By Alice Dunn

Imagine hearing only the clip of your heels on the squares of Covent Garden2. If Charles Babbage3 had had his way in 1864 then a walk through town might have been eerily quiet today.

Babbage， the philosopher and mathematician credited with inventing the first design for a mechanical computer， was extremely averse4 to street music. At the time the streets were， he said， wrought with “the most discordant noises.”5 He dedicated an entire chapter of a book to his thoughts on these“instruments of torture，” describing the detrimental6 effects of buskers on the inhabitants of London. Busking， he said， “robs the industrious man of his time； it annoys the musical man by its intolerable badness； it irritates the invalid.”7

He appeared in court to make noise about noise and wrote several letters to The Times expressing his contempt of street music. He was already well-known for being fastidious8. Seven years before his attack on the sounds from the street， he launched an in-depth investigation into the way each of one factorys 464 panes9 of glass came to be broken.

It may come as no surprise to learn that his impassioned musings on street music were met with musicians “of various tastes” playing “worn-out or damaged wind instruments” at his window under the instructions of his revenge-seeking neighbours.10

Babbages attempt was one of two significant movements against street music in 1864. The second was put forward by the aptly named Michael Thomas Bass， MP11. He tried to put his “Act for the Better Regulation of Street Music in the Metropolis” through parliament and rallied support from influential figures including Alfred Tennyson， John Everett Millais， Wilkie Collins and，12 notably， Charles Dickens， who penned the letter that led the signatures of objection to street music.

Dickens objections to public performance did not however extend to readings of his own work. A year before his letter to parliament， Dickens read A Christmas Carol to a crowd of 2000 working-class people in a town hall in Birmingham. He was a great performer who relished13 every moment on stage. His readings created mass hysteria14 with audience members reportedly fainting during his shows. He described the thrill of reading before an audience and said it made him feel like “a giant refreshed.”

The power of an appreciative audience is one that has continued over the years. It is a symbiotic15 relationship， as musician Leo Humphries tells me： “I found busking to be quite scary at first. It feels like youre breaking an unwritten rule of society. But as soon as someone gives you 20 pence， it vindicates16 you. You feel youre supposed to be there， and it becomes incredibly fun. Its very nice to be playing a song and see enjoyment on the faces of people you dont know. The feeling of connection you get with strangers is not something you get in everyday life—especially in London， where eye contact with strangers feels like a transgression17.” And musical talent is richly rewarded： “Someone once gave me ￡20 for playing ‘Lolaby The Kinks18.”

Perhaps Babbage， Bass and Dickens would be pleased to hear that， to be a busker on the London Underground today， one must pass a rigorous audition process first. The competition to hold a licence is fierce， as Transport for Londons guidelines attest19： “Each busker must go through a shortlist process and then an audition in front of a panel of three judges performing live in one of our stations. Each musician must perform two songs （One prepared number and another selected by the panel， from a submitted set-list.） The judging process reviews the musicians repertoire20， musicality， technical skill and performance. If successful， the musician will receive a 12-month licence to perform on the Underground.”

Last year more than 600 musicians auditioned and 70 were granted licences. If anyone was in any doubt， busking on the Tube is much more than tapping your foot to the beat of your accordion21.

The method of tipping buskers is changing. London is the first city in the world to introduce a contactless card payment scheme. But will that deter giving physical money？ Soprano Seija Knight busks in Covent Garden and tells me： “The younger generation are more than happy to put a few quid from their card on a machine.22 But the older generation can feel a little offended that this service is being offered.”

Whether you prefer hearing the percussive chink of coins hitting a guitar case or the beeps of a card machine，23 its being accompanied by great music that really matters.

