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. Bragg became disillusioned with his music career, and in May 1981 joined the British Army as a recruit destined for the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars of the Royal Armoured Corps. After three months, he bought his way out of the army for £175 and returned home, having attended basic training but having never served in a regiment as a soldier.
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 performing at South by Southwest in 2008.
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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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 or associated with 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 took part in the Bush Theatre's 2011 project Sixty Six where he has written a piece based upon a chapter of the King James Bible.
Bragg performed a set of the Guthrie songs that he had set to music for Mermaid Avenue during the Hay Literary Festival in June 2012. Mermaid Avenue Vol. III and Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions were also released in early 2012.
On 18 March 2013, Bragg released his latest studio album, five years since Mr. Love & Justice, titled Tooth And Nail. It featured 11 original songs, including one written for the Bush Theatre, and a Woody Guthrie cover. Stylistically, it continues to explore genres of Americana (music) and Alternative country, both of which he has said he has been playing and writing regularly since Mermaid Avenue (1998).
In November 2017, he released all six tracks from the mini-album Bridges Not Walls as downloads and CD through the Billy Bragg website and other sellers, followed by the single Full English Brexit through Cooking Vinyl.
Northern Industrial Town
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The front doors of the houses open into the street
There's no room for front gardens
Just a two-up, two-down
In a northern industrial town
And you can see the green hills 'cross the rooftops
And a fresher wind blows past the end of our block
Into a northern industrial town
And there's only two teams in this town
And you must follow one or the other
Let us win, let them lose
Not the other way round
In a northern industrial town
And the streetlights look pretty and bright
From the tops of the hills that rise dark in the night
If it weren't for the rain, you might never come down
To your northern industrial town
And on payday they tear the place down
With a pint in your hand and a bash 'em out band
Sure they'd dance to the rhythm of the rain falling down
In a northern industrial town
And there's plenty of artists around
Painters, steal cars, poets, nicked guitars
'Cause we're out of the black and we're into the red
So give us this day our daily bread
In a northern industrial town
But it's not Leeds or Manchester
Liverpool, Sheffield nor Glasgow
It's not Newcastle-on-Thyne
It's Belfast
It's just a northern industrial town
Merry Christmas, war is over
In a northern industrial town
The lyrics of Billy Bragg's song "Northern Industrial Town" is a poignant commentary on the lives of people living in a place that doesn't have much to offer. The song describes a typical northern English town, where the houses open onto the street, and there's no room for gardens. The working-class people living there have modest two-up, two-down homes. In this town, there are only two teams, and everyone must follow one or the other. It's a place where people's lives revolve around winning and losing.
The song's lyrics also depict the beauty of the town's natural surroundings, as the green hills are visible from the rooftops. However, the beauty of the town is still evident despite the heavy rain and mist that can roll in at night. The song speaks to the hardworking people of the industrial town who have artistic aspirations but don't have the means to pursue them fully.
In a way, the lyrics of the song highlight the resilience of the people living in this town, as they continue to dance to the rhythm of the rain falling down. They may not have much, and their town may not be the biggest or most glamorous, but they're still there, living their lives and making the best of what they have.
Line by Line Meaning
It's just a northern industrial town
This town is not special or unique, just another place with factories and workers
The front doors of the houses open into the street
The houses are small and cramped so the door opens directly to the outside street
There's no room for front gardens
The houses don't have any yard space in the front for gardens or landscaping
Just a two-up, two-down
The houses are small with two floors and only two rooms on each floor
And you can see the green hills 'cross the rooftops
Despite the industrial landscape, there are hills visible along the skyline
And a fresher wind blows past the end of our block
There is fresh air that comes through the area despite the pollution from the factories
In the evenings the mist comes rolling on down
The mist or fog can be seen moving through the town in the evenings
Into a northern industrial town
The town is defined by its industrial nature and that is what sets it apart
And there's only two teams in this town
There are only two sports teams in the area that people care about
And you must follow one or the other
People take sides and feel loyal to one of the two teams
Let us win, let them lose
There is a rivalry between the two teams and one must be victorious over the other
Not the other way round
It's important to win, and losing to the other team is not acceptable
And the streetlights look pretty and bright
Despite the darkness of the night, the streetlights create a nice ambiance
From the tops of the hills that rise dark in the night
When viewing the town from the surrounding hills at night, the town appears dark
If it weren't for the rain, you might never come down
The rain is often what brings people back down from the hills into the town
To your northern industrial town
Returning to the town from the hills is a reminder of the gritty, working-class lifestyle
And on payday they tear the place down
People celebrate payday by getting drunk and rowdy, often causing damage and destruction
With a pint in your hand and a bash 'em out band
People celebrate with a pint of beer and music that encourages them to be loud and rowdy
Sure they'd dance to the rhythm of the rain falling down
The rain doesn't stop the people from partying and having fun
In a northern industrial town
The town is still defined by its industrial nature, even in times of celebration
And there's plenty of artists around
Despite the gritty nature of the town, there are plenty of creative people living there
Painters, steal cars, poets, nicked guitars
The artists come from all different backgrounds and mediums
'Cause we're out of the black and we're into the red
People are trying to get out of a difficult financial situation but are still struggling
So give us this day our daily bread
People are struggling to make ends meet and just need the basics to survive
It's not Leeds or Manchester
The town is often overlooked and not thought of in the same way as larger cities nearby
Liverpool, Sheffield nor Glasgow
The town is not as well-known as these other Northern industrial cities
It's not Newcastle-on-Thyne
The town shouldn't be mistaken for this larger, more well-known city nearby
It's Belfast
The town is actually Belfast, which is often thought of very differently
Merry Christmas, war is over
Despite the difficulties of living in this industrial town, there is still hope and the message of peace
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: BILLY BRAGG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind