Billy Bragg
Page 46
Utility Records 100, 104–5, 114, 118, 209, 213, 215
‘Valentine’s Day Is Over’ 200
Valero Bragg, Jack de (son) xi, 237, 239, 240, 243, 246, 249, 270, 275, 283, 308, 312, 317, 319, 320, 323
first band of 312
live debut of 311–12
Valero Macdonald, Jamie de (godson) 206, 212, 231, 232–3, 236, 237, 247, 285, 319, 320
Valero Wills, Juliet de xi, 132–7, 155, 177, 206, 207, 208, 220–21, 222, 230–37, 243, 246, 248, 253, 268, 270, 280, 282, 299, 308–9, 313, 318, 319, 320, 321, 323
Venables, Terry 13
Vernon, Will 12
Vibrators 34
Victim Of Geography (songbook) 4, 211
Village Voice 264
Vine, Jeremy 276, 291–2
Visage 83
‘Voice Of The Wildebeest’ 91
votedorset.net 276
‘Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards’ 186, 198, 199, 200, 254
Waits, Tom 121
Walking And Talking 243
Waller, Mickey 195
Walker, Johnnie 269, 280, 281
Walker, Leon 302
Walpole, Ken 172
‘Walt Whitman’s Niece’ 261
Walter, Karen 117, 121
Wangford, Hank 104, 131, 171, 188
band of 131, 150, 153, 202
Wapping, London xviii, 4
War on Terrorism 279
‘Warmest Room, The’ 184
Warren, Patrick 309
Waterson, Norma 253
Watersons 128, 167, 299
Watkins, Pete 50
Waugh, Johnny 42, 46, 48
‘We Laughed’ 291–2
Weakest Link, The 280–81, 284
Weddings, Parties, Anything 209
Weller, Paul xiii, 37, 103, 128–9, 150, 163, 167–72, 176, 183, 190, 192, 209, 223, 231, 248, 299, 321
see also Jam; Style Council
Wells, Steven (Seething Wells; Swells) 112, 115, 117, 140, 150, 175, 264
Wembley Stadium 14
West Ham United FC 13–14, 67, 316
Wet Wet Wet 197–8
‘Which Side Are You On?’ 157
Whittaker, Mark 23
Who 29
‘Who The Hell Does Billy Bragg Think He Is?’ 314
Wyatt, Robert 300
Wigg, Alan 14, 90, 200
Wigg, Philip (Wiggy) 15, 16, 24, 37–8, 47, 63, 69, 94, 95, 96, 100, 105, 111, 128, 149, 163, 174, 184–5, 195, 198, 201, 202, 206, 211, 212, 214, 217, 223, 225, 253, 266, 270, 293, 311, 321–2
Bunnymen tour 138–42
childhood friendship with Billy 18–22
falls out with Billy 238–40, 250
forms AVM 67–8, 82, 138
production work 195, 219
proto-Riff Raff 27–9, 33–6, 39
Red Stars 226–8, 238
Riff Raff 42–4, 46–9, 51, 53, 61–2, 67–9, 132, 195
Rolling Stones fan 26, 29, 35, 46
Wilco 257–60, 261, 263–5, 267, 289, 309
William the Conqueror 7
Wilson, Harold xvii, 161
Wirrina ice rink, Peterborough 50, 57
Wobbling Heights, Oundle 53–6, 59–61, 62
Wolter, Jorg 180, 181, 185, 204
Wonder Stuff 234
Wood, Lance Cpl 74, 108
Woodhead, Dave 101, 137, 151, 184, 198, 247, 250, 279
Woods, Brenda 56–7, 63, 71, 78, 79, 84, 203, 206, 235
Working Week 166
World Cup:
1966 13
1990 217
2006 293
England squad 19
‘World Turned Upside Down, The’ 157, 179, 182
World War I 6, 12
World War II 1, 4–6, 8, 10, 12, 69–70
Wormwood Scrubs 302
Wray, Link 43
Wright, Steve 158, 177
XFM 236
XTC 46, 104
Yep Roc Records 292
Yes 22
‘You Woke Up My Neighbourhood’ 223, 224, 225–6, 257
Young, Neil 257
YouTube 295, 306
Zephaniah, Benjamin 130
Zig Zag 43, 53, 69, 98, 114, 169
BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME
Acknowledgements to the first edition
THAT GREAT AMERICAN observer Raymond Carver wrote a poem called ‘Sunday Night’ in the year before he died, 1988. One of my favourites; hope it’s one of yours. In it, he advises, ‘Make use of the things around you … Put it all in, make use.’ Carver’s lyrical urgency kept returning to me as I filled this book. I have attempted to put it all in, not just for the sake of creating a definitive document on Billy Bragg, but because God is in the details. There’s nothing less satisfying than a music biography that is a glorified shopping list of album titles and tour dates. To me, the Billy Bragg story is the story of post-war Britain, of punk rock and Thatcherism. It is the decline of international Communism, the end of the Cold War, the rise of the centre-left and the dawning of a new era. Try putting all that in. For my very first book, I might’ve picked someone a bit younger, a bit dumber and a bit less well travelled.
