(LONDON) A frustrated busker dressed as the Queen headbutted a plain-clothed policeman once told he wasn't to busk at Trafalgar Square. The "Queen" then hit him over the head with a royal scepter made of plastic. Thirty-one year old Romanian-born Marian Gogu, who lives in Soho, admitted assaulting PC Peter Barnett with a headbutt.

It wasn't that long ago that another street-performer dressed as Chewbacca was handcuffed and arrested in Hollywood, California when he headbutted a tour-guide. Frederick Evan Young was the Star Wars street performer in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. He knocked heads with the tour guide who complained about how "Chewie" was treating two tourists.

"It was quite a surprise. What they don't realize is that headbutts hurt yourself as much as the other guy,"...

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(VENICE BEACH) The Venice Beach boardwalk is known as a happening place. However, the Los Angeles City Council thinks there may be too much going on there.After receiving hundreds of complaints from area residents over the past year, the council has asked city lawyers to draw up some new rules. The new rules could include a ban on musical instruments and amplified sound between sunset and 9 A.M.

The council wants to crack down on street performers that draw big crowds and clog the boardwalk. The council also wants to limit the size and number of demonstrations. Many people consider the boardwalk a free speech zone.

Councilman Bill Rosendahl says it's the first step toward creating a more peaceful environment for boardwalk business owners, residents and thousands of visitors.

abc7.com

(CAMDEN TOWN) Holy guacamole! Camden has banned amplified street music and now requires unplugged performers to buy licenses.With the help of the Great Golden Kazoo in the sky, buskers have formed a church to sidestep the new busking laws. The Church of the Holy Kazoo has just been formed in the nick of time by buskers exercising the human right to "preach" in public.

It all started when Buskers staged a "street jam" in the heart of Camden to protest against the controversial new rules to license busking in the borough. Street performer Jonny Walker came up with the idea after Camden council's new laws required buskers to pay for licenses. He realized that street preaching is protected under freedom of expression laws so he set up the Church of the Holy Kazoo. It means Jonny...

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(THE NETHERLANDS) An article at TheCityAtEyeLevel.com in the Netherlands has published an article portraying busking as a viable means of rejuvenating city streets. Some city's methodology include Glasgow, Melbourne, and Singapore."Busking is at risk of being licensed out of existence, with permit systems, auditions, fees, written application processes, equipment bans, scheduling and branding making the spontaneous, surprising art in public spaces a thing of the past."

The article goes on to discuss street performing policy, proposed permit systems, and a starters guide to encouraging busking in your city.

Many buskers prefer to be self-regulated but there are always a few who abuse this type of system. This can lead to public disputes where there is strong disagreement.

For more info,...

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(SAN JOSE) The Tico Times - Costa Rica's national newspaper - reports that skaters will no longer be legal in public transit in and around San José. Neither will walking between cars be tolerated. In an effort to refine the law, street-performers reacted with a large protest by marching down 2nd Street to Parque Nacional located near the Legislative Assembly building in the nation's capital. Why? Because some of the best busker acts at the parques involve skating and skateboards. The new law would thusly deprive them from making a living.

Zoobie, an editor at Busker Central, has actually busked Parque Central in downtown San José. Back in the day, it was a nice sunny venue aside from the vendors mostly selling fruits, vegetables, and artwork. People were appreciative and generous on market days. But segregating s...

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