Billy Bragg biography
Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957 in Barking, Essex, England), better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician who blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs. His lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes. His music career has lasted more than 30 years, and he has collaborated with Natalie Merchant, Johnny Marr, Kate Nash, Leon Rosselson, members of R.E.M., Michelle Shocked, Less Than Jake, Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Kirsty MacColl, and Wilco. Bragg often plays and speaks at the Tolpuddle Martyrs festival. Bragg Close, a street in Dagenham, Greater London, is named in his honour. He now lives in Dorset.
Early life
Stephen William Bragg was born in 1957, the son of Dennis Frederick Austin Bragg, a sales manager's assistant in a Barking cap and hat makers, and his wife, Marie Victoria D'Urso. He was born in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
In 1977, Bragg formed the punk rock/pub rock band Riff Raff and toured London's pubs and clubs. The band released a series of singles, which did not receive wide exposure. He also worked in Guy Norris records in Barking, Greater London. Bragg became disillusioned with his music career, and in May 1981 he joined the British Army as a trooper destined for the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars of the Royal Armoured Corps. After a few months, he bought his way out of the army for £175 and returned home, having finished his training but not joining his regiment.
Bragg began constantly performing 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 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 he 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, 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 he later played it at the correct speed.
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