Billy Bragg

Widely regarded as one of the most committed 'socially aware' performers in popular music, Billy Bragg combined folk influences, a love of Bob Dylan and a deep belief in human rights to forge a career as a left-leaning singer-songwriter.

The Bard of Barking, as he is popularly known, has sung at countless marches, protests and benefit concerts while periodically delivering sincere and passionate albums about the struggles of ordinary folk in a world corrupted by dispassionate capitalism and self-interest.

From his 1983 debut album—Life’s A Riot With Spy Vs Spy—through to 2022’s The Million Things That Never Happened (perhaps the first pandemic blues album) Billy Bragg has proved that insight into the human condition and righteous anger at mistreatment of said humans is a combination that can sustain a career while maintaining integrity. Add in collaborations with Wilco and Joe Henry and you have a solid artist standing firm for his beliefs across four decades, and counting.