English songwriter & singer, major albums "Kite" (1989), "Titanic Days" (1994) and "Tropical Brainstorm" (2000). Her first hit as a songwriter was "They don't know" (for Tracey Ullman in 1983). Her trademark style is a sharp wit allied to strong melodies. Her most recent work combines these with Cuban and Brazilian rhythms, creating her most upbeat collection yet. To date she has written & performed theme songs for three British TV series. Surprisingly for such a gifted writer, her biggest single hits have been cover versions, notably "Days" by Ray Davies, Billy Bragg's "New England" and of course "Fairytale of New York" with the Pogues.
{{infobox musical artist | name | Kirsty MacColl | image Kirsty_MacColl_at_Double_Door_Chicago.png | caption Kirsty MacColl at the Double Door in Chicago | background solo_singer | birth_name Kirsty Anna MacColl | birth_date October 10, 1959 Croydon, England, United Kingdom | death_date December 18, 2000 Cozumel, Mexico | genre New Wave, Pop, Rock, Country, Folk, World Music | occupation Singer, songwriter | years_active 1979–2000 | label Stiff, Polydor, IRS, ZTT, V2 | website KirstyMacColl.com }} |
---|
Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was an English singer-songwriter.
MacColl scored several pop hits from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. During this era, she often sang on recordings produced by her husband Steve Lillywhite, notably those of The Smiths and the song "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues.
MacColl was killed in a controversial boating incident in Mexico.
She came to notice when Chiswick Records released an EP by local punk rock band the Drug Addix with MacColl on backing vocals under the pseudonym Mandy Doubt (1978). Stiff Records executives were not impressed with the band, but liked her and subsequently signed her to a solo deal.
MacColl recorded a follow-up single, "You Caught Me Out", but felt she lacked Stiff's full backing, and left the label shortly before the song was to be released. The single was pulled, and only a few "white label" promo copies of the single are known to exist.
MacColl moved to Polydor Records in 1981. She had a UK number 14 hit with "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis", taken from her critically acclaimed debut album ''Desperate Character''. In 1983, Polydor dropped her just as she had completed recording the songs for a planned second album (to be called ''Real'') which used more synthesizers and had New Wave-styled tracks. She returned to Stiff, where pop singles such as "Terry" and "He's On the Beach" were unsuccessful but a cover of Billy Bragg's "A New England" in 1985 got to Number 7 in the UK charts. This included two extra verses specially written for her by Bragg. Also around this time, MacColl wrote and performed the theme song "London Girls" for Channel 4's short-lived sitcom ''Dream Stuffing'' (1984).
In the United States, MacColl was probably most recognisable as the writer of "They Don't Know". Tracey Ullman's version, helped by a video guest-starring Paul McCartney, reached Number 2 in the UK in 1983 and the Top Ten in North America. It was also played over the closing credits of Ullman's HBO show ''Tracey Takes On'' in 1996. Ullman also recorded three more of MacColl's songs, "You Broke My Heart In 17 Places" and "You Caught Me Out", as the title tracks of her first and second albums respectively, and "Terry" which was released as a single in 1985.
MacColl re-emerged in the British charts in December 1987, reaching Number 2 with The Pogues on "Fairytale of New York", a duet with Shane MacGowan. This led to her accompanying The Pogues on their British and European tour in 1988, an experience which she said helped her temporarily overcome her stage fright. In March 1989, MacColl sang backing vocals on the Happy Mondays' ''Hallelujah'' EP.
After the contract issue was resolved, MacColl returned to recording as a solo artist and received critical acclaim upon the release of ''Kite'' (LP) in 1989. The album was widely praised by critics, and featured collaborations with David Gilmour and Johnny Marr. MacColl's lyrics addressed life in Margaret Thatcher's Britain on "Free World", ridiculed the vapidity of fame in "Fifteen Minutes", and addressed the vagaries of love in "Don't Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim!" Although ''Kite'' contained many original compositions, MacColl's biggest chart success from the album would be the cover of The Kinks' song "Days", which gave her a UK Top 20 hit in July 1989. A bonus track on the CD version of ''Kite'' was a cover of the Smiths song "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby".
