Alex Hinchliffe is a 14-year old local musician whose dream is playing at the Trinity College of London Rock & Pop exams. For that he needs money. That’s why he decided to start busking in Richmond. But he has a problem!
“I started playing guitar when I was 11 years old and have performed at numerous school talent shows and seasonal end of term concerts for my music teacher, and am currently working my way through the London Trinity Rock and Pop Guitar Exams. To help me fund the exams I thought to myself, ‘Why don’t I try busking?’ It took me a couple of months to pluck up the courage to do it, as I was kind of nervous. I was happy playing on a Saturday for 45 minutes and now this has been taken away from me,” he says.
In March he started playing in front of Kmart in Richmond with the authorisation from the tenants of K Mart, Columbus Coffee and The Warehouse. However, a couple of months later another busker appeared with a keyboard and played in the same spot that Alex had been using on a regular basis. “He was playing six days a week for 4-6 hours a day and wouldn’t move, he wouldn’t even let me play for half an hour,” says Alex.
According to his mother, Amanda Rowe, “Several conversations pursued with the other busker regarding his unwillingness to act fairly within the busking etiquette guidelines. Having failed in our attempts to reconcile the issue with him, we contacted the property owner, Gibbons,” she says. “Their initial response was that they assured us someone would come out and speak to the keyboard player and try and work out an amicable solution for all parties. I even suggested that Gibbons implement the same guidelines as the TDC busking bylaw, which states that buskers must move on after 2 hours.
Over several months of correspondence, I was led to believe that they were considering this,” she says. However, several weeks ago Amanda received a response from Gibbons. “They said they had a management meeting and decided to cease all busking in the Upper Queen Street Development. I sent a letter to CEO Scott Gibbons, asking if he would reconsider the decision, but he has ignored my suggestions and failed to respond to my communication.” says Amanda.
Having had to suffer the disappointment of being banned from busking at Gibbons properties at Upper Queen Street, Alex used his initiative and sought to find alternative locations. He contacted TDC and applied for a busking permit, which he was granted. He has tried busking on two other occasions on Queen Street, but the vibe and energy is not as prominent as it was in his previous location. This has now forced Alex to attempt to find a position in Nelson, as Richmond no longer seems a viable option.
“He might help to bring people into businesses and shops. I would be happy for him to play outside my business,” says Maree Jeffreys-Bryant, who has been Alex’s music teacher for almost three years. “Alex is a great musician. He is getting more confidence all the time. He’s got a good voice. He loves to sing, and he is developing the guitar with his voice, and he’s got talent. He is a great guy. He wants to get his guitar playing up to an even better standard by sitting the exam. The exams are not cheap. Trinity is based in London, so the examiners come all the way from England. Busking will help him build up his repertoire and deal with the public,” says Maree.
Amanda believes “The stance that Gibbons have taken, to effectively ban all busking, doesn’t reflect as quoted on their own website, the community values they profess to uphold.” She says “All Alex wants is for Gibbons to reconsider their decision to cease all busking and implement guidelines so that everyone gets a fair opportunity to perform,” she says.
The keyboard musician was no longer where he used to play and that’s why he was not contacted. Gibbons were approached but refused to comment.