Retired rock star and former lead guitarist of Daddy Cool, Ross Hannaford, is finding new direction as a career busker in Melbourne's laneways.

The musician behind the '70s smash hit Eagle Rock turned to busking after a brush with cancer five years ago.

Drawing crowds on the corner of Degraves Lane and Flinders Lane in the city centre, Hannaford now regularly jams with a loop machine on the kerbside to earn a living.

He initially cringed at the idea when a friend and mentor first suggested busking.

"I said 'oh man you're joking, I don't want to go busking, that's for losers'," Hannaford said.

"Then anyway I got a call from Bart Willoughby [Indigenous singer songwriter] saying 'do you want to go busking', so I thought this is meant to be.

"I didn't know what to do next anyway."

The two recorded a live set while busking and Hannaford said he now makes "good money" performing and selling the record on the street.

"I discovered I really loved it, because let's face it, you're a beggar, you're in the gutter, you're not up on some stage or pedestal," he said.

"So if you want to pull in some attention, you've got to do something interesting or different." Former Daddy Cool lead guitarist Ross Hannaford busks in a Melbourne laneway. ( ABC Local: Clare Rawlinson )

While the occasional Daddy Cool fan passes by and asks for a photo or cheers Hannaford on, most are oblivious to his background.

"That's another good thing, it's got nothing to do with who I am," he said.

"As I'm finding out, most people don't know who I am.

"Of course they don't, because that's all from the dinosaur age.

"It means I'm connecting afresh, not relying on anything in the past."

It has taken a little time for Hannaford to get over his stereotype of buskers, but he said he now does not let pride get in the way.

"I don't have much trouble with pride and that, because I don't have much," he said.

"I don't mind my pants falling down in public and for a lot of people, busking would be like having your pants fall down in public, but for me, it's not a problem."

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