I didn’t. It was Billy Bragg, the Cocteau Twins or nobody.
And there is simply no way I could have put Billy Bragg’s life into a book without Billy Bragg. He is not the sort of control freak to block an unauthorised biog, but is nonetheless a great guy to have on your side. There is a Billy Bragg archive, and he’s sitting on it. The fact that he’d turned down biographers before me suggested that, if nothing else, my timing was good (I’d left my day job, Virgin Books had a new music editor, and Billy was turning 40). Thus we set off on a journey together – literally, in the case of Barking, Oundle and Dublin; metaphorically, as we retraced his steps back to Saxon times.
The teetering pile of Sony microcassettes marked BILLY on my desk is testament to the sheer amount of time he granted me over a six-month period, but it’s insufficient to measure his generosity with a stopwatch. This is a man who has been interviewed by journalists and quizzed by fans for fifteen years, and yet he was prepared to do it all over again – but this time in laser-surgery detail and with no story unturned. Not only that, he let me take away valuable, irreplaceable scrapbooks and effects, and made me cups of tea. I feel privileged to have had such access, and if the book’s any cop it’s because of Billy’s domestic and professional glasnost.
I couldn’t have done it without him, but I wouldn’t have done it without Ian Gittins at Virgin (to think, we used to be on opposing sides at the music press) – cheers for the encouragement, the faith, the lunches and the horror stories about ‘other authors’. At home, where I became a hermit for at least three months solid and spoke of nothing else but Billy Bragg, I am eternally in debt to my wife, Julie, who forced me to take screen-breaks, made really nice soda bread, and is still my wife. The cats kept me sane, too: Pepper with her chat and her daily flop on my desk; Chilli with her serene sentry at the window.
Over at Billy’s, Juliet was no less free with her time and her innermost thoughts (thanks for being so honest, and for letting Billy tell the banana story). It was valuable to meet Jack and Jamie, too. I have listed all of my interviewees and sources at the back of the book, but a special nod to Wiggy, Riff Raff, Pete and Tiny; to Billy’s mum, Marie; and to Neil Kinnock in Brussels (thanks for all your help, Jan and Catherine). Much has been written about Billy Bragg in fifteen years, but a handful of writers consistently made my trawl through the files a pleasure: Adam Sweeting, Colin Irwin, Steven Wells, Robin Denselow, Karen Swayne and Danny Kelly. Non-interviewees who were very good to me included: Grant Showbiz, Wilco, Jerry Boys, Tony and Lee Ellen at East West, Scott at Elektra, all at Windmill, all at Sincere, Barbara Charone, Ian Richards (nearly!), Andy McSmith (ditto) and Pippa Hall.
Thanks to Mum and Dad, who allowed me to waste my life and go to art school with the visionary proviso, ‘Make sure you get your English A Level, just in case it all falls through. You can always go into journalism …�
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I was delighted to be able to use The King’s England: Northamptonshire in the process of researching this book, first published in 1945 and given to my father as a prize by Northampton Grammar School in 1953. It’s that sort of circular stuff that makes it all worthwhile.
Thanks to Solutions gym, Salbutamol, Beclomethasone and Tomb Raider II for helping me to keep body and soul together. Apologies to everybody I had either to squeeze in or squeeze out while I was writing the book. It’s done now. I have made use, and put it all in.
Andrew Collins, June 1998
Acknowledgements to the second edition
Before embarking upon the second edition I, naturally enough, read the first edition again, this time with the benefit of four years’ hindsight and the voices of all those book reviewers, Bragg fans and friends ringing in my head. I remain grateful for all the feedback received, whether written in national publication or spoken over pub table; and thanks to all those around the globe (no, really) who took the time to write to me or post their opinions on the Billy Bragg website. Most seemed to like my book; some had reservations about all the puns; one very angry young man engaged me in a long and unwinnable war of words about my stance on the SWP and the fact that I hadn’t tracked down and quizzed every one of Billy’s ex-girlfriends. Still, I thank all comers for taking notice, even that bloke.
