ASBO for buskers who only knew two songs

A busking duo who tormented a Birmingham village by continuously playing just two songs have been given an anti-social behaviour order banning them from performing in the area.

Guitarist James Ryan and dustbin lid-player Andrew Stevens would regularly perform late night renditions of the only songs they knew - Wonderwall by Oasis and George Michael’s Faith – in Moseley village, Birmingham.

However, the plug has been pulled on their impromptu gigs after frustrated locals said the performances turned Moseley into a ‘nightmare of loud noise and fighting’.


Photos from here.

The complaints led to Ryan, 40, and Stevens, 39 - both of no fixed address - being banned from entering parts of Moseley and playing musical instruments in public in the area. The pair were also banned from begging anywhere in England and Wales.

They were warned they faced jail if they breached the two-year anti-social behaviour orders handed down yesterday by District Judge Qureshi at Birmingham Magistrates Court.

After the hearing, Ryan said: “The whole thing’s about playing a guitar, it’s a joke. Most people loved it.”