peterr@utcsrgv.UUCP (Peter Rowley) (02/17/84)
Billy Bragg (I'm not sure about the last name, unfortunately) is a British
rock solo artist that performs just with his voice and one electric guitar (and
sometimes that is played quite softly). His intent is to focus on the lyrics
of his songs; fortunately, they have something to say, about British life,
unemployment, whether one can change the world, and a wide variety of other
subjects. His approach seems to be gently cynical; certainly reflective.
Perhaps a bit naive. The overall effect of the lyrics, which often tell
stories, and the solo electric guitar, is quite compelling. In fact, his
one LP has been at or near the top of the independent charts in England
since Christmas (these charts exclude records from the biggies like EMI,
CBS, Polygram, etc.). In an interview I heard tonight (CFNY Toronto),
which is the first I've heard of him or his music, he sounded very
interesting, with a healthy distrust of videos (they raise another barrier
to breaking a market, as they are quite expensive to produce yet they seem
almost indispensable) and an entirely unpretentious attitude ("rock music
can't change the world-- no matter what you write, there'll be 800 million
Chinese that can't understand you-- it's best to start by changing your
own life").
Finally, he is planning two east coast tours between now and Easter. The
first, still tentative, is to support Echo and The Bunnymen; the second is
on his own. Both tours include Toronto (E&TB play here March 24 and 25);
I'm afraid I don't know about other cities. If you are tired of videos,
synthesizers (no I don't hate synths; I quite like them-- but I do get
tired of them), drums, and / or loud guitars, but like something harsher
than folk and that has interesting lyrics, you might look out for this
fellow.
p. rowley, U. Toronto.