Billy Bragg: Bridges Not Walls - 2017

Sometimes, particularly these days, one can get quite disillusioned by what is going on in the country, and indeed, the world. 

It is at times like those that I find I turn to Billy Bragg. He never lets me down. He meets modern day issues head on. Saffiyah Smiles is about an Asian girl who faced down a loathsome fascist thug with a smile; Why We Build The Wall attempts to ask if there is some sort of reason to Trump’s lunatic America; King Tide And Sunny Day Flood addresses the problem of climate change; and on the magnificent Full English Brexit Bragg sings in the role of a “leaver” moaning about “measuring in metres not feet”. 

Yes, Billy can be a little bit ham-fisted in his delivery, but his heart is in the right place and, as he does here, he is brave enough to sing in the persona of his political opponents, not an easy thing to do. Thanks Billy. You restore my faith that I am not alone. As you have done for thirty years.

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