假如你走在科文特加登廣場(chǎng)上，只能聽到自己的腳步聲，那會(huì)是什么感覺(jué)？要是1864年查爾斯·巴貝奇經(jīng)過(guò)了這里，那么如今人們步行穿過(guò)倫敦城區(qū)，估計(jì)會(huì)感覺(jué)靜得可怕。

查爾斯·巴貝奇是哲學(xué)家，也是數(shù)學(xué)家，因發(fā)明了第一臺(tái)機(jī)械計(jì)算機(jī)而聞名。他特別討厭街頭音樂(lè)。在他那個(gè)時(shí)候，用他的話說(shuō)，街上充斥著“最刺耳的噪音”。他在一本書里花了一整章來(lái)抱怨這些“折磨人的樂(lè)器”，描述這些街頭藝人對(duì)倫敦居民的有害影響。他說(shuō)，街頭藝術(shù)“讓辛勤工作的，浪費(fèi)了時(shí)間；讓專搞音樂(lè)的，弄臟了耳朵；讓抱病在身的，氣壞了身子。”

因?yàn)橄咏诸^音樂(lè)吵鬧，他跑到法庭上去鬧，還給《泰晤士報(bào)》寫了好幾封信，表達(dá)對(duì)街頭音樂(lè)的不滿。他那吹毛求疵的勁兒，其實(shí)早已聲名遠(yuǎn)揚(yáng)。在向街頭音樂(lè)發(fā)起攻擊的七年前，他就對(duì)一家工廠進(jìn)行過(guò)深度調(diào)查，調(diào)查他們的464塊玻璃每塊是如何碎掉的。

于是，鄰居們叫來(lái)“風(fēng)格各異”的音樂(lè)家們，在他的窗下玩起了“老舊破損的管樂(lè)器”，來(lái)報(bào)復(fù)他對(duì)街頭音樂(lè)的猛烈抨擊，也就不足為奇了。

巴貝奇的努力是1864年反對(duì)街頭音樂(lè)的兩股浪潮之一。另一波的推動(dòng)者是議員邁克爾·托馬斯·巴斯。他試圖讓議會(huì)通過(guò)“對(duì)城市街頭音樂(lè)進(jìn)行更好管控的提案”，還專門聯(lián)合了一些有影響力的名人來(lái)表達(dá)抗議，如艾爾弗雷德·丁尼生、約翰·埃弗里特·密萊司、威爾基·科林斯和大名鼎鼎的查爾斯·狄更斯。狄更斯帶頭寫過(guò)一封針對(duì)街頭音樂(lè)的聯(lián)合簽名反對(duì)信。

不過(guò)，狄更斯對(duì)這種公開表演的反對(duì)并沒(méi)有殃及自己的作品朗誦活動(dòng)。在寫公開信給議會(huì)的前一年，他還在伯明翰的市政大廳里，給兩千名來(lái)自工人階級(jí)的聽眾朗讀了他的《圣誕歡歌》。他是一名很棒的表演者，享受在舞臺(tái)上的每一分鐘。他朗誦時(shí)會(huì)掀起陣陣狂熱，有好幾位聽眾據(jù)說(shuō)都激動(dòng)得暈了過(guò)去。狄更斯描述了在聽眾前朗讀的快感，并說(shuō)這讓他感覺(jué)自己像“一個(gè)滿血復(fù)活的巨人”。

熱情的聽眾帶來(lái)的能量是經(jīng)久不衰的。這是一種共生的關(guān)系，正如音樂(lè)家利奧·漢弗萊斯對(duì)我說(shuō)的：“我最開始覺(jué)得街頭音樂(lè)特別嚇人，仿佛打破了社會(huì)上不成文的規(guī)定?？墒且坏┯腥私o你20便士，你就會(huì)立刻受到鼓舞。你感覺(jué)自己的存在合理了，并且整個(gè)過(guò)程變得非常好玩。演奏一首歌，看著不相識(shí)的聽眾臉上沉醉的表情，這種感覺(jué)棒極了。由此與陌生人產(chǎn)生的聯(lián)系是日常生活中難以得到的——尤其是在倫敦這種地方，連直視陌生人都像是罪過(guò)。”并且付給音樂(lè)天才的報(bào)酬也不低：“有人曾因?yàn)槲已葑嗔似嫦霕?lè)隊(duì)的《羅拉》，給過(guò)我20英鎊?！?/p>

