Editing Billy Bragg (section)

==Career==
===Early career===
In 1977, Bragg formed the [[punk rock]]/[[Pub rock (United Kingdom)|pub rock]] band Riff Raff with Wiggy. The band decamped to rural [[Oundle]] in [[Northamptonshire]] in 1978 to record a series of singles (the first on independent [[Chiswick Records]]), which did not receive wide exposure. After a period of gigging in Northamptonshire and London, they returned to Barking and split in 1980.{{sfn|Collins|2018|pp=67–69}} Taking a series of odd jobs including working at Guy Norris' record shop in Barking high street, Bragg became disillusioned with his stalled music career and in May 1981 joined the [[British Army]] as a recruit destined for the [[Queen's Royal Irish Hussars]] of the [[Royal Armoured Corps]]. After completing three months' [[basic training]], he bought himself out for £175 and returned home.{{sfn|Collins|2018|pp=69–79}}

Bragg peroxided his hair to mark a new phase in his life and began performing frequent concerts and [[busking]] around London, playing solo with an electric guitar under the name ''Spy vs Spy'' (after [[Spy vs. Spy|the strip]] in ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' magazine).{{sfn|Collins|2018|p=84}}

[[File:Billy Bragg shot by Kris Krug.jpg|thumb|280px|Bragg performing at [[South by Southwest]] in 2008]]
His demo tape initially got no response from the record industry, but by pretending to be a television repair man, he got into the office of [[Charisma Records]]' [[A&R]] man [[Peter Jenner]].<ref name="Peel">{{cite web|url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/artists/b/billybragg|work=Radio 1|title=Keeping It Peel|publisher=BBC|access-date=28 January 2010}}</ref> Jenner liked the tape, but the company was near bankruptcy and had no budget to sign new artists. Bragg got an offer to record more demos for music publisher [[Chappell & Co.]], so Jenner agreed to release them as a record. ''[[Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy]]'' (credited to Billy Bragg) was released in July 1983 by Charisma's new imprint, Utility. Hearing DJ [[John Peel]] mention on-air that he was hungry, Bragg rushed to the BBC with a mushroom [[biryani]], so Peel played "The Milkman of Human Kindness"  from ''Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy'' albeit at the wrong speed (since the 12" LP was, unconventionally, cut to play at 45rpm). Peel insisted he would have played the song even without the biryani and later played it at the correct speed.<ref name="Peel"/>

Within months Charisma had been taken over by [[Virgin Records]] and Jenner, who had been made redundant, became Bragg's [[Music management|manager]]. [[Stiff Records]]' press officer Andy Macdonald – who was setting up his own record label, [[Go! Discs]] – received a copy of ''Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy''. He made Virgin an offer and the album was re-released on Go! Discs in November 1983, at the fixed low price of £2.99.{{sfn|Collins|2018|p=114}} Around this time, [[Andy Kershaw]], an early supporter at [[Radio Aire]] in [[Leeds]], was employed by Jenner as Bragg's tour manager. (He later became a [[BBC]] DJ and TV presenter, and he and Bragg appeared in an episode of the BBC TV programme ''Great Journeys'' in 1989, in which they travelled the Silver Road from [[Potosí]], Bolivia, to the Pacific coast at [[Arica]], Chile.){{sfn|Collins|2018|pp=209–211}}

Though never released as a Bragg single, album track and live favourite "[[A New England]]", with an additional verse, became a Top 10 hit in the UK for [[Kirsty MacColl]] in January 1985. Since MacColl's early death, Bragg always sings the extra verse live in her honour.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kirsty MacColl memorial page|url=http://www.gonetoosoon.org/memorials/kirsty-maccoll|work=Gone Too Soon|access-date=18 November 2014|archive-date=29 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129050329/http://www.gonetoosoon.org/memorials/kirsty-maccoll|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1984, Bragg toured the UK supporting [[the Style Council]].<ref>Steve Malins ''Paul Weller. The Unauthorized Biography'' Virgin Books, 1997, p.129</ref> Later the same year he released ''[[Brewing Up with Billy Bragg]]'', a mixture of political songs (e.g. "It Says Here") and songs of unrequited love (e.g. "The Saturday Boy"). This was followed in 1985 by ''[[Between the Wars (EP)|Between the Wars]]'', an EP of political songs that included a cover version of [[Leon Rosselson]]'s "The World Turned Upside Down". The EP made the Top 20 of the [[UK Singles Chart]] and earned Bragg an appearance on ''[[Top of the Pops]]'', singing the title track. Bragg later collaborated with Rosselson on the song "Ballad of a Spycatcher".<ref>{{cite web|title=Ballad of a Spycatcher|url=http://mainlynorfolk.info/leon.rosselson/records/balladofaspycatcher.html|work=Mainly Norfolk|access-date=18 November 2014}}</ref>

