'It's not for everyone' Huddersfield busker says it's 'harder than ever' to earn cash in town centre

“Busking is not begging – it is hard work.” So says Huddersfield musician Mick Thwaites who has spent around 10 years busking on the streets of Huddersfield, Halifax and Leeds.

Mick has a deep love for the music of the 1960s and 1970s and on Friday afternoon this week he was singing songs from both decades and playing his acoustic guitar. He’d chosen to sit at the top of King Street at the junction with New Street but wasn’t too impressed by the number of people out and about.

Mick, of Outlane, Huddersfield, had just finished I Walk the Line by Johnny Cash when YorkshireLive caught up with him to chat about the life of a street entertainer. He has worked as a busker all over Yorkshire, but says the streets of Huddersfield town centre are a little quiet at the moment which makes it even harder than normal.

“It used to be packed – now it’s lacking people,” he says sadly. He was keen to clear up what he believes is a misunderstanding among some people. He said: “People get confused with busking and begging. Busking is not begging – it’s entertaining. People put money in if they enjoy it.”

He’s proud of his own abilities as a singer and a musician – he plays regular gigs in local pubs – but says not all buskers do the hard yards and learn the trade properly. Some buskers are ‘too loud’ he says and they sing along to a backing tape. Adding: “If you are playing to a backing tape, that’s not real busking.”

He enjoys busking in Huddersfield and says the reaction from passersby is ‘pretty good’. Leeds, however, is a ‘busy city’ and has more buskers than Huddersfield. “There’s more competition in Leeds which is good. Leeds is a busy city.”

Mick, who is 75 and has a working background in sales, says busking is not easy. “It’s not for everybody. You have to be happy in your own company and not to get too disheartened. Some days you will do really well, some days you don’t. Don’t be chasing money. Busking is not begging – it is hard work. You have to learn.”