A 55-year-old has been warned he could face prison after playing Underworld’s Born Slippy again and again until the early hours of the morning for months on end.
Having your housemate wake you up as they drunkenly crash through the house once a week doesn’t seem so bad now, does it?
Complaints against Clyde Taylor began in early 2019 after he played loud music and his electric guitar late into the night in his home in Eccles, Greater Manchester, with noisy jam sessions reportedly lasting until 3am.
As a result of Taylor’s persistence, he has now been hit with an order preventing him from ‘permitting music to be played at a level that can be heard outside the property’, Manchester Evening News report.
At a recent court hearing, it was revealed the music continued during the working week as well as at weekends.
Manchester and Salford Magistrates court backed Salford council’s application for the first ever criminal behaviour order against statutory noise nuisance in Greater Manchester. Magistrates warned Taylor he could be arrested and jailed if he breaches the order, which lasts for five years.
Council officers first went to speak to Taylor following initial complaints, and at first he accepted he was being unreasonable, but monitoring equipment showed the noise nuisance continued.
The 55-year-old was then issued with an abatement notice, which would have required the noise be stopped altogether or limited to certain times of the day. However, Taylor ignored the notice and continued playing Born Slippy, which is featured in the film Trainspotting, relentlessly.
Now, I’ve nothing against Born Slippy or Underworld, but no song, no matter how good it is, warrants that much playing.
The 55-year-old obviously doesn’t agree, however, and he continued to play the tune until, in June, environmental protection officers from Salford Council got a warrant, entered his property and seized stereo equipment, numerous speakers and a large screen television, worth £959 in total.
Surely that would be enough to get him to stop playing the song, right?
Wrong.
Taylor then replaced all the equipment and continued his role of noisy neighbour. Once again, council officers used a warrant to seize equipment including a bass guitar, amplifier speakers and another large screen television, this time worth £580 in total.
Check out the equipment that was seized:
The 55-year-old still wasn’t deterred though, and he replaced the equipment yet again. His determination would be admirable, if he wasn’t being so disruptive.
In October, he was summonsed to court and found guilty in his absence of eight breaches of an abatement notice issued under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Magistrates fined Taylor £330 per offence, a total of £2,640, and ordered him to pay a £30 victim surcharge and forfeit the seized equipment.
Earlier this week, Taylor applied to the court to have the conviction set aside and the trial reheard, however his application was unsuccessful.
Instead, magistrates reduced the level of the original fine to £50 per offence, imposed a £30 victim surcharge and made an order for £1,500 costs against him.
Councillor David Lancaster, the council’s lead member for environment and community safety, commented on the case, saying:
This is an unprecedented case which could have been avoided with a bit of neighbourly consideration. If he had complied with the first polite request to keep the noise down none of this would have been necessary.
We will always try to resolve noise complaints without resorting to the law but if people refuse to be reasonable and considerate then we will use our full powers.
Lancaster continued:
It is the first time we have used a criminal behaviour order to tackle noise nuisance but, if need be, it will not be the last time we use these powers. We will be monitoring the property and I hope the gentleman fully appreciates if he breaches the order he could be jailed.
We will have no hesitation in going back to court if this nuisance doesn’t stop.
Removing his equipment – twice – obviously wasn’t enough to stop Taylor playing Born Slippy, so we’ll just have to wait and see whether the threat of being jailed will do the trick!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.