During this time, MacColl was also featured on the British sketch comedy ''French and Saunders'', appearing as herself, singing songs including "15 Minutes" and "Don't Come The Cowboy With Me Sunny Jim!" (from ''Kite''), "Still Life" (the B-side of the "Days" single), "Girls On Bikes" (a reworking of B-side "Am I Right?") and, with comedy duo Raw Sex, the Frank and Nancy Sinatra hit "Something Stupid". She continued to write and record, releasing the album ''Electric Landlady'' (coined by Johnny Marr, a play on the Jimi Hendrix album title ''Electric Ladyland''), including her most successful chart hit in North America, "Walking Down Madison" (co-written with Marr and a Top 30 hit in the UK), in 1991. Despite the song's U.S. chart success, ''Landlady'' was not a hit for Virgin Records, and in 1992, when Virgin was sold to EMI, MacColl was dropped from the label.
''Galore'' became MacColl's only album to reach the top 10 in the UK Albums Chart, but neither of the new singles, nor a re-released "Days", made the Top 40. MacColl would not record again for several years; her frustration with the music business was exacerbated by a lengthy case of writer's block. MacColl herself admitted that she was ready to give up her music career and become an English teacher in South America.
In 1998, the album ''What Do Pretty Girls Do?'' was released, containing BBC Radio 1 live sessions (featuring Billy Bragg on two songs) that were broadcast between 1989 and 1995.
After several trips to Cuba and Brazil, MacColl recorded the world music-inspired (particularly Cuban and other Latin American forms) ''Tropical Brainstorm'', which was released in 2000 to critical acclaim. It included the song "In These Shoes", which garnered airplay in the U.S., was covered by Bette Midler and featured in the HBO show ''Sex and the City''. It would later (after MacColl's death) be adopted by Catherine Tate as the theme tune for her BBC TV show and feature on the soundtrack to British film ''Kinky Boots''.
The boat involved in the accident was owned by Mexican supermarket millionaire Guillermo González Nova, who was on board with several members of his family. An employee of González Nova's, boathand José Cen Yam, claimed to have been driving the boat at the time that the accident occurred. Several published reports have included accounts from eyewitnesses that have stated Cen Yam was not at the controls; eyewitnesses also indicate that the boat was travelling much faster than the speed of one knot that Nova had claimed. Cen Yam was found guilty of culpable homicide and was sentenced to 2 years 10 months in prison. He was allowed under Mexican law to pay a punitive fine of 1,034 pesos (about €63, £61, or US$90) in lieu of the prison sentence. He was also ordered to pay approximately US$2,150 in restitution to MacColl's family, an amount based on his wages. Published reports have included statements from people who spoke to Cen Yam after the accident, claiming Cen Yam had received money for taking the blame for the incident.
In 2001, a bench was placed by the southern entrance to London's Soho Square as a memorial to her, after a lyric from one of her most poignant songs: "One day I'll be waiting there / No empty bench in Soho Square". Every year on the Sunday nearest to MacColl's birthday, 10 October, fans from all over the world hold a gathering at the bench to pay tribute to her and sing her songs.
MacColl continues to receive media exposure; in 2004, ''Kirsty MacColl:The One and Only,'' a biography of MacColl written by Karen O'Brien, was published. A retrospective three-CD set spanning her full career, ''From Croydon To Cuba,'' was released in 2005. ''Titanic Days'' was re-released in 2005 as a deluxe 2CD set, and ''Kite'' and ''Electric Landlady'' were also remastered and rereleased with additional tracks. Her first album, ''Desperate Character,'' remained out of print as of late June 2010, but some selections from that work were included in the box set. On 7 August 2005, ''The Best of Kirsty MacColl,'' a single-disc compilation that included a "new" single, "Sun on the Water," made its debut on the UK album charts at number 17, climbing to #12 a week later.
