Turin down the Tube

London Underground’s bid to make the process of waiting for a train a touch more pleasurable by introducing ‘legal’ buskers to the Tube network received an unexpected boost yesterday. Indie band Turin Brakes entertained passengers on the Jubilee line platform at Canary Wharf station, strumming out a quick two-track acoustic set.

The duo played Painkiller, a track that recently broke into the Top Ten, along with Average Man, a forthcoming single.

The ‘gig’ was part of a 16-week experiment that will see London Underground-endorsed musicians do their stuff at stations across the Tube system. Performers, including a classical violinist, a blues guitarist and a master in the Australian didgeridoo, have been licensed to play three-hour slots at select locations, including Charing Cross, Green Park, Leicester Square, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus and Tottenham Court Road stations.

Research has shown that a surprising 80 per cent of Tube users enjoy the sound of a busker while waiting for their Tube to lumber its way to the platform, confounding London Underground’s attempts to ban the ‘musicians’ entirely, and leading to the new scheme. Not that the ‘legal buskers’ will be making their fortunes from the change in attitude — they will still be relying on the public to cough up the readies.

Turin Brakes’ next show will be at a rather more recognised venue. Having failed to make enough cash to retire from their impromptu Canary Wharf shindig, the band will be playing the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival on June 28th.