Ali Kose

Video shows Ali Köse belting out Maroon 5 classic at Marble Arch station
Over 100 commuters joined in with the festivities on Friday night
Station staff turned off soundsystem after station became congested

Footage of a busker entertaining huge crowds at a packed London Tube station has been viewed almost 700,000 times in just three days.

When musician Ali Köse began his set at Marble Arch station, central London, on Friday night, it soon turned into an impromptu dance-off with more than 100 revellers joining in and performing some moves with each other.

And in footage captured by passerby Natasha Violeta, the crowds are seen whooping and cheering him on - before station staff were forced to turn off his sound system.

Busker Ali Köse says he is 'overwhelmed' by the response online after the video was viewed by thousands

In video footage, Ali Köse, 32, is seen playing his guitar and belting out the 2010 Maroon 5 classic Moves Like Jagger, as well as a rendition of Daft Punk's 2013 hit Get Lucky, at the packed underground station.

Passengers - some dressed in Christmas party gear such as reindeer antlers - are seen holding hands and dancing together as Ali plays.

The clip, posted on Facebook late on Friday night, has been viewed almost 700,000 times in just three days, and shared by more than 13,000 people.

'Nice to see some positivity and people smiling and having a good time,' wrote one viewer.

Natasha, who uploaded the clip, said, 'This is the most INSANE underground busking i've seen, the crowd just kept coming.

'Started off with a few but ended with the underground staff having to unplug his sound system.'

Busker Ali, who had been singing on the London underground network for less than two weeks when his performance went viral, told the Evening Standard he was 'overwhelmed' by the response online.

'I’m a busker five days a week,' he said. 'I work really hard so it’s a bit emotional, that reaction from a crowd. It’s never happened to this degree.' - UNITY BLOTT FOR MAILONLINE

A busker started an impromptu party at Marble Arch station when his music was so good that dozens of people took a break from their journeys to stop and dance.

Ali Köse's guerilla gig on Friday evening saw him bring the Tube station to a standstill as swathes of people gathered to dance while he played hit after hit.

His rendition of Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky' first drew in the crowds, before he launched into a cover of Maroon 5's 'Moves like Jagger' that saw the concourse erupt into a party.

Onlookers captured footage of the incident, which shows passengers backed up as far as the escalators while the foyer filled with people who were dancing and singing along to Köse's music.

Natasha Didi posted a video of the spontaenous concert to YouTube, saying: "Going home from work and ending up being in the middle of Marble Arch station enjoying amazing music."

Natasha Violeta also shared footage of Köse's gig on Facebook, writing: "This is the most INSANE underground busking I've seen, the crowd just kept coming. Started off with a few but ended with the underground staff having to unplug his sound system. This is talent!"

Ms Didi's film ends with station staff approaching Köse, who was in one of the London Underground's dedicated busking spots, and asking him to stop the music before the party got too out of hand. - HANNAH AL-OTHMAN

The busker who started an impromptu party at Marble Arch station had been singing on the Tube network for less than a fortnight when he became a viral internet sensation.

Ali Köse, 32, admitted he was “overwhelmed” by the response his video has garnered online in the days since his performance on Friday night.

His rendition of songs by Daft Punk and Maroon 5 on Friday night has racked up hundreds of views.

Mr Köse left his family’s catering business to take up busking full-time in summer 2014, but was only given a licence to play on the Underground on November 30.

He told the Standard he “would never have imagined” he would get such a huge response within days of taking up his new pitch.

“I’m a busker five days a week,” he said. “I work really hard so it’s a bit emotional, that reaction from a crowd. It’s never happened to this degree.”

Asked what he thought his appeal was, he said: “I think I’m a really passionate singer. I don’t just sing a song – I perform it like I’m in a concert.”

Although he picked up his first guitar at 11 years old, Mr Köse said he didn’t try out his singing voice until he was 19.

When he revealed to family and friends he was quitting his job to make a living playing on the streets, they were aghast.

“People probably looked at me like I was insane to go and do a less respectable job,” he laughed.

“I didn’t have a busking licence – I was just doing it on the street. You’re put almost on the level of a beggar.

“But I wasn’t begging anyone to give me any money – I’m just lifting up people’s spirits.”

All the same, he admitted the income from busking was “generous”, adding: “I don’t like to tell people how much I make, but I would like to say it’s generous.

“It probably makes more than you would do in a normal job if you work hard at it for four to five hours a day, which is what I do.