MacColl's collaboration with the Pogues, "Fairytale of New York," remains a perennial Christmas favourite. In 2004, 2005 and 2006, it was voted favourite Christmas song in a poll by music video channel VH1. The song was re-released in the UK in December 2005, with proceeds being split between the Justice for Kirsty Campaign and charities for the homeless. The re-release reached number 3 on the UK charts, and spent five weeks in the top 75 over the Christmas and New Year period. It reached the top 10 for the third time in its history in 2006, peaking at number 6, and charted yet again in December 2007, when there was brief controversy over the use of the word 'faggot' in the lyrics, which BBC Radio 1 dubbed out "to avoid offence," 20 years after it had first passed over the airwaves without comment (or apparent offence, although the rhyme had been changed to "haggard" for a St Patrick's Day concert in 1998); following criticism from listeners and MacColl's mother, Radio 1 reversed their decision later in the day. The song has also made the Top 20 in the two subsequent years, and has now charted in eight separate years. With the exception of the 2005 re-release, the seasonal re-charting in the 21st century is due to download sales, and not due to further releases (download sales counting toward the singles chart since 2005).
Release Date | Album | UK Albums Chart |
align="center" valign="top" | ||
align="left" valign="top" | ||
Release Date | Album | UK Albums Chart | Noted |
align="center" | |||
align="center" | |||
align="left" valign="top" | |||
align="center" | |||
align="center" | |||
align="center" | |||
Year | Song | UK Singles Chart | !align="center" valign="top" width="40" | Album |
June 1979 | align="left" valign="top" | align="center" valign="top" | ||
align="center" valign="top" | ||||
rowspan="2" | ||||
February 1981 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
align="center" valign="top" | ||||
May 1981 | ||||
September 1981 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
align="center" valign="top" | ||||
November 1981 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
align="center" valign="top" | ||||
rowspan="6" | ||||
1983 | align="left" valign="top" | align="center" valign="top" | ||
align="center" valign="top" | ||||
August 1983 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
align="center" valign="top" | ||||
October 1983 | align="left" valign="top" | align="center" valign="top" | ||
December 1984 | ||||
June 1985 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
align="center" valign="top" | ||||
November 1987 | ||||
March 1989 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
June 1989 | align="left" valign="top" | |||
September 1989 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
April 1990 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
November 1990 | align="left" valign="top" | align="center" valign="top" | ||
May 1991 | ||||
July 1991 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
September 1991 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
align="center" valign="top" | ||||
November 1991 | ||||
November 1993 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
align="center" valign="top" | ||||
February 1995 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
June 1995 | align="left" valign="top" | align="center" valign="top" | ||
July 1995 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
November 1999 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
February 2000 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
July 2005 | align="center" valign="top" | |||
align="center" valign="top" | ||||
December 2005 |
Category:English female singers Category:English pop singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English songwriters Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:ZTT Records artists Category:People from Croydon Category:1959 births Category:2000 deaths Category:Underwater diving deaths Category:Accidental deaths in Mexico
de:Kirsty MacColl es:Kirsty MacColl fr:Kirsty McColl ga:Kirsty MacColl it:Kirsty MacColl nl:Kirsty MacColl no:Kirsty MacColl sv:Kirsty MacCollThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | The Pogues |
---|---|
alias | Pogue Mahone |
background | group_or_band |
origin | Kings Cross, London, England |
genre | Celtic punk, folk punk |
years active | 1982–1996, 2001–present |
website | Pogues.com |
current members | Spider StacyJem FinerShane MacGowanJames FearnleyAndrew RankenPhil ChevronDarryl HuntTerry Woods |
past members | Cait O'RiordanJoe StrummerDave CoulterJames McNallyJamie Clarke }} |
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band from London, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before breaking up in 1996. The band reformed in 2001, and has been playing regularly ever since, most notably on the US East Coast around St Patrick's Day and across the UK and Ireland every December. The group has yet to record any new music and, according to Spider Stacy on Pogues.com, has no inclination to do so.
Their politically-tinged music was informed by MacGowan and Stacy's punk backgrounds, yet used traditional Irish instruments such as the tin whistle, cittern, mandolin and accordion.
The Pogues were founded in Kings Cross, a district of North London, in 1982 as Pogue Mahone—''pogue mahone'' being the Anglicisation of the Irish ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse".
They later added Cait O'Riordan (bass) and Andrew Ranken (drums). The band played London pubs and clubs, and released a single, "Dark Streets of London," on their own, self-named label, gaining a small reputation—especially for their live performances. They came to the attention of the media and Stiff Records when they opened for The Clash on their 1984 tour. Shortening their name to "The Pogues" (partly due to BBC censorship following complaints from Gaelic speakers in Scotland) they released their first album ''Red Roses for Me'' on Stiff that October.
