I'm always a bit annoyed by the singer who forgets the words of a song when they're nearly at the end, and who therefore starts a new song from the beginning - I think that after the second verse they should have to wait until the next time round.

I do agree that in a pub singaround, you have to be prepared to put up with some noise, but I often wonder why some people (usually non-performers) will take great pains to grab a seat in the middle of the bar and then natter through the whole proceedings. The couple of times when I've asked has usually got a reply along the lines of "I like listening to Folk Singing" - pity they don't make it easier for the rest of the audience to enjoy the same thing. The thing that annoys me most though, is the person who talks loudly when they're standing right next to the person singing - couldn't they wait until "the spot" has passed on to someone further away or perhaps move further away themselves for the duration of the song.

As far as people talking when I'm singing, that's my problem. In some cases I can put it down to the wrong choice of song for the moment. I do have a fairly powerful voice and I can make it very difficult for anyone to carry on with a conversation in my vicinity - on the other hand I might move myself to somewhere easier to sing. I also have several comic songs in my repertoire which allow me to direct the odd line or verse at members of the audience and it can often be quite fun to choose someone who is being rather noisy. I must admit that I do a lot of pub singing outside of the security blanket of a singaround and so perhaps I've learnt how to manage an audience better than many singers.