b. Stephen William Bragg, 20 December 1957, Barking, Essex, England. Popularly known as "The Bard Of Barking" (or variations of), Bragg is generally regarded as one of the most committed left-wing political performers working in popular music.
After forming the ill-fated punk group Riff Raff in 1977, which released a number of singles in the late 70s, Bragg briefly joined the British Army (Royal Armoured Corps) in May 1981, before buying his way out with what he later described as the most wisely spent £175 of his life. Between time working in a record store and absorbing his new-found love of the blues and protest genre, he launched himself on a solo musical career. Armed with guitar, amplifier and voice, Bragg undertook a maverick tour of the concert halls of Britain, ready at a moment's notice to fill in as support for almost any act. He confounded the local youth with what would usually be a stark contrast to the music billed for that evening. Seeing himself as a "one man Clash", Bragg's lyrics, full of passion, anger and wit, made him a truly original character on the UK music scene.
During this time, managed by ex-Pink Floyd manager Peter Jenner, Bragg's 1983 debut album Life's A Riot With Spy Vs Spy, originally on the Charisma Records imprint Utility before being re-released by emerging independent Go! Discs, had begun to take a very firm hold on the UK independent charts, eventually peaking in the national charts at number 30. The album featured only seven tracks and played at 45 rpm, but contained some of Bragg's most enduring compositions, notably "A New England" and "The Milkman Of Human Kindness". The follow-up Brewing Up With Billy Bragg, which reached number 16 in the UK charts in summer 1984, included the beautiful unrequited love song "The Saturday Boy". As always, at Bragg's insistence, and helped by the low production costs, the albums were kept at a below-average selling price.
Bragg's credentials as a songwriter were given a boost in 1985 when Kirsty MacColl reached number 7 in the UK charts with a great cover version of "A New England'. Bragg became a fixture at political rallies and benefits, particularly during the 1984 Miners" Strike with his powerful pro-Union songs "Which Side Are You On", "There Is Power In A Union" and the EP title track, "Between The Wars'. He was instrumental in creating the socialist musicians" collective "Red Wedge", which included such pop luminaries as Paul Weller, Junior Giscombe and Jimmy Somerville. Despite the politicizing, Bragg was still able to pen finely observed character sketches such as the much acclaimed "Levi Stubbs' Tears" and "Greetings To The New Brunette', both of which appeared on the UK Top 10 album Talking With The Taxman About Poetry (1986). Bragg's political attentions soon spread to Russia and Central/South America. He often returned the host musicians" hospitality by offering them places as support acts on his forthcoming UK tours.
In 1988 Bragg released Workers Playtime, on which he was accompanied by a backing band for the first time. While the expansive sound helped generate a sense of drama to the opening and closing tracks "She's Got A New Spell" and "Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards", the most memorable song was the largely unaccompained "Valentine's Day Is Over". During the same year Bragg also reached the UK number 1 slot with a cover version of the Beatles song "She's Leaving Home", on which he was accompanied by Cara Tivey on piano - this was part of a children's charity project of contemporary artists performing various John Lennon and Paul McCartney songs. Bragg shared this double a-side single release with Wet Wet Wet's version of "With A Little Help From My Friends", which received the majority of radio play, effectively relegating Bragg's contribution to that of a b-side. The following year Bragg reactivated the label Utility, for the purposes of encouraging young talent who had found difficulty in persuading the increasingly reticent major companies to take a gamble. These artists included Coming Up Roses, Weddings Parties Anything, Clea And McLeod, Caroline Trettine, Blake Babies, Jungr And Parker, and Dead Famous People. He also used the label to release The Internationale (1990), a mini-album devoted entirely to political material (cover versions and rewrites of well-known protest songs).
In 1991, Bragg issued the critically acclaimed Don't Try This At Home, his most commercial work to date. The album featured a shift towards personal politics, most noticeably on the liberating UK hit single "Sexuality'. It also featured contributions from R.E.M."s Michael Stipe and Peter Buck, following several live appearances with the band. Following a five-year hiatus Bragg returned in 1996 with his new studio recording, William Bloke. Less angry and more ironic than he had ever sounded, the material also displayed an almost graceful confidence and maturity. On this album Bragg ceased to be the "bard from Barking" or the "quirky left-wing troubadour", and established himself as a major "English" songwriter.
In 1998, Bragg collaborated with Woody Guthrie's daughter on a musical project to interpret several of the hundreds of completed lyrics bequeathed by the great American folk singer. Working with American band Wilco and Natalie Merchant (on the achingly beautiful "Birds & Ships"), Bragg fashioned a respectful testament to Guthrie that avoided nostalgia and easy sentiment. In 1999, in addition to performing, he was heard regularly on national BBC Radio 2 as a presenter. A second Guthrie collection was released the following year.
Bragg resumed his solo career in 2002 with England, Half-English, recorded with his regular backing band the Blokes and lifting its title from a book by English novelist Colin MacInnes. "Take Down The Union Jack", a protest against the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the monarch Queen Elizabeth II, even reached the upper regions of the UK singles chart. In 2006 Bragg published The Progressive Patriot: A Search For Belonging, a witty and erudite exploration of the meaning of national identity in modern Britain. The following year he joined the musical collective The Imagined Village, joining them on an album of new versions of traditional English songs and the subsequent tour. He was also commissioned to write a new English lyric for "Ode To Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The resulting version was performed as part of the celebrations to commemorate the re-opening of London's Royal Festival Hall, and in a bizarre turn of events was later performed in front of the Queen.
After spending the best part of the decade working on non-album projects, Bragg resumed recording with the Blokes and completed his new studio collection, Mr. Love & Justice. Released in March 2008, the album was a solid rather than spectacular set, with the opening track "I Keep Faith" (featuring Robert Wyatt) the stand-out track.