The band gained more attention when the UK Channel 4's influential music show ''The Tube'' made a video of their version of "Waxie's Dargle" for the show. The performance—featuring Spider Stacy repeatedly smashing himself over the head with a beer tray (in the manner of Bob Blackman's infamous "Mule Train/Mule Tray")—became a favourite with the viewers, but Stiff refused to release it as a single, feeling it was too late for it to help ''Red Roses for Me'' (in fact Stiff was by then in deep financial trouble). Nevertheless, it remained a favourite request for the show for many years.
With the aid of punk and New Wave forefather Elvis Costello they recorded the follow-up, ''Rum Sodomy & the Lash'', in 1985 during which time guitarist Philip Chevron joined. The album title is a famous comment falsely attributed to Winston Churchill who was supposedly describing the "true" traditions of the British Royal Navy. The album cover featured ''The Raft of the Medusa'', with the faces of the characters in Théodore Géricault's painting replaced with those of the band members. The album shows the band moving away from covers to original material. Shane MacGowan came into his own as a songwriter with this disc, offering up poetic story-telling, such as "The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn" and "The Old Main Drag", as well as definitive interpretations of Ewan MacColl's "Dirty Old Town" and Eric Bogle's "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" (this had previously been covered by Shane's fellow punk contemporaries The Skids in 1981).
The band failed to take advantage of the momentum created by the strong artistic and commercial success of their second album. They first refused to record another album (offering up the four-track EP ''Poguetry in Motion'' instead); O'Riordan married Costello and left the band, to be replaced by bassist Darryl Hunt, formerly of Plummet Airlines and Pride of the Cross; and they added a multi-instrumentalist in Terry Woods, formerly of Steeleye Span. Looming over the band at this period (as throughout their entire career) was the increasingly erratic behaviour of their vocalist and principal songwriter, Shane MacGowan. Their record label, Stiff Records, went bankrupt soon after the 1987 release of the single "The Irish Rover" (with The Dubliners). Members of the band, including O'Riordian, acted in Alex Cox's ''Straight to Hell'', and five songs by the band were included on the film's soundtrack album.
Shane MacGowan wrote a blog for ''The Guardian'' website in 2006, detailing his thoughts on the current tour. The band was awarded the lifetime achievement award at the annual Meteor Ireland Music Awards in February 2006. In March 2006, the band played their first U.S. dates with Shane in over 15 years. The band played a series of sold-out concerts in Washington D.C., Atlantic City, Boston, and New York. Later they played a series of highly acclaimed and sold-out gigs during mid-October 2006 in San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, and toured Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Dublin, and Nottingham in mid-December 2006. They began a second U.S. tour in March 2007, once again to coincide (and conclude) with a Roseland Ballroom New York City show on Saint Patrick's Day. 2007 has proved to be the most prolific year of touring since the reunion. A tour of the west coast of America and eleven dates in the UK in December complement the headlining festival appearances made in the summer across Europe (Sweden, Belgium and Spain). They continue to be in huge demand, often selling out very large venues, despite criticism of selling out, and claims that arenas and festivals do not suit the band's sound. Guitarist Phil Chevron has stated there were no plans to record new music or release a new album. Chevron said that one way to keep enjoying what they were doing was to avoid making a new album, although he did say that there still is a possibility in the future for new music, but certainly not in the near future. Terry Woods has commented that MacGowan has been writing, and most of it sounds good. In 2008 the band released a box set ''Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say....POGUE MAHONE!!'', which included rare studio out-takes and previously unreleased material.
The band has received mixed reviews of some recent performances though they continue to pull the crowds. Reviewing a March 2008 concert, The ''Washington Post'' described MacGowan as "puffy and paunchy," but said the singer "still has a banshee wail to beat Howard Dean's, and the singer's abrasive growl is all a band this marvelous needs to give its amphetamine-spiked take on Irish folk a focal point." The reviewer continued: "The set started off shaky, MacGowan singing of `goin' where streams of whiskey are flowin,' and looking like he'd arrived there already. He grew more lucid and powerful as the evening gathered steam, through two hours and 26 songs, mostly from the Pogues' first three (and best) albums". In December 2010 the Pogues (with support from Crowns) played what was billed as a farewell UK Christmas tour.