但是，下面這話，或許巴貝奇、巴斯和狄更斯聽到會(huì)倍感欣慰：如今要想在倫敦地鐵站當(dāng)個(gè)藝人，得先通過(guò)一場(chǎng)嚴(yán)格的試演。經(jīng)過(guò)激烈的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)后，才能獲得執(zhí)照。倫敦交通局規(guī)定：“進(jìn)入候選階段后，每位街頭藝人都得在某個(gè)地鐵站臺(tái)里，面對(duì)由三人組成的評(píng)審團(tuán)進(jìn)行現(xiàn)場(chǎng)演出。表演曲目有兩首（一首自選，另一首由評(píng)審團(tuán)從規(guī)定曲目中抽取）。評(píng)審員主要從表演曲目、音樂(lè)才能、專業(yè)技巧和演出表現(xiàn)四個(gè)方面評(píng)分。一旦通過(guò)，即可獲得為期12個(gè)月的地鐵表演許可。”

去年有超過(guò)600位音樂(lè)人士參加了試演，只有70人獲得了執(zhí)照。所以不必懷疑，在地鐵里演奏可比跟著手風(fēng)琴的節(jié)拍跺跺腳難多了。

給街頭藝人小費(fèi)的方式也在改變。倫敦是世界上第一個(gè)引入非接觸式磁卡支付方案的城市。此舉是否會(huì)影響給現(xiàn)金的小費(fèi)呢？在科文特加登表演的女高音歌唱家塞亞·奈特告訴我：“年輕人更愿意用刷卡機(jī)刷掉幾鎊，但是老年人覺(jué)得這樣有點(diǎn)侮辱人，所以更愿意給現(xiàn)金?！?/p>

當(dāng)然，不管你是愿意聽硬幣碰到吉他盒的脆響，還是刷卡機(jī)的滴滴聲，真正重要的還是在一旁響起的美好音樂(lè)。

1. Charles Dickens： 查爾斯·狄更斯（1812—1870），英國(guó)批判現(xiàn)實(shí)主義小說(shuō)家；busker： 街頭藝人。

2. Covent Garden： 科文特加登，倫敦的一處廣場(chǎng)，以經(jīng)營(yíng)歷三個(gè)世紀(jì)之久的水果蔬菜市場(chǎng)而聞名，如今已成為劇院、酒吧、咖啡館、手工藝品市場(chǎng)、服裝店的匯集之地，也是一個(gè)著名的街頭表演地點(diǎn)。

3. Charles Babbage： 查爾斯·巴貝奇（1792—1871），英國(guó)數(shù)學(xué)家和發(fā)明家，現(xiàn)代自動(dòng)計(jì)算機(jī)的創(chuàng)始人。

4. averse： 反對(duì)的，嫌惡的。

5. wreak： 造成嚴(yán)重破壞；discordent：（聲音）刺耳的，不和諧的。

6. detrimental： 有危害的。

7. industrious： 勤勞的，勤奮的；invalid：病人，傷殘者。

8. fastidious： 挑剔的，過(guò)分講究的。

9. pane： （窗戶或門上的）一塊玻璃。

10. impassioned： 充滿激情的；musing：沉思，冥想；wind instrument： 管樂(lè)器。

11. MP： Member of Parliament，議員。

12. Alfred Tennyson： 艾爾弗雷德·丁尼生（1809—1892），英國(guó)維多利亞時(shí)代的杰出詩(shī)人；John Everett Millais：約翰·埃弗里特·密萊司（1829—1896），英國(guó)畫家；Wilkie Collins：威爾基·科林斯（1824—1889），英國(guó)小說(shuō)家，著名神秘故事作家。

13. relish： 享受，喜歡。

14. hysteria： 歇斯底里。

15. symbiotic： 共生的。

16. vindicate： 證明……正確。

17. transgression： 違法，罪過(guò)。

18. The Kinks： 奇想樂(lè)隊(duì)，是活躍于20世紀(jì)六七十年代的英國(guó)搖滾樂(lè)隊(duì)。

19. attest： 表明，證明。

20. repertoire： 全部曲目。

21. accordion： 手風(fēng)琴。

22. soprano： 女高音；quid： 一英鎊。

23. percussive： 敲擊的，撞擊的；chink：叮當(dāng)聲；beep： 嘟嘟聲，滴滴聲。