Manchester’s Best Busker was officially crowned at the live final of Manchester’s Got Busker Talent, which was held at The Printworks on Sunday 19th November.
The inaugural event, organised by Survivors Manchester, a charity that supports male survivors of sexual violence, was a resounding success with a swarm of Mancunians coming together in support of the 1BlueString campaign, devised by 1in6.org. 1BlueString is a global campaign that aims to support the 1 in 6 men who have been victims of sexual abuse.
Joel Gardner, from Wilmslow, was crowned King of Manchester’s Got Busker Talent, securing the £500 voucher prize, after an astounding performance of his unreleased original song ‘Still Not The Same’. For his winning performance, Joel performed his single ‘More To Life’ taken from EP ‘The Idea’.
Joel said: “It’s absolutely amazing to have been crowned the winner of ‘Manchester’s Got Busker Talent’. Survivors Manchester is such a worthy cause, so I’m just really proud to have been able to support them by taking part in the first place!”
The entries received were narrowed down to just 17 talented buskers, who were then invited to battle it out in front of a panel of esteemed judges.
Judges included Survivors Manchester’s ambassadors, Edinburgh Fringe Award winning comedian Richard Gadd; UK based multi-genre DJ, Sam Thompson, aka BassDuckFresh; as well as journalist and ex-NME staff writer, Ally Fogg, and Chair of Survivors Manchester, Craig Harris.
Duncan Craig, CEO and founder of Survivors Manchester, said: “There was such a positive response to the campaign, people from all ages and genres taking part, and to see so many Mancunians involved was fantastic. It’s incredible how much busking talent there is in Manchester, and amazing that we could include them in our campaign of raising awareness and showing solidarity for the boys and men affected by unwanted sexual experiences.”
Fred Booth, Centre Director of The Printworks, said: “When we first heard about the idea, we couldn’t wait to get involved and support the amazing work Survivors Manchester does across the region. It was great to welcome so many people and so much talent into our wonderful venue.”
For further information on Survivors Manchester, please visit www.survivorsmanchester.org.uk
