EP114 - Billy Bragg - Singer, Songwriter, Activist, Red Wedge... ”You better listen now you’ve said your bit...”

When I first started this podcast, I created a wish-list of
potential guests. You would too right?.It's fair to say that
Billy Bragg was one of those early entries in my notebook.A
musician, author, broadcaster and left-wing activist who fronted
the 1980s Red Wedge movement with, among others, Paul Weller.
He'a also pretty active as a gigging musician, touring the world,
and so tying him down to a recording was always going to be
pretty tricky.Here's the other thing that I should mention... On
the release of this podcast, Billy is actually the only guest to
come on who I have actually interviewed in my former life as a
radio presenter. It was one of my absolute career highlights when
working at the BBC in the late nineties.He's a hugely talented
singer and songwriter.To Have and To Have Not, The Milkman of
Human Kindness, Levi Stubbs' Tears, Sexuality, A New England, You
Woke Up My Neighbourhood, Between The Wars, We Laughed... I could
go on... Billy continues to surprise and delight with his music,
to my ears he never seems to repeat himself and much like Paul,
is looking to try new things and push himself into new ways of
working and creating music.We kick off our chat with his love of
The Jam and the influence the band and Paul's lyrics had him as a
young man.You'll hear about supporting The Style Council on an
early Council Meeting tour to the Red Wedge project where you'll
hear there is nothing but warmth and gratitude for Paul's input
and collaboration throughout.We'll also chat about connections
from the solo years from Go Discs label mates in the nineties to
Jools Holland Later TV around A Kind Revolution for Paul and
Billy's book Roots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the
World.Most of all throughout our hour-long conversation, you'll
hear a man who respects Paul - as a fellow singer / songwriter -
as an innovator and as a huge musical talent with an incredible
work ethic, vision and back catalogue.


Find out more in the show notes for this podcast at
Paulwellerfanpodcast.com/episode-114-billy-bragg


If you enjoy this episode of the podcast - please share on your
social media channels - and leave a review and if you want to
support the podcast financially, you can buy me a virtual coffee
at paulwellerfanpodcast.com/store


 


Find podcast show notes and sign up for regular information at
PaulWellerFanPodcast.com


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.