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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

The Euston drummer 1:35

Classification: Economic > Street entertainers

Recording date: 30 March 2012

Description: Outside Euston station, a homeless man plays an improvised drum made from a plastic bin with duct tape stretched across the top to form a drum skin.

Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics and Sony PCM M10 recorder.

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Additional notes: Many thanks to Nick Hamilton.