There was a time when walking down The Headrow in Leeds meant you might hear proper singing. I know because I used to do it myself. You stood outside the shops, used your lungs properly, and filled the street with a loud, clear tune without needing a stack of speakers.
That was back when people actually knew how to sing.
Walk down The Headrow today and it is just a racket. Kids sit on wooden boxes holding guitars and whisper into little battery amplifiers. They do not even strum the strings properly. They just tap the wood like they are trying to knock on a door, while mumbling words you cannot understand.
What happened to singing out loud?
Instead of a proper tune, you just get modern tricks. One lad stands by the bus stop straining his neck to make his voice crack on every line like he has a bad throat. Another person plays three boring chords and pulls a face like they are in pain, thinking that makes them sound deep.
It does not. It just sounds awful.
The worst part is the people walking past who throw money into their cases. They are not paying for good music. They just recognize a tune from the telly and feel sorry for them.
Real street singing needs backbone. You need a voice that can cut over the sound of a double decker bus. You need to know how to hold a tune and make people stop in their tracks.
What we have now on The Headrow is just poor singing disguised as art.
The council should stop giving permits to anyone who cannot project their voice without a microphone. Put the wooden boxes away and make them sing with just their lungs.
If they cannot do it, I will gladly stand on the curb and show them how it is done.
Someone has to teach Leeds what real singing sounds like.
Reader Comments
Leave a Comment or a Book Review
We would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, or even a complete book review.