Billy Bragg: Last News

Billy Bragg has announced a UK and Ireland tour to mark his 40 years in music – find all the details below.The singer-songwriter and left-wing activist is due to hit the road this autumn following the release of his forthcoming career-spanning boxset ‘The Roaring Forty’, which is out on October 27.Kicking off in Brighton on November 14, Bragg’s 2023 tour will also include shows in Portsmouth, Cambridge, Cork, Dublin, Belfast, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Edinburgh and Manchester throughout that month.In December, the artist will head to Gateshead, Nottingham and Bristol before completing the stint with a gig at The Roundhouse in Camden Town, London.“Doesn’t seem like just that long ago that I was playing Thursday nights at the Tunnel in Greenwich, opening for whoever was headlining that night,” Bragg said in a statement. “I learned my chops there in late ’82/ early ’83 and I’m still putting those lessons to good use 40 years later.”He added: “Hope to see some of you on the Roaring Forty tour this autumn.”Pleased to announce UK and IE dates for The Roaring Forty Tour.Pre-order the album from the official store by 5pm March 27th to gain access to pre-sale tickets – https://t.co/BuRCFT8RJSGeneral on sale 31st March at 10am#TheRoaringForty #BB40 pic.twitter.com/Zism1IeaEN— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) March 21, 2023Tickets for Bragg’s 2023 UK and Ireland tour go on general sale at 10am BST next Friday (March 31) – you’ll be able to buy yours here.

Glastonbury has announced the acts that will be performing at its Left Field stage later this year, with English Teacher, Bob Vylan and more joining the line-up.The official 2024 line-up for Glastonbury was dropped in March, and revealed that Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA would be headlining the iconic Pyramid Stage this summer, while Shania Twain is set to take on the coveted legends slot.From there, the organisers of the Worthy Farm festival have been counting down the weeks to this year’s instalment by gradually announcing the artists playing at other stages around the site. This kicked off with news of new artists set to headline the Acoustic Stage, followed by details on those who have joined the Field Of Avalon line-up, Shangri-La area, Fields of Avalon, Silver Hayes, The Glade and Woodsies area.Now, with just over a month to go before the 2024 edition kicks off, the complete line-up for the Left Field area has been announced.The area is organised and co-founded by Billy Bragg and Juliet Wills, and was first designed in the year 2000 to promote left-wing politics and political action in those attending the festival.

Sinead O’Connor’s daughter performed an emotional cover of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ during a tribute show in the US last night (March 20) – watch the footage below.The special concert, which was announced in January, took place at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Dubbed ‘Sinéad & Shane At Carnegie Hall’, the event was held in memory of O’Connor and the late Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan – both of whom died last year.As the Independent reports, “the closing suite of songs” included a moving rendition of O’Connor’s classic 1990 single ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ by her 28-year-old daughter Roisin Waters.She appeared barefoot on stage and was backed by a live band.

Chumbawamba have opened up about their “divisive” feud with former deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.In a new interview with NME, frontman Dunstan Bruce was asked to reminisce on Chumbawamba’s controversial dispute with Prescott. At the 1998 BRIT Awards, Chumbawamba member Danbert Nobacon doused the MP with an ice bucket in solidarity with striking dockers in Liverpool.Bruce told NME that the stunt was considered “divisive” at the time.

Sam Smith and Billy Bragg.“To all trans/non binary and gender non conforming people in the UK right now,” the former wrote on their Instagram Stories. “You are not alone.

Jamie Webster has released his new single ‘Fickle Fran’, a collaboration with his hero and fellow political troubadour Billy Bragg. Check it out below along with our interview with Webster.The single is the second to preview Webster’s third album ’10 For The People’, to be released on February 2 ahead of a massive homecoming show at Liverpool’s 40,000-capacity Sefton Park on July 12.‘Fickle Fran’ comes after Webster joined environmental TV presenter Chris Packham last weekend (September 9) in inducting Bragg into The Music Walk Of Fame in Camden.“If I’m going to model myself on anyone in the industry, Billy is perfect,” Webster told NME. “He’s had a 40-year career from speaking his mind, doing it for the people.

Billy Bragg has been added to Camden’s Music Walk Of Fame on the city’s High Street.Over the weekend (September 9), the veteran singer-songwriter was officially added to the walk during a ceremony overseen by activist Chris Packham and Liverpool singer-songwriter Jamie Webster. The former gave a speech paying tribute to Bragg during the ceremony, praising him as “a spokesperson – not just for one, but several generations”.“He spoke to us about us – with clarity and wit and kindness,” he said. “He also instructed us, pricked our consciences or kicked our arses with demands.

UB40 and Janis Joplin have been inducted into the UK Music Walk Of Fame in London’s Camden area.Launched in 2019, the Music Walk Of Fame covers a square mile in Camden and features Award Stones embedded in the pavements, celebrating artists and other important pioneering figures in music. Previous inductees include The Who, Madness, Soul II Soul, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie and more.Speaking of the induction in a press release, Ali Campbell of UB40 shared that it felt like a full-circle moment as the band had played their first ever show in Camden and now they were accepting an accolade in the same place.He said: “To be back in Camden is lovely… I’m very proud of this award. I’m also proud of the part I played in promoting the music I love..

Billy Bragg has released a new song, inspired by Oliver Anthony’s viral single ‘Rich Men North Of Richmond’. Check out ‘Rich Men Earning North Of A Million’ below.The track by Bragg comes in response to the recent viral hit by US country singer and former factory worker and farmer Oliver Anthony.

