Even Buskers Have Spin Doctors Nowadays
Guido got an email yesterday with a story claiming that Boris posed for a photo-op with a busker handing over a twenty pound note. When the photo-op was completed he put the twenty back in his pocket. Cheapskate!
Having not been invited to yesterday's "Bloggers for Boris" lunch (Tories only) Guido was in the mood for a bit of Boris bashing. So Guido contacted the busker, Claire Toomey, and she gave a surprisingly carefully worded explanation.
I was busking in Croydon in November (ish) and Boris Johnson came up to me and posed in front of me for pictures. He didn't really speak to me. When he left, a passer by came up to me and said did he give you that £20 and I said what £20? When I looked in my guitar case there was nothing there and I thought that was a bit odd.
Fantastic. Guido hunted around for the picture. Guido asked if she knew anyone who had the picture. She suggested Guido contact her PR company. A busker with a PR agent?Anyway Guido did contact her PR. No picture. She also admits she didn't actually see Boris proffer a £20 note either.
Claire has a nice MySpace site and an album coming out shortly which needs publicity...
UPDATE : Have now got hold of the photographer for the local paper - he says Boris threw some change in the hat - there never was any note. Ken backing bloggers are of course running with the spin...
Claire has a nice MySpace site and an album coming out shortly which needs publicity...
UPDATE : Have now got hold of the photographer for the local paper - he says Boris threw some change in the hat - there never was any note. Ken backing bloggers are of course running with the spin...
39 comments:
Maybe the photo was of Boris *removing* a £20 note....
What would Ken have given her?
Does she declare her buskings earnings to HMRC?
Bet she bloody doesn't.
Thought he did give her some change. Isn't this a story off Labourhome?
Not a story off LabourHome, a story that she has punted everywhere.
Lee Jasper probably swooped in and took it while no one was looking.
Maybe old Boris just made a secret donation to his favourite charity just like 'snouter' Blair?
So, all in all, it's a complete non-story then. There may or may not have been a £20, which may or may not have been proffered and may or may not have been removed. Instead of wasting electrons on this, how about another teaser to follow that of Monday afternoon [under "Pigs to Westminster, home of the pork"]. Come on, Guido, give someone [and preferably lots of the scoundrels] a nervous and uncomfortable weekend.
Boris recently gave a rushed, garbled address to an assembly of paying Conservative Party members in Richmond before he rushed off to a more important engagement elsewhere. It was a cynical, insincere performance that left me less inclined to vote for him than before I went.
so all that stuff about £20 notes is noise.. It seems to me you're looking for an excuse to recommend (plug) that people buy this person's record. Is she a friend? I'm not going to buy it, I can't stand busking music.
Busker my left nostril! Not only does she have as you say a PR, she has also gathered up Judy Tzuke as one of her MySpace friends.
Does Mrs Fawkes know about all this boosting?
This story is a con! does she have Labour part links?
It stinks. Big time.
Watch out for backlash in which it is revealed that Claire is a lying little tosser.
Blimey Guido - all that fossicking about and no bleedin'story. Tasty bird tho - keep up the good work!
inflation eroded it
I don't understand this story. Boris may or may not have given the busker £20, which the busker herself didn't appear to be aware of, for a photo-op of which a picture doesn't appear to exist.
So really you appear to be plugging a busker's cd.
Eh?
Boris doesn't offer a woman money who then doesn't get money.
Is this a story?
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww she aint showing her tits. Not fair. Osama kindly requested more tits on guido.
Who cares, £20 easy come, easy go. Let her get a real job, bloody bum.
Busker ????
Guested on Judy Tzukes 2007 tour. Released a single co-written with Tzuke.
http://www.tzuke.com/
An "about to happen" artist since 2005
http://www.guilfest.co.uk/2005/html/about-the-bands-claire-toomey.htm
The biggest story here is the punctuational ineptitude of the bloggers at Labour home. Those erroneous question marks are delightful.
It's rather awesome too that this is the best Labour can come up with. But when your own candidate cavorts with dictators, terrorist sympathisers, and is an anti-Semite, you'll clutch at any straw you can.
Incidentally, I have checked out Claire Toomey's Myspace page and I have come to the conclusion that she would *probably* get it
you are spot on with this. the amazing thing is that anyone, christ, anyone, believed the photo op line when the photos of boris with the 20 haven't been put out. i mean, are the labour bloggers completely completely idiotic?
Gosh, these buskers are something else!
Bumped into Boris Johnson busking away in London last weekend. He was ok-ish and he belted out his latest tune "Water Melon Smiles"
The snag was I only had a fifty on me having just put my small change in Ken Leavingsoon's hat. Ken's rendition of "Whiskey Lullaby" bought a tear to my eye after his mate Lee poked his finger in it and snarled menacingly about me being a jew if that was all I could afford.
Roll on the big vote I say. Let's put an end to this silly political shenanigans.
You can't blame him, can you? I'd want my money back if she declined a shag.
"Running with the spin" . . .
Whose spin exactly - the Ken spin or your own, Guido?
Oops, forgot - "to spin" is one of those irregular verbs.
Guido
You didn't name the PR.
Can we know the name?
Does she have Ken/Nulab/GLA affiliations?
Hi
First the Tory boys said I had made up the story but now they claim that he was there and did give money, even though Claire Toomey has flatly denied he gave her anything!
Borisgate?
BYW nothing wrong with me punchication?
12:24 PM
Wanna schnork on mine, honeybin?
John Gray, EVERYONE said you made the story up. Not just the Tories.
Either you made it up, or you helped spread a lie, which is just as bad.
Maybe you could do something useful, instead? Perhaps you could get Ken to stop being anti-Semite and stop him making attacks on black people (i.e., like Trevor Philips) that don't suck up to him?
Just because someone has a cd available does not mean they are raking it in like KT Tunstall and not playing big venues with big chart success, bills still need to be paid which is why people busk. Also a great way of a young performer to practice in front of a crowd to get over nerves. I have seen plenty of buskers selling cds.
Think somw people have no idea about the music industry.
As for the story, it's a bit pointless really. Unless it gives a hard working singer song writer a break that is.
You know, the more I hear of what your indigents earn tax-free, the more this Pinko is tempted to come over there and give the class structure you've got a reason to re-examine itself.
TopCat had a coin on a string.
Wiki says:
Top Cat is laid-back and persuasive, a leader who can also be a friend. Top Cat's leadership is sometimes challenged by the rest of the gang, particularly when he has done something particularly shameful. Resolution of the revolt usually comes as capitulation by Top Cat to the will of the gang.
What I find most annoying about this discussion is that in amongst your bickering and wild assumptions, you have forgotten that Claire Toomey is a real person with feelings. You are publicly publishing all kinds of defamatory remarks about a person you don't even know, though I notice the far more defamatory remarks are rather cowardly posted anonymously.
Claire is a *working* artist, so of course she has a PR agent. She is also LICENSED to perform in public, and this, along with arduous amounts of live performances is exactly how our artists hone their craft. So by all means bicker amongst yourselves, but when you decide to set upon an innocent bystander (or to be more precise in this case, an exploited bystander) and their chosen profession then at least have the decency to understand a little about that industry before you go making your wild accusations.
... and for the record, yes I do know Claire and yes I am a fan of her as an artist also.
Dave Boulden, regardless of what occurred she has unfortunately got involved in this affair. The likelihood is that it was a totally harmless photo opportunity which one of the newtlover's fans (Grey?) has hijacked for political ends. I don't think anyone is having a go at Claire Toomey at all for this.
Well yes, on the whole this discussion is sticking to the topic at hand, but I urge you to re-read the second post by "M person" (specifically the "lying little tosser" remark), then "Anonymous" at 1:30pm March 07, and "bogeyman" at 3:25pm... that is the kind of comment I was referring too.
Claire may well indeed have been simply "caught up" in all this, but that's no excuse for anyone else to turn the discussion towards insulting her. It has been made clear she was not invlolved in any way other than to have been randomly exploited by Boris for a contrived photo-op.
"John Gray, EVERYONE said you made the story up. Not just the Tories.
Either you made it up, or you helped spread a lie, which is just as bad."
So in what way is he doing any different than Guido is?
Phwoah, I'd honey-glase her for £20.
Fancy £65k, luv.
As original fan of Claire Toomey I always wish that I will go UK some day ,and will attend Claire’s gig or street show …
Heres what claire had to say in response in her myspace blog...
So what?
In order to stand there busking, I had to have a license and written approval from Croydon Council to street perform. I also have to be licensed to perform on the Underground. When I made a video a few month's earlier, I specifically had to seek permission for people to be filmed.
How is it then that Boris, can waltz up, take a photo with me and waltz off again without uttering a word? In the business of his campaign, he neither asked my permission; thanked me nor paid me for the photo oportunity. He presumed I was a usable prop, happy to support him and his endeavours.
Boris is clearly a colourful character but that should not put him above the need for common decency and respect for the people he wants to vote for him.
Subsequently, on several political websites, Tory bloggers have accused me of being a Labour plotter. They have also made sexist remarks. Perhaps more relevant, though, they have demonstrated total ignorance of me, buskers and the music industry.
It seems to me, Boris's bloggers are somewhat confused between buskers and beggars. As a busker I am part of a community of artists and musicians honing our craft, working hard doing a job we love and hopefully along the way contributing to the culture of our city.
In the interests of political balance, the invitation to play tambourine is also open to Ken Livingston.
I am already working on a version of "Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner" in anticipation!!
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