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Press and Journal
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Press and Journal
Beloved Inverness busker John Casey on tough start in Highlands, 30 years at Victorian Market and how city centre has changed
It was 1992 when John Casey jumped on a train to Inverness with only his dog Frank and his guitar. Heartbroken after splitting up with his girlfriend at the time, he needed to get away from Edinburgh where he had lived for the previous 10 years. He has never left the Highland capital and today, 32 years later, he is well-known by pretty much every man and woman in Inverness. Mr Cassey, now 69, can often be seen busking at the Victorian Market with Moby, his five-year-old Dalmatian. He sings and plays the guitar under a sign that reads: 'Mr John Cassey is the only busker authorised by the private traders to busk in this private section of the market.' Mr Casey was born in Blackburn, West Lothian, but moved to Edinburgh in 1982. While staying in the capital, he made a living from pub gigs after previously being in a band in his teenage years and then as part of a duo named Stella's Baby with his friend Metcalfe. Mr Casey told the P&J he 'was born with a musical brain'. He added: 'I was just born lucky, because I can't read or write music but if I hear a song I can learn it just by memory and I'll get the chords.' He started playing the guitar at age 12 and wrote his first song at 16. Mr Casey explained: 'I wrote it after a breakup with my first girlfriend, and it was my first sad song. 'It was the late 60s, early 70s when I was teaching myself how to play the guitar, so I was listening to songwriters who were becoming big, James Taylor, Don McLean, Ralph McTell. It was all about singer-songwriters at that time. 'And that's what I started doing, you know, introverted, lonely, sad singer, writing all these songs about how miserable they are.' The 69-year-old still sings what he considers his best hit, That's the Difference, a country love song he wrote aged 17 inspired by the music of Kris Kristofferson. After a decade in Edinburgh, Mr Casey decided to move up to Inverness following a break-up. He said: 'I was heartbroken, I had to move away. I'd been up here before. I first came up when I was 17. 'I hitchhiked up and sang at the Market Bar. That would be around 1973. And during the 70s, I hitchhiked up and down a lot because I always loved it.' The night before his big trip, he was beaten up by a bunch of guys near Cowgate. 'There were random things happening between different factions and I was walking and got jumped by about three guys and they just kicked me for a while and then ran off laughing,' he explained. The pain didn't stop him from jumping on the train to Inverness the day after. However, he started having second thoughts by the time the service reached Aviemore. He said: 'I started to see the white on the ground. And I was thinking, am I making a mistake? Should I have stayed where I was?' Things did not get easier in the following months, as he slept in a tent near the Ness Islands for the first months from November until March. He added: 'It was a bad winter, with a lot of snow and frost'. But the musician said 'stubbornness' kept him going. 'Once I'd made the move, I wasn't going back,' he said. When he arrived in Inverness, he could not get any gigs at pubs because dogs were not allowed in for most of them. Mr Casey had travelled to Inverness with Frank, his first dog, an 11-year-old semi-stray named after Frank Sinatra. He said: 'I found that hardly any places let dogs in, so I couldn't get any gigs, so I decided to try busking. 'I was really nervous, of course. I mean, I'd sung in front of people, and I never got nervous, but for some reason busking made me really nervous at the beginning. However, he soon found his rhythm and started making a living out of it. He explained that busking was 'successful straight from the start.' He said: 'The fact is, it's gotten less and less and less over the years because there are a lot fewer people in the town centre. 'A lot of the shops closed down, a lot of the offices moved away from the centre. I made more money during the 90s than I do now.' The experienced busker started playing six days a week, three and a half hours per day. He is now doing about an hour and a half three days a week. 'My voice won't go any further than that. I want it to last,' he said. However, he does not think about retirement. He said: 'Busking is absolutely the ideal way to make a living, because it's not work. 'I just walk out with my guitar and start singing, and that's it.' Mr Cassey initially busked outside the Victorian Market entrance on Union Street. However, he said there was another busker coming to town who started bullying him. He explained: 'He started bullying me out. Two or three of the traders got to hear about this, and that's when they put the sign up for me through there. So that put a stop to him. 'It means I've always got a pitch, you know, and it's dry. So, it's a fantastic thing.' Most of the songs he plays are from the 1960s and 1970s, as he says that 'everybody is still into the 60s'. 'I get a lot of attention from the high school kids on Fridays, when they leave school early, and they ask for the Beatles, the Stones, Pink Floyd and Dylan,' he explained. Mr Casey's favourite band is the Beatles and his favourite singer is Frank Sinatra. However, his preferred song at the moment is Piano Man by Billy Joel. He said: 'It's a great song, and everybody knows it. And it's one of those songs that every time I sing it, at least one person walks past mouthing the words.' Over his more than three decades of busking, Mr Casey has collected several generous donations while performing. Many years ago, a lady in her 90s gave him an envelope with £1,000 in £50 notes. Another woman once gave him a £100 voucher for shoes. 