(o/t) Billy Bragg - back in the Top 30!!

Time to tip the glass and tug at the forelock to our beloved modern folk hero the Braggster, who has returned to the charts for the first time in nearly 10 years with "Take Down The Union Jack" - which has gone in at a surprising number 22 in the charts! How the hell did that happen?? I've not even heard any of the new album yet, and all of a sudden he's found himself with a hit! Perhaps the contentious subject matter and title may have cajoled enough punters into taking notice, who knows?

Any other Bragg fans here, other than [from what I already know], are messrs ShugZiVah and the Martian...who have heard the single yet to pass comment?

Which Bragg albums have you already got and enjoy, ShugZiVah lad?? I have all of them bar the latest one!

Like yerself, old lazybones had better get himself off his arse and to the record emporium pronto and seek out the newie, before his sell-out tour renders him too big for his boots and we'll start denying we ever liked the guy now that he's had another monster smash hit single - heh heh... :D :D

Thing is ShugZiVah, I have some of the ones you don't have, but the only problem is, they're mostly on vinyl so they won't sound as clean as the CD versions anyway- besides they're so well-played some of them sound like his backing band are eating crisps all the way thru the songs ....I'm actually in the process of getting all the old BB stuff on CD so at least I don't have to have crummy tapes getting mangled in my car stereo!

You think we got it better in Middlesbrough? Think again pal! There's only crummy HMV - who incidentally haven't even heard of The Breeders, when I asked them about it a few weeks ago, the crap useless fookers! - and an Our Price and Andy's Records - NONE of which have much Bragg stuff save for the compilations and the latest newie. And even then they'll only agree to stock it thru gritted teeth.....I'm probably the only Billy Bragg fan left here in the North East as it stands! Maybe the others all got pissed off with Bragg for buying his sunny mansion in Dorset or something.....wow! Such betrayal of one's Deepest Reddest Socialist roots my lord....!!

He's even got Boris Johnson (that snooty upper crusted Conservative knob he took to Glastonbury in 2000) on his Christmas card list now....wonders truly never cease!!! Heh heh...

At the Bragg concerts earlier this year he unveiled his plan to bring down the Queen during the Jubilee by releasing this single.

He made everyone in the audience promise to buy it to send it to number 1 the week before the jubilee! It obviously sort of worked, I know for a fact he said this at every gig on the tour!

Jake

Whaaaat? That sounds well dodgy! What is the world coming to when the Braggster - of all people - has to coerce all his fans to buy his new single just to get it in the charts.... the cheek of the man!!

Still, I too was surprised to see it going in so high....especially considering how the music press have all but now resorted to dismissing Billy as an eighties throwback that shouldn't have a place in the hit parade any more.....well fucking BOLLOCKS AND DOUBLE SHIT to the whole blinkered bigoted lot of 'em.... what the fuck do they know about enduring acts? Who's fucking arsed about being hip or not?

don't hit me but i hadn't actually heard of him till i heard that song on the top 40 :o but i thought it was very cool. was impressed.

Hey Sarah, why do you keep disappearing everytime I post in a new trivia teaser?? There was another one about three weeks ago I set for everyone, but nobody got the answers right - or more to the point, bothered to even make an effort - so the prize remains unclaimed and the competition now declared null and void.

As for Billy - it was TEN YEARS AGO since he last hit the Top 30 so it's no wonder you never heard of the guy til now - mind you, I don't even know what his new one sounds like yet either....... .) D'you think he'll be on Top Of The Pops? If so, then his record will no doubt plummet down the charts and straight out of the bottom the next week, just like what happens with our heroes New Order each time they appear on that crap insipid programme, eh?? ;)

Hey Johnny there! You missed a fucking ROCKING BASTARD of a night when you lot turned tail that Friday nite - at least Timbo and his missus got to witness the sheer explosive punkrock genius that is the Blade in full throttle (my kit got trashed the following nite at Fooking Tunbridge Wells - talk about keeping my word to vent complete and utter rhythmic carnage on all and sundry)....

....anyway, back to Uncle Billy - my fave two albums of his are "....Taxman" and "Don't Try This At Home" - his most fully rounded all-star-cast-abbetted pop masterpiece of all! And nope, I STILL haven't got his newie yet but Volume Two of "Mermaid Avenue" with Wilco never hardly leaves my CD player! Billy Bragg = Diamond Gee-ZAH For-eVAH!!!!

Originally posted by Johnny Giles Hubes, from Ska through the Bard of Barking to the Order. A truly rich pedigree of musical upbringing. Perhaps an RBoS musical soc in the making ;). Not surprised one bit to find luminaries Shug & Marty into the Bard also. If only Barney could take lessons in lyrics from BB...'how can you lie there & think of England when you don't even know who's in the team...SHIRLEY'. Have seen BB more than any other artist (apart from The Order of course), most recently on his UK tour at Shepherds Bush Emp & then at HMV in Oxford Street when he played TDTUJ.Prefer the opening track on the new album 'St Monday' to TDTUJ. This is all about our Billy's manifesto to becoming PM. His plan is to extend the weekend by making Monday part of it. Simple no? gets my vote everytime. As he said before he sung it...'once we get Monday, it's only a matter of time before we get Tuesday too'. Genius. He signed copies of his new album at HMV & so I got one for my mate Dave who loves Bragg & quite likes the Order but likes nothing more than to hammer me for my ridiculous obsession - some people just don't understand us, right?. So BB signs it, 'Better than New Order...Billy Bragg'. Just a joke chaps?!, just a joke.Whadda you guys think of the new album? not too impressed meself. It's not a patch on Workers Playtime or Talking with The Taxman IMHO.

Sounds greet there ole fella! Mind you, I only became aware of Bragg on his Red Wedge tour of all the Uni complexes and colleges in 1985...and I ended up seeking out his records from that point. I've only ever met him once - when he did the Internationale tour in 1990 and played Newcastle Mayfair, I think....(though it's a while back now so i may have got the venue wrong..) and he's a real geezer like, really down to earth and certainly no egotist despite the image he has and all that! I'm gonna have to get hold of his new record soon as I haven't even heard it myself yet! :D I still love that first EP he did (can't really call it an 'album' can you) "Life's A Riot". Even my girl Charley comes over all gooey when she hears "Milkman of Human Kindness" - and to her, Bragg's a bit of an acquired taste really But the BBC Peel sessions CD he put out is the best and purest Bragg record in my own opinion - as the arrangements are more understated and his lyrics and voice - the most important BB elements after all - are showcased best of all in this setting....

last time i saw bb he changed the lyrics on one of the songs to "she played fly half for bath" from "she just stayed in the bath" which was pretty funny imo

Originally posted by Johnny Giles Now you see my caution? And guess what, this Satdy, Jarvo & Dave Hibell missed the train!! But thankfully Eurostar chucked them on the next one without further payment. That never happens to me.

ah but we were there before the train actually left the station but red tape stopped us from getting on it thanks to their awful check in half an hour before leaving thing.

got to paddington at 16:14 for the homeward leg & my train was due to leave at 16:15 - that's timing!