The Organised Londoner, Scott.

“You sure?”

He asked me as I handed him a five dollar note and an utterly insufficient compliment.

Was I sure? About giving five bucks to a dude with big enough balls to rock a Katy Perry song in the middle of the street? Fuck yeah I was sure!

“Yeah, it does sort of come with a catch though.”

I introduced myself and explained a little bit about the project. He told me his name (Scott) and gave me his cell phone number, just in case I ever wanted to jam, all within thirty seconds of me sitting down next to him.

Scott has to go down as one of the coolest Londoners I've thus far met in my life. I soon learned that he was not only a regular busker but a songwriter too.  We seemed to share a lot of common ground.

“Have you heard of the Fringe bar?”

“Na man.”

“It’s a little bar on Allan Street, just off of Courtenay Place. They have an open mic there on Tuesday nights. You should go along and play some of your stuff, it’s a really supportive environment.”

“Yeah, cheers, I’ll check it out.”

At this point, I noticed he had a clear-file sitting at his feet. It was presently open to a page containing the chords and lyrics for “Roar”, the song he was playing when I stopped to listen.

“Can I have a look through?”

“Yeah, go for it.”

 The whole thing was full of guitar chords and lyrics to just about every song you’d hope to hear from an acoustic guitar playing singer on the street. He had everything in there from Mumford and Sons to Oasis.

With his playlist in my hands, an idea occurred to me.

“Hey, would you mind if I sang one with you?”

“Not at all, take the lead.”

“I’ll just look for one I like.”

After a minute or so of flicking through, I settled on an acoustic rendition of Outkast's “Hey Ya”, a tune I have committed to memory and play numerous times whenever I go out busking myself.

We slid into a functional recreation of the song with me singing for the most part and him offering back up vocals and of course the chords in support. I managed to draw a few amused looks from passers-by (one of which being my older brother which made for a random but enjoyable brief reunion) and couldn't keep a smile off my face. That song is sorta my jam.

Again having gotten far more than I bargained for out of the experience (a theme I am now thinking will become commonplace as this project progresses) I thanked Scott for his time and left him to his playing and his friend from the hostel he’s staying at who was walking by and stopped to request “Redemption song.”

To catch Scott in action, head down towards the Cuba/ Dixon Street intersection (I found him near there across from where the SpecSavers is). I caught him on a Saturday afternoon circa 1 pm but he assured me he’s out all over the city at various times throughout the week and on weekends, including in the evening. Check out his clear-file of songs too, there’s bound to be one out of the 30 odd he has in there that you’ll like or ask him to play one of his originals for you.