“The frustration of seeing nothing that spoke to me on Top Of The Pops in the early 80’s made me realise if I wanted to hear music that had something to say about the state of the world and real life, I’d have to make it myself. 18 months later I recorded my first LP. To mark the 40th anniversary of Life’s A Riot with Spy vs Spy, I’ve compiled a number of commemorative releases that trace the arc of my career since those fateful Thursday nights.” Billy Bragg 2023

‘The music of Britain’s foremost protest singer gets an evocative overview in this nuanced compilation’

Album Of The Week

The Guardian

‘…a musically mature, international artist who is still bursting with energy.’

Rolling Stone 

‘A British institution.’

Clash

‘One of the great human beings of Planet Earth…while the world changes by the minute, Billy’s empathy remains steadfast.’

Brooklyn Vegan

Tue Mar 26th, 2024

Billy Bragg
While I'm on a St Patrick’s Day/Pogues roll, I feel I should also post this, from the Gary Smith memorial gig at the Somerville Theater in Boston on 16th July. He and I often spoke about his grandfather who, before he emigrated to the US from southern Ireland in the 1920s, fought in the Irish War of Indpendence. Looking for something to commemorate that side of Gary's personality, I felt 'If I Should Fall From Grace With God' would fit the bill nicely.I was fortunate that Elizabeth Steen was in the house band for the evening. She added accordian to 'Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key' when Gary recorded Natalie Merchant's vocals on the track at Fort Apache in March 1998. Used to playing 'If I Should Fall From Grace.." at top speed, I managed to coax her into playing it more as a lament, which I felt was more in keeping with the proceedings.You can see more performances from Gary's gig here:https://www.youtube.com/@bradleysalmanac/videos ... See MoreSee Less
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Mon Mar 25th, 2024

Billy Bragg
The reason I was unable to immediately post about my St Patrick's Day fun was that the next morning I was on the train to New York to rehearse with a bunch of musicians who would be backing me at tribute to Sinead O'Connor and Shane MacGowan at Carnegie Hall.Artists including David Gray, Glen Hansard, Cat Power, Dropkick Murphys, Imelda May, Steve Earle, Josh Ritter, Flogging Molly, Lisa Hannigan, Amanda Palmer, Gordon Gano of the Violent Femmes, Craig Finn of the Hold Steady, John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats, Bettye LaVette, Eugene Hütz of Gogol Bordello, Julia Cumming of Sunflower Bean, Kat Edmonson, and the Resistance Revival Chorus came together for a night to celebrate the work of the two great Irish songwriters that we lost last year.Among an evening of amazing performances, the undoubted highlight came from Roisin Waters, Sinead's daughter, whose rendition of 'Nothing Compares 2 U' stopped the show. I was invited to sing one of Shane's songs and chose 'A Rainy Night in Soho'. You can see a clip of me performing it below. Wanting to do something to also recognise the fierce talents of Sinead, I wore an Artists4Ceasefire badge on my lapel.The night ended with everyone on stage for a rousing rendition of Ewan MacColl's 'Dirty Old Town'. Look closely at the ensemble photo below and you'll see, far left, MacColl's son Neil who accompanied David Gray. And yes, far right dressed in green is original Pogues bass player Cait O'Riordan, who played on all the Shane songs and sung 'Fairytale of New York' with Glen Hansard.Huge thanks are due to Tony Shanahan, bassist in Patti Smith’s band, who led the house band that held the whole thing together. It was a brilliant event to be part of.Billy Bragg performs A Rainy Night in Soho Carnegie Hall 20/3/24https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wXB7VM5ZfI&ab_channel=dublinrambler ... See MoreSee Less
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Sun Mar 24th, 2024

Billy Bragg
Been pretty busy this past week, preventing me from posting about my adventures in Boston last weekend. I was in town to play at a gig celebrating the life of Gary Smith, my dear friend, and mentor to many artists through his involvement with Fort Apache Studios. Tanya Donnelly, Krisin Hersh, Juliana Hatfield and Arc Iris we among those appearing on the bill. I spent a day rehearsing with local musicians and we performed some of the songs that I recorded at Fort Apache with Gary producing - Accident Waiting To Happen, Sulk, Birds & Ships, I Was Born and Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key. We filled the Somerville Theater with love for Gary.On learning that I was in town, Dropkick Murphys got in touch to ask if I was free to join them the following evening at their annual St Patrick's Day gig at the MGM Fenway. I've long been aware that they use 'There is Power in a Union' as their intro music and when Ken Casey asked if I'd be willing to play it live while they took the stage, I leapt at the chance. Later in the set, they invited me back on to play 'Which Side Are You On' with them after which they invited Nora Guthrie onto the stage. Both DKM and I have been the beneficiaries of her generosity with her father's legacy - the Dropkick's most recent albums have consisted of new music they have written to lyrics Woody Guthrie wrote back in the day. After Nora took a bow, we launched into 'All You Fascists Bound To Lose'.I've long admired the Dropkicks, not least for their support for labour unions, so it was great to join them for such a kick ass show on St Patrick's night in Boston.The whole event was streamed live and is still available to watch https://veeps.events/dropkick-murphysPhotos by Travis Schneider @bootswallace ... See MoreSee Less
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