The Who, Madness, Soul II Soul, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie and more.The trail will recognise more pivotal figures in music with a five-day-long celebration. This year’s recipients are Janis Joplin, Harvey Goldsmith CBE, UB40, Gordon Mac (Founder Of Kiss FM), Paul ‘Trouble’ Anderson, Sugarhill Gang, Eddy Grant, Buzzcocks, Billy Bragg, Shalamar and The Kinks.

Melanie Lynskey has posted her thoughts on Instagram about longtime friend Julian Sands, who was found dead in the Southern California mountains earlier this week.

Melanie Lynskey is remembering her friend and former co-star, Julian Sands. On Wednesday, the actress took to social media to pay tribute to the actor, who was confirmed dead five months after disappearing during a hike.«Julian Sands. I met you on the set of Rose Red in 2000.

BBC has removed a social media clip of Billy Nomates performing at Glastonbury after the singer experienced online abuse.Billy Nomates – real name Tor Maries – performed on Glastonbury Festival’s Park Stage on Friday (June 23), but asked BBC6 Music to take down footage of her online because she was receiving an “insane” amount of “personal abuse”.A post that appears to have now been deleted from Maries read: “The level of personal abuse on @bbc6music socials for going to work today is insane. I’ve asked for all footage to be removed.“I know it’s not for everyone what I do.

Billy Bragg has led support online for Billy Nomates after the musician received a host of online abuse following her set yesterday (June 24) at Glastonbury.After the set, the musician, real name Tor Maries, asked BBC6 Music to take down footage of her online after receiving what she described as an “insane” amount of “personal abuse”, before saying that after her summer gigs, there would be “no more shows”.A post shared from Maries read: “The level of personal abuse on @bbc6music socials for going to work today is insane. I’ve asked for all footage to be removed.“I know it’s not for everyone what I do.

Benefits have spoken to NME about making their Glastonbury Festival debut tonight (Friday June 23).The Teesside noise punks will be performing under the invitation of Billy Bragg on his legendary Left Field stage this evening, shortly after the mysterious set from The Churnups – widely believed to be Foo Fighters, or least something featuring Dave Grohl, after he was spotted on site earlier today.Still, Benefits frontman Kingsley Hall isn’t worried about pulling a big crowd shortly after. “We’re not up against them,” replied Hall. “As soon as they finish, we start. There’s no crossover.

Morrissey has paid a touching tribute to his former bandmate Andy Rourke saying he 'will never die as long as his music is heard'. It was announced on Friday that Rourke, bass player in The Smiths, had died at the age of 59 'after a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer'.

Andy Rourke, The Smiths bassist on all four of the band’s album, died today of pancreatic cancer in New York City. He was 59.

Benefits, Cavetown, Big Joanie, Cassyette and more have been announced for Glastonbury‘s 2023 Left Field line-up.Other acts announced on the line-up, which spotlights “voices from the front line of the struggle in debate and performance”, include Deadletter, Crawlers, Billy Bragg, Delilah Bon, Kid Kapichi, Dréya Mac, Tom A. Smith, Lime Garden, Jamie Webster and Will Varley.“Recharge your activism with this year’s @glastoleftfield line-up,” the festival posted on Instagram, which hosts “purveyors of pop and politics at Glastonbury since 2002”.“As the shape of the post-pandemic world begins to form, it’s clear that people are more willing to stand up and be counted,” stage host Bragg wrote in a statement.

Billy Bragg has shared an old video of R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe covering The Only Ones’ ‘Another Girl Another Planet’ – check it out below.Uploading the video to his YouTube channel, Bragg wrote: “Love this clip of Michael Stipe, Natalie Merchant, Wiggy and myself playing ‘Another Girl Another Planet’ backed by Sid Griffin and the Cole Porters.”The musician went on to say the performance happened during a show in June 1990 at Olomouc’s summer cinema. The musicians were touring Czechoslovakia around the country’s first free elections in decades following the Velvet Revolution.On Twitter, Bragg then shared an article about how he and Stipe ended up touring Czechoslovakia.“It was very un-rock’n’roll,” said Bragg.

Billy Bragg has announced a new box set to mark his four decades in music, ‘The Roaring Forty’ – find all the details below.The singer-songwriter and left-wing activist is due to release the career-spanning collection on October 27. Its deluxe CD version will comprise 14 discs, with the vinyl edition coming as a 3xLP (40 tracks) or a single ‘primer’ LP (13 tracks).According to a press release, the 300-song CD box set is made up of Bragg’s 12 studio albums to date as well as a host of non-album singles and B-sides, session tracks, rare live recordings, collaborations and previously unreleased material from the past 40 years.It also boasts a large format book containing images of 40 significant objects from the musician’s career, including his debut NME cover, the hand-tinted flyer to his first solo gig, the original lyrics to ‘A Lover Sings’, the Red Wedge manifesto, his membership card to the Smokey Robinson & The Miracles fan club, along with with commentary from Bragg himself.In a statement, Bragg recalled of first starting out: “It seems like just the other day that I was handing John Peel a mushroom biryani and asking him to play my first record.

comments he made regarding cancel culture, in which he eloquently stated it was more about ‘accountability. ’Also in the highly-praised interview with Times Radio, the Eurovision broadcaster was quizzed on author JK Rowling’s views on the transgender community, but Graham simply suggested speaking to actual trans people who have experience with such matters.