THIS IS the Year of the Bus in London, and to help to celebrate several anniversaries of the great people-carriers, three mini pop concerts are being held on a new-style Routemaster bus. A competition will be held to win a seat on Sunday 18 May 2014 on an RMT, pictured on the Dalston route, which will start in Shoreditch, picking up a tiny number of winners, along with a lot of freeloading bloggers – sorry, journalists – at noon. Then, as refreshments are served, grimester Ghetts, ex-private-school-now-rapper G FrSH and Raheem “Flyer than my zip” Bakare will entertain the passengers. (Big up, Cockney talent.)

The RMT’s hop-on, hop-off doors will not be open: the pre-booked hacks surely constitute enough riff-raff for one journey. In Soho and at Camden, Laura Mvula and other English artistes will take the microphone. They have been lined up by Oxjam and Transport for London (TfL) under the title Bus Jam.

The Year of the Bus commemorates 60 years since the first Routemaster, 75 years since the not-dissimilar RT Type and 100 years since the the B-Type that carried soldiers to the frontline in the First World War. It may not be as exclusive as a Courtney Love coffee shop gig in Clapton but TfL is terming Bus Jam “the first ever series of live music performances on board a new Routemaster”. So boasting rights are… well, massive. Hamish Scott 100514   * To apply for tickets for the Shoreditch pickup, press this link https://www.facebook.com/transportforlondon/photos/a.231642850225865.59681.212038972186253/701899969866815/?type=1

 * Backstory: New RMT greenlit for No 38
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