One thing I love about Billy Bragg is that he is genuinely timeless. That’s not because his music has the forever classicism that, say, the Beatles do, but because he’s constantly updating from where he was to where he actually is. Therefore, 50 year old Billy doesn’t write about early 20s angst any more, because [...]
Filed under: Billy Bragg | Tagged: Billy Bragg, political songs, Politics, waiting for the great leap forwards | Leave a Comment »
Remember Red Wedge? It was the tour that was going to revolutionise the 80s. Basically, people would go and see Billy Bragg, Paul Weller and Lloyd Cole and they’d immediately go and vote Labour, thus ending Margaret Thatcher’s reign of terror. Except it didn’t. But at least they tried. These days, the most political new [...]
Filed under: General Stuff | Tagged: elections, fighting fit, Politics | 2 Comments »
There is nothing wrong with one having convictions. (Well, morally at least. Actual convictions can tend to have a ruinous impact on one’s life, as Boy George is about to find out. And it’ll mean when he sings his most famous song, he’ll be telling fibs. Singing about not having convictions without conviction when he [...]
Filed under: General Stuff | Tagged: annie lennox, arseholes, bono, israel, music, palestine, Politics, Pop, rock n roll | 3 Comments »
by E Streeter “I’m the Marmite artist” says Billy Bragg, “you either love me or hate me”. That’s a fairly typical comment from the Bard of Barking, at once self-deprecating, funny and shrewdly observed. Billy is sporting a new t-shirt this evening: Marmite logo on the front and tour dates on the back, in a [...]
Filed under: gigs | Tagged: Billy Bragg, billy bragg nottingham, bnp, Politics, politics in music, tony blair | 5 Comments »
What do you mean, who? The Reverend of Reverend and The Makers has only gone and announced that he is retiring from music after the release of his next album. Hotlines have been set up and the Army is poised to mobilise to break up any demonstrations which might turn ugly. The reason the Reverend [...]
Filed under: General Stuff | Tagged: Politics, Pop, reverend and the makers | Leave a Comment »
Some find politics boring. ELM does not. How can you not? Once you stop worrying about it, and accept that it is what it is, you can simply sit back and enjoy the madness. It’s fascinating to think that almost every important decision, things that affect our lives, are taken by professional decision makers who [...]
Filed under: Friday Fives | Tagged: america, northern ireland, paul mccartney, political songs, Politics, Razorlight, sting, the police, wings | 11 Comments »
I was talking earlier about musicians remaining relevant. The Bard of Barking should be the case study for anyone wanting to do so. With his first album in six years, Bragg sets his manifesto out in the title; those are the two themes he has been returning to for almost thirty years. And he’s still [...]
Filed under: Album Review, New Albums | Tagged: Billy Bragg, Politics | Leave a Comment »
