The London tube thing should not be confused with the genuine buskers (some good, some bad, some in between) who play in the corridors.

The last time (of several times) I experienced the guys on the train itself, it was tantamount to them demanding money with menaces, to "musical" accompaniment. No attempt to entertain, every attempt to intimidate the captive audience - there were three bottlers in addition to the "musician". There was really no option for the average person to do anything other than pay up.

Not busking, not begging, just theft.

I remarked to myself at how the traditions of busking in the London tube had been almost instantly transformed by the behaviour of these people, and how we simply allow people to change our traditions, to the detriment of genuine buskers, without any apparent sanction.

Terry