The second edition has just as many puns and a brand new chapter covering Billy’s life and work since 1998. I have updated the conclusion too, but it remains essentially the same, because so does he.
Once again, we wouldn’t be here were it not for Billy Bragg. For the new chapter I spent further quality time with him, this time at his new ‘cliff-top mansion’ (sorry) in Dorset. Even though the world was gearing up for George Bush’s ‘War On Terrorism’ at the time, it all seemed a mercifully long way away as we talked, looking out on a glinting English Channel from a beachside café. Billy and his new life are good vibes incarnate. I am proud to count him as a friend, and I owe him for all the copies of this book he’s flogged, directly and indirectly. Thanks again to Pete Jenner, and this time to Ian ‘Mac’ McLagan, for taking the time.
My previous editor at Virgin, Ian Gittins, has long gone, so I must thank James Bennett this time, even though he’ll be long gone by the time we hit the shops, and Kirstie Addis, who won’t. They’re like A&R men.
Though I still rely on Julie for support in all my endeavours – and the best company in town – my life has altered in many ways since 1998. I can almost touch-type now, I know the difference between a blue tit and a great tit, I have given up dairy products, I weigh less, drink less and drive less. And there are four cats to raise the good karma of our house, rather than two. Still haven’t had the urge to write another ‘rock biography’ though. I wonder why?
The world falls apart but some things stay in place.
Andrew Collins, October 2001
Acknowledgements to the third edition
I was 32 years when I started this book. I’m 41 now (though I won’t be for long), and it’s a privilege still to be writing it. If not for Virgin, I wouldn’t be. Typically of publishing’s musical chairs, even in the relatively short time it’s taken to update it from 2001 to now, I’ve changed hands; Jane Eastwood put me back to work, Claire Kingston saw me to fruition. Sincere thanks to both.
Billy took me out to dinner on my 40th birthday at a congenial private members’ club in Covent Garden, which Juliet designed and fitted out. We’ve all come a long way. Except we spent all evening talking about family, socialism and Englishness in equal measure, so maybe we haven’t. As the years pass, the more unique Billy becomes, as a public figure, and a private one. He remains, as well as a mate, an inspiration. He, Juliet and Jack do a warm welcome, and any excuse to spend the day down in Dorset. Thanks to the Hive café for the smoothies, and Mother Nature for those cliffs.
Julie remains my guiding light, my constant, and my dialect coach. I dedicate this latest edition to Chilli, who was there at the start, but no longer. We still miss her. Like John Peel and Joe Strummer, who are also gone, it was all about the heart.
Andrew Collins, November 2006
Acknowledgements to the fourth edition
It was in the back of a hard-won cab from Mega City to a smart Indian in central Manchester in November 2012 that Billy Bragg finally – finally! – referred to me as his ‘Boswell’. I’ve been shadowing him, on and off, since we first met in 1991, and what was once a book has since become a way of life. It was he and Juliet who tickled this latest edition to life, and did most of the running, with the full support of Yvonne Jacob and Ed Faulkner at Virgin, and the design skills of Marc Woodhouse at Chemical X. Thanks to Andrew Goodfellow for the introductions, to Joe Henry for his warm words, to Mike Hanson at 6 Music for getting me up to the Radio Festival for Billy’s Peel Lecture, and to Sarah for oiling the wheels at Bragg Central. I spent a memorably oiled night in Salford Quays with Billy and Juliet, and another at their now less populated home in Dorset eating takeaway curry and watching the world fall apart on The Hour. I still feel privileged to have watched Billy re-string a brand new guitar at the kitchen table. It’s sad to think that in seven years we have lost Juliet’s mother Margaret Pountain, Jay Bennett, Steven Wells, Hugo Dixon (whose portraits adorned the covers of the first edition) and Buster, but it is the unforgettable Marie Bragg, who kindly invited this nosy stranger into her warmest room in Barking 15 years ago and passed in March 2011, to whom I dedicate the fourth edition.
Andrew Collins, December 2012
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First published in 1998 by Virgin Books
This edition published in 2013 by Virgin Books, an imprint of Ebury Publishing
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Copyright © Andrew Collins 1998, 2002, 2007, 2013
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