Friday 3rd October

What that shouty leftie who can’t sing and plays harsh electric guitar notes?  Yes him, but that is only a fraction of the picture.  Billy came out of the post-punk years with a DIY ethic and sung his first songs raw and just with his simple amplified guitar accompaniment.  But even on those early EPs and Albums there was a sensibility under the sloganising with songs about real people such a A New England.  Always political and he sung in Essex English, not some transatlantic drawl.  But he also wrote about the politics of personal relationships, the power-plays, the guilt, the selfishness and the hope and love.  He sung about all sorts of things; the space race; life in the army; having children and of course Politics.

He was part of Red Wedge and tried to politicize young people during the Thatcher years, not such a difficult task I would have thought.  And even now though he has mellowed he still sings about “No Power Without Accountability” and our sense of being British.  He is a real intellectual and has been on the panel of Question Time quite a few times where he cuts through all the bullshit from the politicians and gets right to the point.  He is a true democrat, believing in people getting involved in the issues that affect our everyday lives.  And surprisingly he can really sing quite well too, and consistently comes up with some great tunes.

A great place to start is his Greatest Hits “Must I Paint You A Picture”