Guitar George plays Anglia Square

JULY 16th 2005

Question: When is a street performing musician not a busker?
Answer: When he brings his own stage, has his Dad doing the mixing and his mum selling his CDs (that's her in the backround).

He played (and sang) Elvis, Buddy Holly and the Shadows in a performance and presentation that was beyond criticism and owed more to Butlins than to MTV.

It was as if Punk, club culture, post-modernism and every other popular (and populist) trend of the last 40 years had never happened. He belongs to the world where British Variety subsumed and made safe any subversion within Rock'n'Roll. The world where British rock'n'rollers would name themselves after meteological events (Storm, Typhoon, Hurricane) or a synonym for being cross (Wilde, Fury) The world where 16 year old skiffle stars when asked what their ambition was would reply "to become an all round family entertainer".

If you think I am kidding check out his website by clicking here.

The tragedy of it all is that, that for his age, he is very talented guitarist. I could, of course, be completely wrong and be the victim of some dadaist or surrealist prank. There might be a sudden roll of drums and Neil Innes perhaps or some BritArt Brat will reveal it all as a terrific joke at the public's expense.

Sadly it is more likely that Guitar George is in a blind alley that will lead him only to being the warmup act at Dame Cliff Richard's hundreth birthday concert. And that will only happen if Hank Marvin isn't around to play 'The Theme From The Deerhunter' for the umpteenth time.