Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg (born December 20, 1957 in Barking ( Essex ), now in London , England ; actually Stephen William Bragg ) is a British singer-songwriter . His themes range from love ballads to traditional workers' songs to protest songs on current political events. In his music he combines elements of pop , folk , rock and punk .
biography
In 1977, Bragg founded the punk band Riff Raff, inspired by a concert by The Clash , but they broke up in 1981 after a lack of success. In May 1981 Bragg joined the British Army . However, he resigned after just a few months and was dismissed in return for the payment of 175 pounds (in his own words "the smartest 175-pound payment of my life").
Bragg then trundled through London with an electric guitar as a street musician and in the opening act of other artists until he managed to attract the attention of A&R manager Peter Jenner from the Charisma Records label . The record deal resulting from this contact led to the debut album Life’s a Riot with Spy Vs Spy in 1983 , which reached number 30 in the English charts . A first US tour followed the success in 1983.
That same year, Bragg was known to the public by political activities: along with other activists, he was at an anti-apartheid - sit-in before the London South Africa House arrested. In the neoliberal Thatcher era (1979-1990), the politically left-wing singer-songwriter was also the founder of the Red Wedge movement . The aim of this association of musicians was to inspire young voters for the Labor Party . Bragg supported the British miners' strike in 1984/1985 with the proceeds from the sale of his EP Between the Wars , which was in the British charts from February 1985 .
In late 1986, Bragg was arrested again, this time in connection with the demolition of a fence at a Norfolk air base during an anti-nuclear demonstration.
On the cover of his 1988 album Workers Playtime , he had the slogan "Capitalism Is Killing Music" printed on the back of the campaign for the British music industry Home Taping Is Killing Music . In May 1988 he jumped to first place in the UK charts with a cover version of the Beatles song She's Leaving Home .
In 1998, Billy Bragg teamed up with alternative country group Wilco and singer Natalie Merchant to pay tribute to their idol Woody Guthrie with the recording of an album. Bragg had already performed in the USA in 1992 and 1996 as an interpreter of Guthrie songs. On the initiative of Woody Guthrie's daughter Nora, lyrics from her father's estate that had not yet been edited were set to music and published under the title Mermaid Avenue . The Guthrie family had lived on Coney Island's Mermaid Avenue in the 1940s, and Woody had written a piece of Mermaid's Avenue . In 2000, the setting of Woody Guthrie texts was continued with Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2 . Then Bragg toured with the band The Blokes, with whom the album England, Half English (2002) was created.
Bragg's political commitment continued to express itself in a series of statements on current political issues: In the anniversary year 2002 he attacked the British monarchy sharply. He vehemently criticized the American President George W. Bush for his Iraq war , including in the song The Price of Oil . In the dispute with neo-Nazis, he called for the right not to leave the term patriotism up to date. An anti-fascist "Hope-Not-Hate" tour took place in May 2006. Bragg always offered selected titles from his topics for free download on his homepage.
In 2003 Bragg released Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg a retrospective of his previous work. In 2006, Billy Bragg - Volume 1 and Billy Bragg - Volume 2, two more compilations, which consist of a total of 15 CDs and 3 DVDs.