“People aren’t stingy. They’re throwing pound coins – if there are 180 people you would get £180. It could be more than that, or sometimes it could be much less. It depends how many people are taking it in.” - RAMZY ALWAKEEL

This is the brilliant moment a busker got dozens of people moving Like Jagger at a tube station.

More than a 100 commuters partied away when a busker belted out the classic hit.

The civilised underground etiquette went out the window as the party took off.

What started as a few dancing revellers, turned into a packed crowd - cheering on the musician.

The scene captured at Mable Arch Station in London featured busker Ali Kose.

His performance of the Maroon 5 classic, released in 2010, has quickly become a viral sensation.

More than 400,000 people have viewed the clip posted on Facebook .

One person said: "Nice to see some positivity and people smiling and having a good time."

Not everyone was feeling the music as the performance was cut short at the end by London Underground staff.

A worker can be seen switching off the sound system - perhaps because the area of station had become a little bit congested. - PAUL HARPER

A busker's catchy tunes helped start an impromptu dance party at Marble Arch station on Friday night.

Video shows passengers stopping their journey to dance and sing along to the underground performance.

The musician, Ali Köse, told ITV London that more than one hundred people joined in the fun.

"There was a point at which I didn't have to sing the lyrics," he said, because the crowd was singing so loudly.

The video shows passengers on the concourse dancing along to a cover of Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky' and then Maroon 5's 'Moves like Jagger'.

The party ended when a staff member at the station turned off the power over health and safety concerns.

Mr Köse says it's not the first time his music has started an impromptu party, but it's the first one that's gained so much attention.

He told ITV News that he busks up to six times a week. - ITV REPORT

Christmas spirit? Check (for reference: the man wearing reindeer antlers).

Catchy soundtrack? Check. This busker has a great cover of Get Lucky.

Challenging perceptions? Again, check. People on the London Underground aren’t meant to be making eye contact, much less dancing with each other.

But the party got started at the bottom of Marble Arch escalators earlier this week, when people postponed their journeys to join in with their fellow travellers singing along.

Natasha Violeta uploaded footage to Facebook and it has been warming people’s hearts ever since.

After he got home, busker Ali Köse posted on Twitter: ‘Tonight was amazing! The underground got woken up with a good Kozy set! Priceless moment for me’

It had a strong reaction on Facebook, with more than 7,000 shares already

Things got so rocking that London Underground staff reportedly had to come to unplug the sound system and shut things down, because the station was getting too congested.

Ali has also been spotted at the North Greenwich Underground.

To keep updated with the busker (who suddenly has a LOT more fans), visit his Twitter. - Jenn Mills

You may have seen this video going around just before Christmas.

The video, which has been viewed over a million times, was filmed one Friday night last month in Marble Arch tube. The guy in the video is 32-year-old Ali Köse, from Lewisham.
He told BuzzFeed News: “The acoustics in the station sounded awesome. My voice was travelling up the escalators. People were smiling on the way down who had probably heard me from the top of the escalators.
“After around 45 minutes or so of me busking, slowly but surely when I started playing more funky pop cover-song combos, people were spontaneously dancing in front of me and were really enjoying the music I was performing.”
Eventually, station staff moved Köse on.

He said: “The impromptu party dancers were not so happy and didn’t want to leave when I was stopped - they just kept shouting - one more song….. I raised my poster which had my social media details on and people were chanting my name very loudly.”
“I was overwhelmed and felt extremely lucky to have had experienced such a unique moment as a new busker on the London Underground with over 100 people dancing and singing to my pop cover songs.”
But Köse’s story doesn’t end there. He said that, pretty soon “my inbox was flooded with encouraging events opportunities, messages from all around the world.” His story was picked up by some media outlets including Heart Radio and ITV News.
He says it’s changed his life and that people are recognising him on the street.

He said: “I’m starting to get a wide variety of booking requests which is allowing me to network with people within the industry which I’m sure will open more doors within the progression of my career. This is exactly the kind of opportunity I was hoping for.”
As a result of the video, he’s now working on a new album and has been invited to perform at festivals in France, Switzerland and Italy. On top of that, he also just completed a busking performance slot for the ‘Rock Through The Ages’ exhibition at Kings Cross Station and will be back next month for the launch day of an event called Busking in London.
He’s still got one ambition left though: And that’s to play with Nile Rodgers: “The picking style of guitar he plays inspires me,” he says. - Alan White