In March 2011, the Pogues played a six-city/ten-show sold out US tour titled "A Parting Glass with The Pogues" visiting Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Boston, and New York (in that order), with only the last three cities getting more than one show. It may, or may not, be the last time they tour the States. Stacy said “I think we are basically pretty certain this is the last tour of this type we’ll be doing in the States. There might be the odd sort of one-off here and there. We’re not saying this is absolutely, definitely the end.”
Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
! style="width:35px; text-align:center;" | ! style="width:35px; text-align:center;" | ! style="width:35px; text-align:center;" | ! style="width:35px; text-align:center;" | |||
"Dark Streets of London" | ||||||
"Boys from the County Hell" | ||||||
"A Pair of Brown Eyes" | ||||||
"Sally MacLennane" | ||||||
"Dirty Old Town" | ||||||
- | ||||||
"Irish Rover" (featuring The Dubliners) | - | |||||
"Fairytale of New York" (featuring Kirsty MacColl) | ||||||
"Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah" | ''Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah'' | |||||
"Misty Morning, Albert Bridge" | ''Peace and Love'' | |||||
"Summer in Siam" | ''Hell's Ditch'' | |||||
"Jack's Heroes" (featuring The Dubliners) | ''Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah'' | |||||
Red Hot + Blue (Produced by the Red Hot Organization) | ||||||
''Hell's Ditch'' | ||||||
"Rainy Night in Soho (remix)" | ''Poguetry in Motion'' | |||||
"Fairytale of New York" (re-issue) | ''If I Should Fall from Grace with God'' | |||||
1992 | "Honky Tonk Women" | ''Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah'' | ||||
2005 | "Fairytale of New York" (re-release) | |||||
2006 | "Fairytale of New York" (re-entry of re-release) | |||||
2007 | "Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone) | |||||
2008 | "Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone) | |||||
2009 | "Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone) | |||||
2010 | "Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone) | |||||
2011 | "Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone) |
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Name | Billy Bragg |
---|---|
Background | solo_singer |
Birth name | Stephen William Bragg |
Born | December 20, 1957Barking, London, England |
Instrument | Vocals, guitar |
Genre | Folk punkFolk rockAlternative rock |
Years active | 1977–present |
Associated acts | The BlokesRiff-RaffWilco |
Website | billybragg.co.uk |
Notable instruments | }} |
Bragg began performing frequent concerts and busking around London, playing solo with an electric guitar. His roadie at the time was Andy Kershaw, who became a BBC DJ (Bragg and Kershaw later, in 1989, appeared in an episode of the BBC TV programme, "Great Journeys", in which they travelled the Silver Road from Potosí, Bolivia, to the Pacific coast at Arica, Chile).
Bragg's demo tape initially got no response from the record industry, but by pretending to be a television repair man, he got into the office of Charisma Records' A&R; man Peter Jenner. Jenner liked the tape, but the company was near bankruptcy and had no budget to sign new artists. Bragg got an offer to record more demos for a music publisher, so Jenner agreed to release them as a record. ''Life's a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy'' was released in July 1983 by Charisma's new imprint, Utility. Hearing DJ John Peel mention on-air that he was hungry, Bragg rushed to the BBC with a mushroom biryani, so Peel played a song from ''Life's a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy'' although at the wrong speed (since the 12" LP was, unconventionally, cut to play at 45rpm). Peel insisted he would have played the song even without the biryani and later played it at the correct speed.
Within months, Charisma had been taken over by Virgin Records and Jenner, who had been laid off, became Bragg's manager. Stiff Records' press officer Andy Macdonald – who was setting up his own record label, Go! Discs – received a copy of ''Life's a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy''. He made Virgin an offer and the album was re-released on Go! Discs in November 1983. In 1984, he released ''Brewing Up with Billy Bragg'', a mixture of political songs (e.g., "It Says Here") and songs of unrequited love (e.g., "The Saturday Boy"). The following year he released ''Between the Wars'', an EP of political songs that included a cover version of Leon Rosselson's "The World Turned Upside Down" – the EP made the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart and earned Bragg an appearance on ''Top of the Pops''. Bragg later collaborated with Rosselson on the song, "Ballad of the Spycatcher". In 1985, his song "A New England", with an additional verse, became a Top 10 hit in the UK for Kirsty MacColl. After MacColl's early death, Bragg always sang the extra verse in her honour. In 1984–1985 he toured North America.