A New England
A New England title is also known from the cover versions of other artists . With a version of the song that contains two additional verses, Kirsty MacColl reached number 7 in the British singles charts in 1985. More versions there were about from the Hamburg punk band Rantanplan , the Beatsteaks and Jamie T . The chorus of the song is:
- I don't want to change the world
- I'm not looking for a new England
- I'm just looking for another girl.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1984 | Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy |
UK30th  (30 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: May 1983
Producer: Oliver Hitch |
| Brewing Up with Billy Bragg |
UK16  (21 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: November 1984
Producer: Edward de Bono |
|
| 1986 | Talking with the Taxman About Poetry |
UK8th (8 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: September 1986
Producers: John Porter, Kenny Jones |
| 1988 | Workers playtime |
UK17 (4 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: September 20, 1988
Producers: Joe Boyd , Wiggy |
| 1990 | The Internationale |
UK34 (4 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: May 1990
Producers: Grant Showbiz, Wiggy |
| 1991 | Don't Try This at Home |
UK8th (6 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: September 17, 1991
Producers: Grant Showbiz, Johnny Marr |
| 1996 | William Bloke |
UK72 (1 week) UK |
- |
First published: September 10, 1996
Producer: Grant Showbiz |
| 1998 | Mermaid Avenue |
UK34 (4 weeks) UK |
US90 (7 weeks) US |
First published: June 23, 1998
with Wilco Producers: Nora Guthrie, Billy Bragg, Grant Showbiz, Wilco |
| 2000 | Mermaid Avenue Vol. II |
UK61 (1 week) UK |
US88 (4 weeks) US |
First release: May 30, 2000
with Wilco Producers: Nora Guthrie, Billy Bragg, Grant Showbiz, Wilco |
| 2002 | England, Half-English |
UK51 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: March 5, 2002
with The Blokes; Producer: Grant Showbiz |
| 2008 | Mr. Love & Justice |
UK33 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
First released: March 3rd, 2008
Producer: Grant Showbiz |
| 2013 | Tooth & Nail |
UK13 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
Initial release: March 18, 2013
Producer: Joe Henry |
| 2016 | Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad |
UK61 (1 week) UK |
- |
First published: September 23, 2016
with Joe Henry |
More studio albums
- 1987: The Peel Sessions
- 1991: The Peel Session Album
- 1997: Bloke on Bloke
- 2013: Mermaid Avenue Vol. III (with Wilco)
- 2017: Bridges not Walls
Live albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
|||
| 2014 | Live at the Union Chapel London |
UK61 (1 week) UK |
First published: April 14, 2014
|
More live albums
- 1992: Accident Waiting to Happen (Red Star Version) / Red Star Live CD (2 CDs; 1 studio and 1 live album)
- 1995: Live Bootleg / No Pop, No Style, Strictly Roots (with The Red Stars)
- 1999: Mermaid Avenue Tour / You Can Call Me Cupcake
- 2002: Bill's Bargains / Going to a Party Way Down South
- 2005: Live at the Barbican (2 CDs)
Compilations
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
|||
| 1987 | Back to basics |
UK37 (4 weeks) UK |
First published: July 7, 1987
|
| 1999 | Reaching to the Converted |
UK41 (2 weeks) UK |
First published: August 1999
|
| 2003 | Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg |
UK49 (3 weeks)UK |
First published: October 28, 2003
|
More compilations
- 1993: Victim of Geography
- 1996: Still Looking for a New England (2 CDs, US promo)
- 2006: Volume 1 (box with 7 CDs + 2 DVDs)
- 2006: Volume 2 (box with 8 CDs + DVD)
- 2006: The Progressive Patriot - Complimentary Music
- 2011: Fight Songs - A Decade of Downloads
- 2012: Mermaid Avenue - The Complete Sessions (with Wilco ; box with 3 CDs + DVD)
EPs
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
|||
| 1985 | Between the Wars |
UK15 (6 weeks) UK |
First published: February 1985
|
| 1986 | Levi Stubbs Tears |
UK29 (6 weeks) UK |
First published: June 1986
|
| 1992 | Accident Waiting to Happen |
UK33 (3 weeks) UK |
First published: February 1992
|
More EPs
