The Hey everyone it's Brian and Simon here welcoming you to another edition of So Diker on songwriting, may we extend an extra

special welcome to any listeners joining us for the first time, feel free to mingle with the regulars

and by all means help yourselves to the complimentary nibbles. Our guest for today's show is one of the

most distinctive artistic voices ever to emerge from the UK, noted not only for his sterling songwriting

abilities and instantly recognisable vocals, but equally for his long-standing and unwavering commitment to

social and political issues, it's the Bard of barking himself, Mr Billy Bragg.

I suppose you could say that landing Billy as a guest secures us some bragging rights.

Oh, sorry.

Seriously though, it's an honor to have Billy on the show.

He's a much admired songwriter, not least by us, and an immensely agreeable down-to-earth chapter boot.

It's been a real joy research in this episode and rediscovering in some cases his vast

catalogue not to mention revisiting the bracing rawness of that first album of his.

Yeah, it's such a stark debut, isn't it?

It's fantastic.

Just a voice, some choppy electric guitar and a bit of revir, but it works brilliantly

and still sounds so fresh, especially in this era of producing to the

nth degree yeah and really that bare honesty and directness lyrically and

musically it kind of characterizes his entire output. Testify.

Before we chew the fact with the man himself,

allow us to throw some background info your way.

Stephen William Bragg was born in 1957 in Barking Essex

in the southeast of England. He first picked up the guitar as a teenager

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