ARTIST
A-Z
Billy Bragg
Billy specialised in combining the uncombinable: punk and folk, sarcasm and warmth, politics and love. Billy's lyrics are sometimes cutting and angry, sometimes warm, but always insightful and witty. His songs paint a picture of Britain in the 1980s and capture the disillusionment that many felt at the time. He was born in Barking, London as Stephen William Bragg and started playing guitar in his teens with his next-door neighbour Wiggy. The two of them formed a punk band called Riff Raff, but success was not forthcoming.
Surprisingly, Billy then joined the army. Unsurprisingly he hated it and bought his way out with £175 and returned to his parents' home.
Billy devised ingenious strategies to get his demo tapes heard. He pretended to be a television repair man in order to get into the office of Peter Jenner at Charisma Records. When Billy heard our own John Peel announce he was hungry on air, he rushed to the BBC studios with a mushroom biriyani and a tape. He was rewarded with lots of airplapay you to do this, get a bloody taxi', which I thought was too good to be true; they PAY you to do a Peel session!"
Billy Bragg
SESSIONS
- 27/07/1983 (Maida Vale 4)
- 21/02/1984 (Maida Vale 5)
- 18/09/1984 (Maida Vale 5)
- 20/08/1985 (Maida Vale 5)
- 02/09/1986 (Unknown)
- 30/08/1988 (Maida Vale 4)
- 12/05/1991 (Maida Vale 3)
- 24/08/1996 (Reading Festival)
- 01/05/1997 (Divas Bar, London N1)
- 09/07/1998 (Yalding 4)
- 11/10/2001 (Kings College)
FESTIVE 50 TRACKS
- A New England (Number 7 in 1983)
- Between The Wars (Number 13 in 1984)
- Between The Wars (Number 40 in 1985)
- Brickbat (Number 12 in 1996)
- Days Like This (Number 56 in 1985)
- Greetings To The New Brunette (Number 41 in 1986)
- Levi Stubbs' Tears (Number 24 in 1986)
- Northern Industrial Town (Number 37 in 1995)
- Sexuality (Number 29 in 1991)
- The Saturday Boy (Number 29 in 1984)
- Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards (Number 25 in 1988)
- Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key (Number 30 in 1998)
