What can be done about London buskers blasting out Sweet Caroline on repeat?

Tensions between London buskers and residents have reached a boiling point, after locals insist they are fed up of hearing ‘Sweet Caroline’ on repeat.

Fed up businesses and residents in Leicester Square have taken Westminster Council to court in first-of-its-kind case, accusing them of failing to crack down on nuisance buskers.

They say the music continues late into the night, and can be so poorly sung it is impossible to get any work done during the day.

Buskers have hit back saying the quality of London street performances in the whole of Europe and is part of city life, but some aren’t convinced.

Fadil Maqedonci, who has lived in the south corner or Leicester Square for 25 years, has said the situation has become so unbearable for him and his young family he has been forced to consider moving.

He told Metro: ‘I spent £4,000 on window modifications to try and block out the noise from busking so me and my children can sleep, but it hasn’t worked.’

The restaurant owner said he has repeatedly gone down into the streets at 3am in his pyjamas to beg the buskers to stop playing music.

‘They use so much amplification which is not allowed, but they don’t care. They have told me to f*** off before and they turn the crowd against you,’ Fadil said.

Westminster Magistrates heard how set lists are repeatedly played on loop, at a higher than necessary volume and well into the early hours

Simon Thomas, owner of the area’s iconic Hippodrome Casino, gave evidence at the hearing, saying the consistent thumping from amplifiers makes it impossible to get any work done in his office space.

He told Metro that despite musicians not being allowed to exceed 78 decibels, he has personally recorded them reaching 115 decibels.

‘Hosting meetings while Sweet Caroline is playing at ridiculously loud volumes is ridiculous,’ he said.

‘As batteries have evolved over the last five years, so have amplifiers which are now way more powerful than what they were.’

Just standing next to a group of buskers playing at what appears to be an acceptable volume, Metro recorded highs of 86 decibels.

All musicians who sign up and pay a license to busk in the area must sign a code of conduct which was introduced in 2021 following years of consultation.

This includes performances ending before 9pm, having a ‘varied repertoire’ to avoid song repetition, and using only basically-powered amplifiers in designated spots.

Six buskers have been prosecuted since September 2024 over unlicensed street entertainment offences.

Fines have ranged from £300 to £1,600 and in one case a 12-month conditional discharge.

But locals have said this is not enough, and there is no sign of the council bothering to police the buskers, leaving staff at Global Radio relying on noise cancelling headphones to get any work done.

And some buskers agree. Matt Bawtree, 21, who performs with his bandmates admitted other musicians with powerful amplifiers in the area ‘are not amazing’.

But his guitarist George Burton, also 21, said you get song repetition just by listening to Starbucks’ play their playlist in cafés.

‘The quality of busking in London is better than anywhere else in the UK, tourists come here and enjoy listening to us,’ he said.

‘They should maybe look into bringing in an audition scheme, but people come to Leicester Square to listen to us.’

Others in the area see no problem with the buskers, insisting it is just ‘part of life here’.

Jenny Bogolovova, 40, who has worked in Leicester Square for 11 years, said she ‘has never had a problem with it’.

She said: ‘I think it makes the area so much nicer. I genuinely don’t see the issue.’

Hashim, 53, agreed saying ‘they are just trying to make a living’ and ‘there are much bigger problems in the area, like phone snatchers’.

Jonathan Manning, representing the council, said buskers do not amount to a nuisance under law.

He told the court: ‘To pursue the authority as the owner of the land, it is necessary for Global to prove that the person responsible for the nuisance cannot be found.

‘Yet their evidence proves the opposite. In the reports provided by Global of their own monitoring attempts of the buskers, specific buskers are named frequently and in live evidence Global’s witnesses made it clear that they know some buskers so well they can sing every word to their sets and know the order of songs.’

A Westminster City Council spokesperson said: ‘The council has to strike a balance, minimising disruption to our residents and businesses while allowing street performers to continue entertaining the city’s visitors as they have throughout history.

‘Our City Inspectors and Environmental Health teams work closely with the police to address noise concerns and will continue to seize equipment or prosecute individuals when necessary.”’

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