Billy Bragg
BILLY Bragg doesn't want to change the world, he just wants to give you a different perspective on life.
Each and every album of his long career has been a powerful mixture of politics and bittersweet love songs that encourage the listener to think.
Sexual politics have always played a key part in his repertoire, which can often surprise those who have pigeonholed him as a socialist protest singer.
The Guide spoke to Bragg ahead of his gig in Northampton next week.
"When I first listened to Smokey Robinson I realised there was someone else who felt like I did, and when I heard the Clash I realised I was not the only person who thought like that," he says.
"I think music has a means to connect with people. You cannot change the world but you can make people think.
"At a gig in March one of the bouncers said he thought it was all going to be political but said he really enjoyed it.
"It really bugs me that people dismiss me as a political writer. It is partly because I am willing to go on programmes like Question Time, but what I try to do is offer people a different perspective on the world and their relationships in it.
"It is about keeping a balance between the political stuff and the love songs – I do worry sometimes."
Despite being a huge fan of Bob Dylan – and still waiting for the call to work with the American folk idol – it is a politician that has shaped Bragg's whole career.
"It was the influence of Margaret Thatcher and the miners' strike that really shaped me and it is no coincidence that I have been playing solo for 26 years and it is the 25th anniversary of the miners' strike next year," he said.
"It was playing gigs in the coalfields that shaped me."
Those benefit gigs were just the start of Bragg's political work, which also included concerts in Corby in support of the thousands of steel workers who lost their jobs in the 1980s.
The trips to Corby brought Bragg back to a part of the world he knows well, having
spent a chunk of his youth living and recording with a punk band in and around Oundle.
Those benefit gigs reached their highest profile with the Red Wedge tour alongside other politically motivated musicians and bands such as Paul Weller and The Smiths.
As well as being a political activist, Bragg has also written a book about English national identity and patriotism – but he is first and foremost a singer, songwriter and musician.
Speaking about his upcoming tour in support of his latest release Mr Love and Justice,
he said: "This is my day job. Writing a book is very interesting, but I love this job."
Despite recording with a band for the best part of 20 years, Bragg still enjoys the spontaneity of performing solo.
It enables him to incorporate current affairs into his stage banter, and to change the set list to suit the city, venue or audience.
One of his most famous songs is Levi Stubbs' Tears, which took on a special poignancy on his recent American tour.
"On the first night of the American tour I got a call in the middle of Pennsylvania to be told Levi Stubbs had died," he explained.
"Stuff like that happens and you have to think about what you are going to say.
"The political and economic situation also changes day by day and has an effect on what you say and play, for sure.
"Having the band is fun and having the band around helps me write more songs and I enjoy jamming, but it can be expensive touring with a band."
And travelling light enables Bragg to play more gigs than most other performers.
Bragg returned from an American tour just hours before Barack Obama clinched the presidency of the United States and days before the UK tour begins.
It will come as no surprise to learn that Bragg stayed up through the night to see the
American results come in, and celebrate the victory.
"Everyone was more psyched than usual and I was just trying to give them a different perspective, but had to be a bit more careful (with what I said) than normal," he said.
Bragg's enthusiasm for the debate about the American political situation shows that after more than 30 years performing in bands and as a solo artist, the fire and passion still burns bright inside.
"I'm still that guy who wants to offer you a different perspective and if anything I am more enthused now than ever before."
Billy Bragg plays at Derngate in Northampton on Friday, November 21.
Tickets cost 16 and are available by calling 01604 624811 or at www.royalandderngate.co.uk.
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