silent busker plays his guitar on the South Bank. 1:16 2009
Steel drum busker On the Hungerford footbridge, a man plays Sleigh Ride on a shallow steel drum. 1:10 2012
Steel pan busker Holloway Road A man busks by playing a shallow steel pan at a bus stop on Holloway Road. 2:57 2017
Stratford station didgeridoo player A busker plays the didgeridoo to a backing track outside Stratford station. 3:00 2016
Street band by Hungerford Bridge Busking band plays to passersby along the Thames near Hungerford Bridge. 2:30 2009
Street magician Bankside A street magician entertains onlookers on the Thames Path at Bankside by performing a trick with a lemon. 1:57 2015
The Euston drummer A homeless man plays an improvised drum outside Euston station. 1:35 2012
The Great Franko An escapologist entertains a crowd of onlookers at the South Bank. 2:00 2012
Trumpet busker Euston Road A busker plays the trumpet against a backdrop of traffic noise on the Euston Road. 1:07 2010
Tuneless busker Borough Market A busker sits at one of the approaches to Borough Market and plays tunelessly on an accordion. 0:51 2019
Underpass sax busker A saxophone player gives a good performance while busking in an underpass at Charing Cross. 4:18 2009
Villiers Street poet busker 1 A busking poet with a pitch in Villiers Street recites a poem entitled 'A London Ode'. 1:07 2010
Villiers Street poet busker 2 The Villiers Street poet recites a second poem, entitled 'It's a long day, lady'. 0:38 2010
Violin busker Oxford Street A man plays the violin on Oxford Street west of Oxford Circus. 2:15 2015
Violin busker Villiers Street A busking violinist plays on a Saturday night in Villiers Street, central London. 1:45 2010
Whistling busker At St Paul's Underground station, a busker whose act consists solely of whistling. 0:45 2009
IN-STORE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND PROMOTIONS
Magic pens Hamleys A product demonstrator shows off a range of 'magic pens' to customers in Hamleys toy shop. 1:07 2009
Mobile phone competition Lewisham Lewisham Shopping Centre onlookers encourage a boy trying to win a mobile phone. 0:40 2012
Place item in the bagging area Recorded voices instruct supermarket shoppers on using automated self-service checkouts. 2:54 2005
Toy helicopters Hamleys A toy demonstrator in Hamleys gets a bit carried away showing off model helicopters. 1:27 2009
TOUR GUIDES
Thames boat trip The captain of a Thames pleasure boat talks about the river to his passengers. 1:23 2008

Villiers Street poet busker 1 1:07

Classification: Economic > Street entertainers

Recording date: 23 January 2010

Description: A busking poet with a pitch in Villiers Street, near Charing Cross, recites a poem entitled 'A London Ode'. The poet is an elderly man who has also had occasional pitches along the South Bank. He arranges several dozen cards on the pavement, each propped up at a slight angle and bearing the title of one of his poems. He appears able to recite them all off by heart.

Technical guff: 2 x Shure WL-183 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Additional notes: If you ever see this charming man, do ask to hear one of his poems and reward him accordingly. People like him make London better.