Celebrities who started out as buskers - It has recently been reported that you’ll be able to pay London street performers with contactless payments, making it easier to support local talent. From Ed Sheeran to Pierce Brosnan, here are the celebrities who got their start on the streets.

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Ed Sheeran - Before his incredible rise to fame, Ed Sheeran shared his talents as a street musician.

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Ed Sheeran - Just last year, a video of a young Ed busking in London made its way online. You can watch that over on YouTube.

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Ed Sheeran - Funnily enough, Sheeran has been a friend of Passenger since he was 15. Passenger also got his start as a busker.

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Passenger - Passenger (real name Michael Rosenberg) is best known for hits ‘Let Her Go’ and ‘Home’.

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Passenger - The singer even toured as a busker, playing on the streets in the UK and Australia.

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Passenger - These days, Passenger is a successful musician. His new album, ‘Runaway’, is due out later this year.

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Rod Stewart - Before fronting Faces and starting his solo career, Rod Stewart busked in London.

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Rod Stewart - The singer teamed up with folk singer Wizz Jones to perform around the city.

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Rod Stewart - The hard work paid off! Rod Stewart is a multi-million album selling rock star. He is currently on a summer tour with Cyndi Lauper.

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George Michael - According to the Mirror, George Michael also got his start busking on the streets of London.

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George Michael - He performed in the Underground, belting out hits like ‘39’ by Queen.

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George Michael - From there, Michael found fame with Wham! and as a solo star. When he passed away on Christmas Day, 2016, he had sold over 120 million records worldwide.

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Pierce Brosnan - The Hollywood icon didn’t exactly get his start by performing songs on the street…

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Pierce Brosnan - Instead, the actor took up fire-eating. According to Busk.co, a circus agent noticed his skills and signed him for a three year circus run.

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Pierce Brosnan - Brosnan has had a hugely successful acting career. He will star in three films in 2018: ‘Spinning Man’, ‘Final Score’, and ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’.

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Eddie Izzard - Izzard is an eccentric personality who has done it all: acting, singing, stand-up, and even politics.

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Eddie Izzard - Izzard also didn’t sing on the street, but performed magic. “What we did was failed tricks, bad tricks”, he told LA Times.

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Eddie Izzard - But the bad tricks led to an established career in stand-up comedy and beyond.

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Laura Marling - Laura Marling was a busker on the streets of London. You can watch her perform over on YouTube.

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Laura Marling - Marling found success with her debut album, ‘Alas, I Cannot Swim’.

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Laura Marling - These days, Laura is a BRIT Award-winning star. She recently teamed up with Mike Lindsay for a new group called LUMP.

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Joe Strummer - Before he pioneered punk music with The Clash, Joe Strummer was a humble busker on the streets of London.

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Joe Strummer - According to JoeStrummer.org, his first gig was at Green Park in London, where he performed with a ukulele he got for £1.99.

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Joe Strummer - After making it big on the busking circuit, Strummer took off with The Clash. They released iconic records like ‘London Calling’ and ‘Rock the Casbah’.

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David Gilmour - Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour earned his stripes as a street busker.

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David Gilmour - Apparently, Gilmour busked around Spain and France back in 1966. He wasn’t too successful, and even got treated for malnutrition. But his lack of success led him back to the UK, where he joined Pink Floyd.

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David Gilmour - Now, Gilmour is an undisputed rock star. Aside from his work on ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ and ‘The Wall’, he has an established solo career.

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Newton Faulkner - Folk singer Newton Faulkner also got his start on the streets.

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Newton Faulkner - According to Busk.co, Faulkner used to perform in Covent Garden.

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Newton Faulkner - These days, Faulkner is a successful singer-songwriter. But he did return to busking in 2012 for a charitable cause. He performed to raise money for Centrepoint, a charity that combats youth homelessness.

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