- 1986: Greetings to the New Brunette
- 1987: Help Save the Youth of America (Live)
- 1998: She Came Along to Me (with Wilco)
- 1998: Mermaid Avenue Bonus EP (with Wilco)
- 1999: Man in the Sand (with Wilco; DVD + VHS + CD)
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
|||
| 1985 | Days Like These |
UK43 (5 weeks) UK |
First published: December 1985
|
| 1986 | Greetings to the New Brunette Talking with the Taxman About Poetry |
UK58 (3 weeks) UK |
First published: October 1986
|
| 1988 |
She's Leaving Home Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father |
UK1 (11 weeks) UK |
First release: May 2nd, 1988
with Cara Tivey Split single with Wet Wet Wet - With a Little Help from My Friends |
| Waiting for the Great Leap Forward |
UK52 (3 weeks) UK |
First published: August 1988
|
|
| 1991 | Sexuality Don't Try This at Home |
UK27 (5 weeks) UK |
First published: June 1991
|
| You Woke Up My Neighborhood Don't Try This at Home |
UK54 (2 weeks) UK |
First published: August 1991
|
|
| 1996 | Upfield William Bloke |
UK46 (2 weeks) UK |
First published: August 1996
|
| 1997 | The Boy Done Good / Sugar Daddy Bloke on Bloke |
UK55 (2 weeks) UK |
First published: May 1997
|
| 1998 | Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key Mermaid Avenue |
UK89 (1 week) UK |
First published: November 1998
with Wilco |
| 2002 | England, Half English England, Half English |
UK98 (1 week) UK |
First published: February 2002
with The Blokes |
| Take Down the Union Jack England, Half English |
UK22 (2 weeks) UK |
First published: May 2002
with The Blokes |
|
| 2005 | We Laughed |
UK11 (5 weeks) UK |
First published: October 31, 2005
Rosetta Life feat. Billy Bragg |
More singles
- 1984: A New England
- 1985: Back to Basics Audio Aid ( Flexi )
- 1986: Ideology
- 1987: Ballad of a Spycatcher (Leon Rosselson with Billy Bragg and The Oyster Band )
- 1988: She's Got a New Spell
- 1989: New England
- 2008: I Keep Faith
- 2008: The Beach Is Free / I Almost Killed You
- 2013: No One Knows Nothing Anymore
- 2013: Handyman Blues
- 2013: Folk Goes Ska
Literary works
- The Progressive Patriot - A Search for Belonging. Bantam Press, London 2006, ISBN 978-0-593-05343-0 .
-
The Three Dimensions of Freedom. Faber & Faber Ltd, London 2019.
- The three dimensions of freedom. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 2020, ISBN 978-3-453-27279-8 .
Secondary literature
- billybragg.co.uk: Billy Bragg . Biography (PDF, English)
- Collins, Andrew: Still Suitable for Miners - Billy Bragg: The Official Biography . London: Virgin Books, 2002; ISBN 0-7535-0691-2
- Graf, Christian and Burghard Rausch: Rockmusiklexikon Europa , Vol. 1. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, 1996; ISBN 3-596-12387-9 - keyword Billy Bragg , p. 187ff.
- Schmidt-Joos, Siegfried and Wolf Kampmann: Pop-Lexikon . Reinbek near Hamburg: Rowohlt, 5th edition 2002; ISBN 3-499-61114-7 - keyword Bragg, Billy , p. 84f.
Web links
- Official website
- Billy Bragg at Allmusic (English)
- Billy Bragg at Discogs (English)
- taz.de - Interview of the daily newspaper with Billy Bragg in March 2002
- Billy Bragg - Bootlegs on archive.org
swell
- ↑ a b Billy Bragg ( Memento of July 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive ). Biography (PDF, English), accessed October 16, 2007
- ↑ a b c Graf / Rausch: Rockmusiklexikon Europa , p. 188
- ^ Schmidt-Joos / Kampmann: Pop-Lexikon , p. 84
- ↑ according to woodyguthrie.org , accessed October 29, 2007, from 1946
- ↑ For Woodie Guthrie's text Mermaid's Avenue, see woodyguthrie.org , accessed October 16, 2007
- ^ A New England. , Text on billybragg.co.uk ( memento of October 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), accessed October 16, 2007
- ↑ a b c d e Chart sources: UK US1 US2
- ↑ a b c d e UK gold / platinum database
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bragg, Billy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bragg, Stephen William (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British singer-songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 20, 1957 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Barking ( Essex ), now London , England |