A boogie-woogie pianist last night criticized police for joining flag-waving Chinese tourists' “ridiculous” demands not to film them while he recorded a livestream from London's St Pancras station.
Brendan Kavanagh, who goes by the name Dr.
Video posted on his YouTube channel shows the musician playing the piano in the busy train station while the group of Chinese tourists stand in the background.
They later turn to Kavanagh and ask him not to film them. One of the women says she works for Chinese television.
Dr. K refuses to stop filming, telling them: “We're in the UK, we're not in China” and insists he can continue his livestream because they're in a public place.
The incident then escalates dramatically when one of the tourists shouts at him after accusing Kavanagh of touching one of the women. The pianist denies this and says he touched her flag.
Moments later, police officers arrive – one pulls Kavanagh aside and asks him not to post the video on YouTube. The musician repeatedly questions this and says: “We are in a free country.”
Speaking to TalkTV last night, Kavanagh said: “I thought 'dammit, we're in the city of London and some Chinese people are telling me what I'm not allowed to do.' And I thought 'enough is enough.'
Brendan Kavanagh (pictured at the piano), who regularly goes to the train station to play boogie-woogie tunes, was livestreaming on YouTube when he was approached by a woman in the tourist group
In the video, Mr Kavanagh told the group he was allowed to film in public, but was still threatened with legal action and was even called a “racist” for telling tourists “this isn't China”.
“The guy used the R-word.” As soon as you say “You're racist,” the British police melt away. “It was so ridiculous,” he added.
This happened after one of two police officers told the pianist: “This is not allowed to be broadcast on your channel” while Mr Kavanagh continued filming after officers intervened.
The other officer told the Chinese tourist who had shouted at Mr Kavanagh that he had the right to film because he was in a public place.
“I was so glad I actually had it filmed because if I told it people wouldn't believe me, but the fact that it was livestreamed… It was completely spontaneous and now the world has seen it,” he added.
Before officers arrived, the situation escalated when the group politely asked him to stop filming, after which Mr Kavanagh was accused of “trying to touch” one of the female tourists after appearing to point at the Chinese flag, which she held in her hand. He denied the accusation.
They insisted they liked his music but would “take legal action” because they had reached an agreement with others not to show the music online, claiming they were “protecting our own image rights.”
He replies that if they don't want to be on camera, they just have to “go away.”
A male member of the group, who complained loudest about being filmed, suddenly started screaming, “Why are you touching her?” Stop touching her. Do not touch her.'
Mr Kavanagh had touched the lady's pennant to show she was holding a Chinese flag.
He added: “You're not the same age, don't touch her.” The woman intervened and said: “Don't shoot him, don't shoot him. 'What's the problem?'
The woman (pictured) told him that she worked for Chinese television and asked if they were in view of his camera. Then she responded with the answer: “That wasn’t allowed.”
The tourists, wearing red scarves, gathered around the pianist, who repeatedly explained to them that he was allowed to film since they were in a public place. “We are in the UK, we are not in China,” he added
Mr Kavanagh said on TalkTV last night (pictured) that the interaction with the tourists was “all about what I couldn't do and what they could do”.
Mr Kavanagh, who is also Dr.
The piano player kept pointing to the small red flags with five yellow stars, which he claimed were communist flags.
One of the tourists said that Mr Kavanagh should “educate himself” as the flag was not a Communist Party flag – which would show a yellow hammer and sickle instead of the five stars.
The woman the pianist allegedly touched – which he denies – said she was “here to celebrate the New Year” and did not want to be filmed.
The couple repeatedly accused Mr Kavanagh of “disrespecting their right” by filming them, but the piano player reiterated that he was allowed to film them as there is no expectation of privacy in a public place in the UK.
As police officers approached, a tourist told the male officer that Mr Kavanagh had been filming them and they had asked him to remove the footage, but he refused.
“You are in a public place,” the police officer explained repeatedly – until the policewoman intervened and said to the cameraman: “Excuse me, if we have a police matter, put the phone down.”
Mr Kavanagh then addressed his audience as officers took the tourists aside. He said: “The Chinese Communist Party has banned us from filming here.”
The policewoman then warned him: “By the way, this isn't on your channel, I'm talking to you here.” But Mr Kavanagh interrupted him and said: “Listen, we're in Britain, we're in public spaces, it's a free country .”
The official added: “It says you made communist comments about them,” but Mr Kavanagh denied this, adding that he only said they were waving communist flags.
One of two police officers (pictured behind the pianist) who walked past and stopped because of the loud argument, told the pianist: “This is not allowed to be broadcast on your channel” as Mr Kavanagh continued filming after the officers intervened
The situation soon escalated after Mr Kavanagh was accused of trying to touch one of the female tourists after appearing to point at the Chinese flag she was holding. One of the tourists shouted at him, which the pianist responded with a confused look (pictured here)
She also questioned him about the allegation that he had tried to touch one of the tourists, which the pianist denied. He said: “I didn't try to touch her, that's why I have a camera.”
'She [the tourists] have requested that the video they are referring to be deleted and not used on your channel […] “They work for a company and their faces cannot be shown on television or any other channel,” she told Mr Kavanagh.
Eventually the tourists and police officers backed off, leaving Mr. Kavanagh to end his livestream with more boogie-woogie songs after declaring, “Freedom of expression prevails.”
Mr Kavanagh said on TalkTV last night that the interaction with the tourists was “all about what I couldn't do and what they could do”.
A British Transport Police spokesman said: “We are aware that a video of a disagreement at St Pancras station was circulated on social media on Friday 19 January.” Officers on patrol came across the incident and the situation was resolved de-escalated.”
Important facts about Dr. K aka Brendan Kavanagh
- Brendan Kavanagh's late father was a plasterer from Co Cork.
- When Brendan was about seven years old, his father brought home a piano that had been left at a construction site.
- The aspiring musician had piano lessons as a child. In his twenties, he studied with Nelly Ben-Or, an international concert pianist and Holocaust survivor.
- Brendan first heard Boogie Woogie around the age of 17 when he saw Jools Holland perform on Channel 4's The Tube. Contrary to various “reports” online, he has never actually performed with Jools Holland or Dexy's Midnight Runners.
- After playing with various bands in London, he met the legendary boogie-woogie player Hammy Howell (1954-1999), who had played with the chart band Darts.
- Howell gave the teenager four boogie-woogie lessons and taught him Hammy's Boogie.
- Brendan's increasingly frustrating work as an English and Latin teacher led him to write a book called Toxic Teaching.
- These days he describes himself as a “teacher, performer and entrepreneur” with a series of piano study guides called “Badass Boogie Bundles.”