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Billy Bragg

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Billy Bragg is an English singer, songwriter and political activist, born Stephen William Bragg on 20 December 1957 in Barking, Essex. His music mixes folk, punk rock and protest song, with lyrics that are mostly about politics or about love. At twelve he became interested in poetry, and later he drew inspiration from Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel and from punk groups such as The Jam and The Clash. A concert by The Clash and the Rock Against Racism march of 1978 shaped his left-wing political views.

Music and breakthrough

In 1977 he started the band Riff Raff, which broke up in 1980. In 1981 he enlisted in the army, but after three months he bought himself out. He then performed solo in London with an electric guitar, under the name Spy vs Spy. To get his demo to the record company Charisma, he posed as a television repairman. In July 1983 his first record appeared, Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy, followed by Brewing Up with Billy Bragg in 1984, Talking with the Taxman about Poetry in 1986 and Workers Playtime in 1988. In 1990 he released a version of The Internationale. In 1998 he made Mermaid Avenue, with new music to words by Woody Guthrie.

Influence

Bragg showed that a man with an electric guitar and a loud voice could replace an entire arrangement, and that a pop song could also be a political pamphlet. His work stands in a line of folk and protest that runs from Guthrie through Dylan and punk to him. That is why he is the quintessential singer-songwriter of the British left.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a song from Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy from 1983 and notice how little there is to hear: a voice and an electric guitar. Notice how the words then come to the foreground.

Discography

Studio albums

See also

Categories: Artists