In 1986, Bragg released ''Talking with the Taxman about Poetry'', which became his first Top 10 album. Its title is taken from a poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky and a translated version of the poem was printed on the record's inner sleeve. ''Back to Basics'' is a 1987 collection of his first three releases: ''Life's A Riot With Spy Vs. Spy'', ''Brewing Up with Billy Bragg'', and the ''Between The Wars EP''. Bragg released his fourth album, ''Workers Playtime'', in September 1988. With this album, Bragg added a backing band and accompaniment. In May 1990, Bragg released the political mini-LP, ''The Internationale''. The songs were, in part, a return to his solo guitar style, but some songs featured more complicated arrangements and included a brass band. The album paid tribute to one of Bragg's influences with the song, "I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night", which is an adapted version of Earl Robinson's song, "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night", itself an adaptation of a poem by Alfred Hayes.
The album ''Don't Try This at Home'' was released in September 1991, and included the song, "Sexuality", which reached the UK Singles Chart. Bragg had been persuaded by Go! Discs' Andy and Juliet Macdonald to sign a four-album deal with a million pound advance, and a promise to promote the album with singles and videos. This gamble was not rewarded with extra sales, and the situation put the company in financial difficulty. In exchange for ending the contract early and repaying a large amount of the advance, Bragg regained all rights to his back catalogue. Bragg continued to promote the album with his backing band, The Red Stars, which included his Riff Raff colleague and long-time roadie, Wiggy.
Bragg released the album ''William Bloke'' in 1996 after taking time off to help raise his son. Around that time, Nora Guthrie (daughter of American folk artist Woody Guthrie) asked Bragg to set some of her father's unrecorded lyrics to music. The result was a collaboration with the band Wilco and Natalie Merchant (with whom Bragg had worked previously). They released the album ''Mermaid Avenue'' in 1998, and ''Mermaid Avenue Vol. II'' in 2000. A rift with Wilco over mixing and sequencing the album led to Bragg recruiting his own band, The Blokes, to promote the album. The Blokes included keyboardist Ian McLagan, who had been a member of Bragg's boyhood heroes The Faces. The documentary film Man in the Sand depicts the roles of Nora Guthrie, Bragg, and Wilco in the creation of the Mermaid Avenue albums.
In 2004, Bragg joined Florida ska-punk band Less Than Jake to perform a version of 'The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out' for the ''Rock Against Bush'' compilation.
At the 2005 Beautiful Days Festival in Devon, Bragg teamed up with the Levellers to perform a short set of songs by The Clash in celebration of Joe Strummer's birthday. Bragg performed guitar and lead vocals on "Police and Thieves", and performed guitar and backing vocals on "English Civil War", and "Police on my Back".
In 2007, Bragg moved closer to his English folk music roots by joining the WOMAD-inspired collective The Imagined Village, who recorded an album of updated versions of traditional English songs and dances and toured through that autumn. Bragg released his album ''Mr. Love & Justice'' in March 2008. This was the second Bragg album to be named after a book by Colin MacInnes. In 2008, during the NME Awards ceremony, Bragg sang a duet with British solo act Kate Nash. They mixed up their two greatest hits, Nash playing "Foundations", and Bragg redoing his "A New England". Bragg also collaborated with the poet and playwright, Patrick Jones, who supported Bragg's Tour.
In 2008, Bragg played a small role in Stuart Bamforth's film "''A13: Road Movie''". Bragg is featured alongside union reps, vicars, burger van chefs and Members of Parliament in a film that explored "the overlooked, the hidden and the disregarded."
He was involved in the play ''Pressure Drop'' at the Wellcome Collection in London in April and May 2010. The production, written by Mick Gorden, and billed as "part play, part gig, part installation", featured new songs by Bragg. He performed during the play with his band, and acted as compere.
Bragg curated the Leftfield stage at Glastonbury Festival 2010.
