Michael Copley and Dag Ingram met when they were students at Cambridge University. According to the liner notes of their first recording, their musical association began when they found themselves at the Blackfriars tube station without enough money for the fare to get home. In an attempt to raise a little cash from passers-by, they played the Entertainer and Eine kleine Nachtmusik for a while, until they were asked to leave by a London Transport official.
Subsequently, they gained international success with their performances and four recordings. It is reported that at one point a Japanese comic strip was written about them.
The Buskers wrote their own arrangements, primarily of classical pieces. Ingram played piano accordion, and occasionally other bit parts. Copley played a variety of wind instruments, including flute, recorder, ocarina, and crumhorn.