Background
After the release of 1991's Don't Try This at Home , Billy Bragg became a father in 1993 and took time out to concentrate on fatherhood before recording William Bloke in 1996. [7] Bragg has said that he saw the albums he made in the 1980s as "ideologically political" because that's how he viewed his country of Britain. However, by the mid-1990s, he felt that things had moved into "a less clear phase", and with his family life having changed completely, "those two things are what you're hearing on the album." [8]
The album's lyrics deal with themes such as lost idealism ("From Red to Blue"), [9] lamenting the loss of childhood dreams ("The Space Race Is Over"), [10] latent revolution ("A Pict Song"), romance ("The Fourteenth of February"), domesticity and fatherhood ("Brickbat"), [9] and family values ("King James Version"). [11]
"Northern Industrial Town" was written about the Northern Ireland conflict. Bragg said in 1996, "It seemed to me that during the cease-fire I saw the first photographs on television of Belfast without any troops or police on the street. Suddenly I realized what a normal place it was. What was happening there was absolutely abnormal; it looked like Vietnam or Yugoslavia – but it ain't, and I wanted to write a song that reflected that realization." [8]
The lyrics to "A Pict Song" are by English poet Rudyard Kipling. The lyrics to "Goalhanger" use the first verse of "The Little Man Who Wasn't There".
Stephen William Bragg is an English singer, songwriter, musician, author and political activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is centred on change and activist causes.
Talking with the Taxman About Poetry is the third album by Billy Bragg, released in September 1986. With production by John Porter and Kenny Jones, Talking with the Taxman About Poetry featured more musicians than Bragg's previous works, which were generally little more than Bragg himself and a guitar.
England, Half-English is a 2002 album by English political singer-songwriter Billy Bragg and the Blokes, and a song from that album. The song is about racism in England and the anti-immigration feelings and racist abuse of asylum seekers fuelled by the tabloid press, particularly the Daily Mail. The song uses examples such as the lions on the English football team's shirts, Britannia and the English patron saint, St. George, the hyphen in Anglo-Saxon and the nation's favourite dish (curry) to convey his message that everything about English culture is shaped and influenced by the waves of immigration that have taken place in the past.
Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg, is a three CD collection of Billy Bragg's greatest hits and B-sides, released on October 28, 2003. It consists of a double album and a disc of ten extras. Subscribers to Billy's website voted on their favourite tracks and these votes were used to compile the CD collection.
The Internationale is a 1990 album by Billy Bragg. Originally released on Bragg's short-lived record label, Utility Records, it is a deliberately political album, consisting mainly of cover versions and rewrites of left-wing protest songs. Although Bragg is known for his association with left-wing causes, this release is unusual; most of Bragg's recordings balance overtly political songs with social observation and love songs.
Keys to Ascension 2 is the fifth live and sixteenth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes. It was released as a double album in November 1997 by Essential Records as the successor to the previous live/studio album Keys to Ascension. After guitarist Steve Howe and keyboardist Rick Wakeman returned to the band in 1995, the group relocated to San Luis Obispo, California and started to write new material. The reunion of this particular line-up was promoted with three concerts at the city's Fremont Theater in March 1996, the five's first live performance together since 1979. Keys to Ascension 2 features the remaining half of the live set from the 1996 shows and five new studio tracks including two ones which marked a return to the group writing long-form pieces.
"Some Might Say" is a song by English rock band Oasis. It was released as the first single on 24 April 1995 from their second studio album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995). The song was written by the band's lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. "Some Might Say" provided Oasis with their first number one on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 10 in Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Sweden. The song is also the last to feature all five original members, as original drummer Tony McCarroll was fired shortly after the song's release.
Reaching to the Converted is an album by Billy Bragg released in August 1999. It is a collection of B-sides and rarities that spans Billy's entire career. It includes variations on old favorites, such as "Greetings to the New Brunette" and "Walk Away Renee". None of the tracks on the album were reissued as extras for Bragg's box sets, Volume 1 and Volume 2.
Beyond Good and Evil is the seventh studio album by English rock band The Cult. Released in 2001, it marked their first new recording in six and a half years. The record debuted at No. 37 on the charts in the United States, No. 22 in Canada, No. 25 in Spain.
Yes is the third studio album by alternative rock band Morphine, released in March 1995. It was their first album to make the Billboard Top 200, but fared less well abroad than its predecessor. As of February 1997 it has sold 156,000 copies in United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Don't Try This at Home is the sixth full-length album by urban folk artist Billy Bragg, released in September 1991. It reached #8 on the UK Albums Chart.
Workers Playtime is a 1988 album by Billy Bragg. Originally released on the Go! Discs label, it is his fourth release but third full-length album. It was reissued on compact disc in September 1996 on the Cooking Vinyl label before being remastered, expanded and reissued in 2006 on Cooking Vinyl in the UK and on the Yep Roc label in the United States.
Bloke on Bloke is a 1997 outtakes compilation album by British rock musician Billy Bragg. It gathers together several outtakes from the sessions for the William Bloke album. Its title is a play on the Bob Dylan album Blonde On Blonde.
Cosmic Psychos are an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1982 as Spring Plains. Founding members included Ross Knight on bass guitar and vocals; Robbie Addington on guitar and vocals; and Steve Morrow on vocals. Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, described their music as "arty kind of punk noise, somewhere between The Birthday Party and a more narcotic sounding Ramones". Late in 1984 the group was renamed as Cosmic Psychos. They issued their debut album, Down on the Farm, in December 1985. Several albums have followed and were backed by national tours and international tours to Europe and North America including festivals with Mudhoney, Nirvana, L7, Helmet and Motörhead. In 1990 Jones was replaced by Robbie Watts on guitar and vocals. By 2005 Walsh was replaced by Dean Muller on drums. On 1 July 2006 Watts died of a heart attack, aged 47, and the band continued with John McKeering joining.
Volume 2 is a box set by political folk singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, released in 2006.
Mr Love & Justice is the twelfth studio album by folk-rock musician Billy Bragg, and the second to be recorded with his backing band The Blokes. The title is taken from the 1960 novel by Colin MacInnes.
"Follow You Down" is a song by American rock band Gin Blossoms, and the first single released from their album Congratulations I'm Sorry. It was released as a double A-side single with "Til I Hear It from You" in the United States. The song received a fair amount of radio play and has been featured in several films, including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It reached number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 in a 46-week stay on the chart. It also became the band's second number-one single in Canada, after "Til I Hear It from You", and reached number 30 in the United Kingdom.
Cara Tivey is an English pianist/keyboardist and vocalist who has mainly worked as a side musician. She is best known for her collaborations with Billy Bragg. Tivey is also the cousin of Stephen and Nick Duffy of The Lilac Time.
"Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards" is a 1988 song by English singer/songwriter Billy Bragg. The song was released as an advance single from the album Workers Playtime on August 30, 1988. Bragg was accompanied on the original recording by Martin Belmont, Bruce Thomas, Cara Tivey, Mickey Waller and Bragg's long-standing roadie Wiggy, with backing vocals by Michelle Shocked and Phill Jupitus among others. The recording was produced by Joe Boyd with Wiggy. The single had two songs on the b-side: a re-recording of Bragg's "Wishing the Days Away" featuring Tivey, and a cover of the Flying Burrito Brothers' "Sin City" featuring Hank Wangford, both produced by John Porter and Kenny Jones.
R&BA is the fifth and final studio album by Scottish musician BA Robertson, released in June 1982 by Asylum Records. Unlike his previous two albums, it failed to chart, despite the success of some of its singles. The album was reissued on CD on 12 May 2017 by Cherry Red Records which included several bonus tracks.
