Pushkin.

Billy Bragg came up in East London, Barking Essex, to be exact, which is fitting given the characteristic howl of his vocals.

Listening to him these days, it's hard not to recall the late great Joe Strummer or the modern

brilliance of Archie Marshall, aka King Cru.

But Bragg's musical output stands apart from an above comparison.

In the mid-80s, an era driven by production, he was all about songs and was one of the

great standard bearers of political music

carried on from both the folk and punk traditions. In his conversation with Bruce Headlam,

Bragg talks about music as a political tool and whether it can truly affect change. Reminiscences

about his first trip to the US in 84 opening for Echo and the Bunnyman, and his collaboration with

Wilco to bring unpublished Woody Guthrie songs to life.

This is Broken Record.

Liner Notes for the Digital Age.

I'm Justin Richmond.

Here's Bruce Headleman in conversation with Billy Bragg.

You're touring right now.

I am, yeah.

I'm basically doing a week of shows before a Newport Folk Festival.

That's what this trip is about.

And then I'm coming back in the autumn, late September, early October and starting in, actually starting in Vancouver, down the West Coast,

up through the Midwest, over to the East Coast and down to finishing off in Washington, D.C.,

a four months on tour.

...