'I must have looked as if I needed them,' he joked. He added: 'Somebody gave me a basket of fruit once. 'I don't drink anymore, but when I drank somebody bought me a bottle of malt whisky. 'I've also had flowers. All sorts of random strange things.' After over three decades in the Highland capital, Mr Casey describes the people of Inverness as exceedingly 'friendly' He said: 'I noticed that when I first came up. People said good morning to me and that had never happened to me before. 'People that I'd never met, you know, saying 'good morning' and 'It's a lovely day.' The people are just so friendly.' Meanwhile, he thinks Inverness is a good city for busking. He said: 'I don't know financially, because that's never been a priority for me. 'I've never really had a burning ambition to be world famous or anything like that. So, this is just ideal for me. 'You know, it's just ideal. I feel like I did make it. And I've spent the last 30 years doing this and having a nice time.'
Irish Times
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Joe Duffy is leaving Liveline, but who will replace him?
From the end of June, the people of Ireland will no longer be able to pick up the phone and talk to Joe. Last week, Joe Duffy announced he was leaving his role as presenter of the RTÉ radio phone-in show after 27 years in the hot seat. The 69-year-old broadcaster, whose contract was due to expire this summer, said he was 'deeply privileged and eternally grateful' to have worked for so long presenting the programme. He also said he hoped Liveline had 'made people feel heard'. [ Joe Duffy to leave Liveline at the end of June after 27 years Opens in new window ] Over nearly three decades, Duffy presided over Ireland's court of public opinion, while his tagline, 'talk to Joe', could be seen as either an invitation or a threat. READ MORE His weekday radio slot gave a platform to issues that were sometimes ignored by the rest of the media. And some of the most unintentionally hilarious, totally unplanned, moments on Irish radio also emerged through the Liveline phone lines. [ Joe Duffy retirement: Liveline host presided over Ireland's court of public opinion Opens in new window ] What legacy does Duffy leave behind and who has the experience, and kudos, to fill his shoes? Today, on In The News, Joe Duffy is leaving but who will replace him? Irish Times radio columnist Mick Heaney discusses the history of Liveline, Duffy's career and the names already in the mix for the much-coveted afternoon slot. Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by John Casey.
NDTV
06-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
Google Revamps Salary Structure Incentivising Top Performers But There's A Catch
Tech giant Google is revamping its employee performance review process to offer bigger bonuses and equity grants to high-performing staff members. The new compensation structure at Google will take effect in time to influence 2025 end-of-year reviews and 2026 compensation, but there's a catch. In an email to staff, accessed by Business Insider, John Casey, Google's Global Head of Compensation, said the managers would be able to allocate the "Outstanding Impact" score to more employees than previously. "This means more Googlers will have the opportunity to achieve that rating during annual reviews, and their bonus and equity award will be modelled using the O's individual multiplier in 2026," Mr Casey wrote While those with the higher ratings will receive increased payouts, there appears to be a tradeoff -- one that would affect other employees. To support the shift, employees in the "Significant Impact" and "Moderate Impact" brackets will have their usual bonuses and equity slashed. "We want to be upfront that to fund this, we will slightly reduce bonus and equity payouts for those receiving a rating of Significant Impact and Moderate Impact," Mr Casey wrote in the email. "These changes are budget-neutral," he added, "and overall we're continuing to invest in comprehensive and highly competitive compensation and benefits." Notably, Google's internal review system, Google Reviews and Development (GRAD) is used to rate the performance of employees annually. The system categories employees across five tiers, from 'Not Enough Impact' to the top rating of 'Transformative Impact'. Most employees typically receive a 'Significant Impact' score, considered a strong rating. Google orders remote workers to return The fresh compensation structure comes in the backdrop of Google ordering its remote workers to return to the office if they want to keep their jobs and avoid being made redundant. The tech giant has told staff members in several units that their roles could be at risk if they do not start reporting to their closest office at least three days a week for a hybrid work schedule. "As we've said before, in-person collaboration is an important part of how we innovate and solve complex problems," a Google spokesperson said. "To support this, some teams have asked remote employees that live near an office to return to in-person work three days a week." Remote employees in Google's Technical Services unit are being offered a one-time paid relocation expense to move within 50 miles of an office.