He will also be partaking in the Bush Theatre's 2011 project ''Sixty Six'' where he has written a piece based upon a chapter of the King James Bible.
I would then say that I am Mr. Love and Justice, and to check out the love songs. That’s how I capture people. People do say to me, “I love your songs, but I just can’t stand your politics.” And I say, “Well, Republicans are always welcome. Come on over!” I would hate to stand at the door, saying to people, “Do you agree with these positions? If not, you can’t come in.”
Bragg expressed support for the 1984 miners' strike, and the following year he formed the musicians' alliance Red Wedge, which promoted the Labour Party and discouraged young people from voting for the Conservative Party in the 1987 general election. Following the defeat of the Labour Party and the repeated victory of Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative government, Bragg joined Charter88 to push for a reform of the British political system.
Also during the 1980s, Bragg travelled to the Soviet Union a few times, after Mikhail Gorbachev had started to promote the policies of perestroika and glasnost. During one trip, he was accompanied by MTV, and during another trip he was filmed for the 1998 mini-documentary ''Mr Bragg Goes to Moscow'', by Hannu Puttonen.
In 1999, Bragg appeared before a commission that debated possible reform of the House of Lords.
During the 2001 UK general election, Bragg attempted to combat voter apathy by promoting tactical voting in an attempt to unseat Conservative Party candidates in Dorset, particularly in South Dorset and West Dorset. The Labour Party won South Dorset with their smallest majority, and the Conservative majority in West Dorset was reduced.
Bragg has developed an interest in English national identity, apparent in his 2002 album ''England, Half-English'' and his 2006 book ''The Progressive Patriot''. The book expressed his view that English socialists can reclaim patriotism from the right wing. He draws on Victorian poet Rudyard Kipling for an inclusive sense of Englishness. Bragg has participated in a series of debates with members of the Socialist Workers Party who disagree with his argument. Bragg also supports Scottish independence.
Bragg has been an outspoken opponent of fascism, racism, bigotry, sexism and homophobia, and is a supporter of a multi-racial Britain. As a result, Bragg has come under attack from far right groups such as the British National Party. In a 2004 ''The Guardian'' article, Bragg was quoted as saying:
The British National Party would probably make it into a parliament elected by proportional representation, too. It would shine a torch into the dirty little corner where the BNP defecate on our democracy, and that would be much more powerful than duffing them up in the street – which I'm also in favour of.Also in 2004, Bragg collaborated with American ska punk band Less Than Jake to record a song for the ''Rock Against Bush'' compilation album.
During the 2005 general election campaign in the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, Bragg supported Oona King, a pro-Iraq war Labour candidate, over George Galloway, an anti-war Respect Party candidate, due to a belief that splitting the left-wing vote would allow the Conservatives to win the seat. Galloway overturned King's 10,000-strong majority to become his party's only MP.
In March 2006, journalist Garry Bushell (a former Trotskyist who ran as a candidate for the English Democrats in 2005) accused Bragg of "pontificating on a South London council estate when we all know he lives in a lovely big house in West Dorset".
In January 2010, Bragg announced that he would withhold his income tax as a protest against the Royal Bank of Scotland's plan to pay bonuses of approximately of £1.5 billion to staff in its investment banking business. Bragg set up a Facebook group, made appearances on radio and television news programmes, and made speech at Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park. Bragg said,“Millions are already facing stark choices: are they willing to work longer hours for less money, or would they rather be unemployed? I don’t see why the bankers at RBS shouldn’t be asked the same.”
On the eve of the 2010 general election, Bragg announced that he would be voting for the Liberal Democrats because "they've got the best manifesto". He also backed the Lib Dems for tactical voting reasons. Bragg later expressed disappointment with the party, stating that 'the Lib Dems had failed democracy'.
Bragg was also very active in his hometown of Barking as part of Searchlight's Hope not Hate campaign, where the BNP's leader Nick Griffin was standing for election. At one point during the campaign Bragg squared up to BNP London Assembly Member Richard Barnbrook, calling him a "Fascist Racist" and saying "when you're gone from this borough, we will rebuild this community". The BNP came third on election day.
Bragg is a board director and key spokesman for the Featured Artists Coalition, a body representing the rights of recording artists. Bragg founded the organisation Jail Guitar Doors, which supplies instruments to prisoners to encourage them to address problems in a non-confrontational way.