India Today
05-05-2025
- Business
- India Today
Google changes its appraisal system, some employees could receive smaller bonuses
Google is updating its employee performance evaluation process, with the tech giant introducing changes that could see some workers receiving smaller bonuses and equity packages starting 2026. The company has decided to reward high performers better while tightening compensation for those rated in mid or lower performance bands, according to a report by Business a company-wide email, John Casey, Google's VP of Global Compensation and Benefits, told employees that managers will now be allowed to award the "Outstanding Impact" rating — one of the top performance categories — to a wider group of employees. This move is expected to benefit top performers, who will now be eligible for higher bonuses and stock make this change without increasing the overall budget, Google will reduce the compensation multipliers for employees falling under the "Significant Impact" and "Moderate Impact" brackets — two categories that represent a large portion of the workforce. While Casey clarified that "Significant Impact" remains a strong rating, it will fetch less than what employees in this category might have previously received. "We want to be upfront that to fund this we'll be slightly reducing the bonus and equity individual multipliers for Significant Impact and Moderate Impact ratings. It's important to note that Significant Impact will remain a strong rating — achieving it will still get you more than your target bonus," he the discretionary reward budget that managers use to recognise strong contributors will be increased. This will allow for more flexibility in rewarding staff who are performing well but may not fall into the very top company's internal review system — called Googler Reviews and Development (GRAD) — operates on a scale ranging from "Not Enough Impact" to "Transformative Impact." Until now, very few employees made it to the top two tiers. With the latest change, more employees will have a chance to climb higher up the ladder — but only if they deliver standout says the decision is part of a broader push to drive performance at a time when the company is seeing strong momentum in areas like artificial intelligence and cloud computing. "High performance is more important than ever to meet the ambitious goals we've set," Casey said in the is not surprising because the tech sector overall has been shifting towards a more performance-focused work culture. Companies like Microsoft have introduced new systems to push for greater productivity, while Meta has made job cuts earlier this year to eliminate underperformance.
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Google has tweaked employee review system to boost rewards for top performers: Report
Live Events Tech major Google is overhauling its employee performance review process to offer bigger bonuses and equity grants to top performers, while trimming payouts for others, The Times of India (TOI) has report added that the changes, part of a revamp of the 'Googler Reviews and Development' (GRAD) system, aim to allow more staff to qualify for the highest 'Outstanding Impact' rating. 'High performance is more important than ever to achieve the goals we've set,' wrote John Casey, Google's vice president of global compensation and benefits, in the company-wide company said the new system would reward top-rated employees with improved bonus and equity awards starting in 2026. 'More Googlers will have the opportunity to achieve that rating during annual reviews,' Casey fund the enhanced payouts for high performers, Google is reducing the bonus and equity multipliers tied to the 'Significant Impact' and 'Moderate Impact' ratings. However, it stressed that the overhaul is 'budget-neutral' and that those ratings would continue to deliver above-target rewards."We want to be upfront that to fund this we'll be slightly reducing the bonus and equity individual multipliers for Significant Impact and Moderate Impact ratings," Casey told employees, while noting that 'Significant Impact will remain a strong rating.'A Google spokesperson confirmed the changes to TOI, saying they are meant to "further reward top performers and continue our momentum across the company".Meanwhile, a recent proxy filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that Google parent Alphabet spent over $8 million (approximately Rs 68 crore) on personal security for chief executive officer Sundar Pichai in 2024, a 22% rise from the Rs 57.48 crore spent the previous year.