Bragg is a regular at the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival, an annual event celebrating the memory of those transported to Australia for founding a union in the 1830s.
In January 2011, news sources reported that 20 to 30 residents of Bragg's Dorset hometown, Burton Bradstock, had received anonymous letters viciously attacking Bragg and his politics, and urging residents to oppose him in the village. Bragg claimed that a BNP supporter was behind the letters, which argued that Bragg is a hypocrite for advocating socialism while living a wealthy lifestyle, and referred to him as anti-British and pro-immigration.
In July 2011 Billy joined the growing protests over the News of the World phone hacking affair with the recording of "Never Buy the Sun" which references many of the scandals key points including the Milly Dowler case, police bribes and associated political fallout. It also draws on the 22 year Liverpool boycott of ''The Sun'' for their coverage of the Hillsborough Disaster.
Category:1957 births Category:Alternative rock musicians Category:Anti-corporate activists Category:Anti-fascists Category:British socialists Category:English activists Category:English buskers Category:English-language singers Category:English male singers Category:English political writers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English socialists Category:English tax resisters Category:Living people Category:People associated with Oxford Brookes University Category:People from Barking Category:Folk punk musicians Category:Live Music Archive artists
ca:Billy Bragg de:Billy Bragg es:Billy Bragg fr:Billy Bragg it:Billy Bragg nl:Billy Bragg pt:Billy Bragg ru:Брэгг, Билли simple:Billy Bragg fi:Billy Bragg sv:Billy BraggThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
The World News (WN) Network, has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to user privacy. The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for wn.com, as well as e-mail newsletters.
We do not collect personally identifiable information about you, except when you provide it to us. For example, if you submit an inquiry to us or sign up for our newsletter, you may be asked to provide certain information such as your contact details (name, e-mail address, mailing address, etc.).
When you submit your personally identifiable information through wn.com, you are giving your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as set forth in this Privacy Policy. If you would prefer that we not collect any personally identifiable information from you, please do not provide us with any such information. We will not sell or rent your personally identifiable information to third parties without your consent, except as otherwise disclosed in this Privacy Policy.
Except as otherwise disclosed in this Privacy Policy, we will use the information you provide us only for the purpose of responding to your inquiry or in connection with the service for which you provided such information. We may forward your contact information and inquiry to our affiliates and other divisions of our company that we feel can best address your inquiry or provide you with the requested service. We may also use the information you provide in aggregate form for internal business purposes, such as generating statistics and developing marketing plans. We may share or transfer such non-personally identifiable information with or to our affiliates, licensees, agents and partners.
We may retain other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Such third parties may be provided with access to personally identifiable information needed to perform their functions, but may not use such information for any other purpose.
In addition, we may disclose any information, including personally identifiable information, we deem necessary, in our sole discretion, to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal proceeding or governmental request.
We do not want you to receive unwanted e-mail from us. We try to make it easy to opt-out of any service you have asked to receive. If you sign-up to our e-mail newsletters we do not sell, exchange or give your e-mail address to a third party.
E-mail addresses are collected via the wn.com web site. Users have to physically opt-in to receive the wn.com newsletter and a verification e-mail is sent. wn.com is clearly and conspicuously named at the point of
collection.If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter and promotional communications, you may opt-out of receiving them by following the instructions included in each newsletter or communication or by e-mailing us at michaelw(at)wn.com
The security of your personal information is important to us. We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during registration and once we receive it. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100 percent secure, however. Therefore, though we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
If we decide to change our e-mail practices, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we think appropriate so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.
If we make material changes to our e-mail practices, we will notify you here, by e-mail, and by means of a notice on our home page.
The advertising banners and other forms of advertising appearing on this Web site are sometimes delivered to you, on our behalf, by a third party. In the course of serving advertisements to this site, the third party may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser. For more information on cookies, you can visit www.cookiecentral.com.
As we continue to develop our business, we might sell certain aspects of our entities or assets. In such transactions, user information, including personally identifiable information, generally is one of the transferred business assets, and by submitting your personal information on Wn.com you agree that your data may be transferred to such parties in these circumstances.