In the same year, he embarked on his first tour of North America, with Wiggy as tour manager, supporting [[Echo & the Bunnymen]].{{sfn|Collins|2018|pp=138–142}} The tour began in Washington, D.C., and ended in Los Angeles. On the same trip, in New York, Bragg unveiled his "Portastack",{{sfn|Collins|2018|pp=139–140}} a self-contained, mobile PA system weighing 35&nbsp;lbs (designed for £500 by engineer Kenny Jones), the wearing of which became an archetypal image of the singer at that time. With it, he was able to busk outside the [[New Music Seminar]], a record industry conference.{{sfn|Collins|2018|p=139}}

===Late 1980s and early 1990s===
In 1986 Bragg released ''[[Talking with the Taxman About Poetry]]'', which became his first Top 10 album. Its title is taken from a poem by [[Vladimir Mayakovsky]] and a translated version of the poem was printed on the record's inner sleeve. ''[[Back to Basics (Billy Bragg album)|Back to Basics]]'' is a 1987 collection of his first three releases: ''Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy'', ''Brewing Up with Billy Bragg'', and ''Between the Wars''. He enjoyed his only Number 1 hit single in May 1988, a cover of [[the Beatles]]' "[[She's Leaving Home]]", a shared A-side with [[Wet Wet Wet]]'s "[[With a Little Help from My Friends]]". Both were taken from a multi-artist re-recording of ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' titled ''[[Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father]]'' coordinated by the ''[[NME]]'' in aid of the charity [[Childline]]. Wet Wet Wet's cover dominated radio airplay and its video was shown over four consecutive weeks on ''Top of the Pops''; on the single's first week at number one, Bragg also went on the programme to play his cover, with regular accompanist [[Cara Tivey]] on piano.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0007tqq|title=Top of the Pops: 19/05/1988|website=BBC|access-date=13 March 2024}}</ref>{{sfn|Collins|2018|pp=197–198}}

Bragg released his fourth album, ''[[Workers Playtime (Billy Bragg album)|Workers Playtime]]'', in September 1988. With this album, Bragg added a full backing band and accompaniment, including [[Cara Tivey|Tivey]] on piano, [[Danny Thompson]] on double bass and veteran [[Micky Waller]] on drums. Wiggy earned a co-production credit with [[Joe Boyd]].{{sfn|Collins|2018|p=195}}

In August 1989 Bragg took lead vocal on [[Norman Cook]]'s UK top 40 hit "Won't Talk About It", which sampled Bragg's song "[[Levi Stubbs' Tears]]" and was a double-A-side with "Blame It On the Bassline". The track was a bigger hit a year later with [[Lindy Layton]] replacing Bragg as lead vocal.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

In May 1990 Bragg released the political [[mini-LP]] ''[[The Internationale (album)|The Internationale]]'' on his and Jenner's own short-lived label Utility, which operated independently of Go! Discs, to which Bragg was still contracted. The songs were, in part, a return to his solo guitar style, but some featured more complicated arrangements and included a [[brass band]]. The album paid tribute to one of Bragg's influences with the song, "I Dreamed I Saw [[Phil Ochs]] Last Night", which is an adapted version of [[Earl Robinson]]'s song, "[[I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night]]", itself an adaptation of a poem by [[Alfred Hayes (writer)|Alfred Hayes]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Joe Hill|url=https://archive.org/details/raretunes_203_joe-hill|access-date=17 October 2013}}</ref> Though the album only reached Number 34 in the UK Albums Chart, Bragg described it as "a reassertion of my rights as an individual... and a childish two fingers [to Go! Discs boss Andy Macdonald, who'd recently signed a distribution deal with entertainment industry giant PolyGram]".{{sfn|Collins|2018|pp=207–209}}

[[File:Billy Bragg at Bestival 2008.jpg|thumb|upright|Performing with [[The Imagined Village]] at [[Camp Bestival]], 20 July 2008]]
His sixth studio album ''[[Don't Try This at Home (Billy Bragg album)|Don't Try This at Home]]'' was recorded in the shadow of the build-up to the [[Gulf War]] and subsequent ground war, inspiring the track "Rumours of War". Although there is social comment ("The Few", "North Sea Bubble"), it was intended as a more commercial pop album, released in September 1991. (Bragg called it "a very long-range attempt to convert the ball between the posts".{{sfn|Collins|2018|p=225}}). The first single was the upbeat "[[Sexuality (Billy Bragg song)|Sexuality]]", which, despite an accessible video and a dance remix on the B-side, only reached Number 27 on the UK Singles Chart. Following overtures by rival label [[Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis]], Bragg and Jenner had been persuaded by Go! Discs' Andy and Juliet Macdonald to sign a four-album deal for a million pound advance; in return he would promote the album with singles and videos.{{sfn|Collins|2018|p=221}} A more commercial sound and aggressive marketing had no appreciable effect on album sales, and after a grueling, 13-month world tour with a full band (the Red Stars, led by Wiggy), and a period of forced convalescence after [[appendicitis]], Bragg left Go! Discs in summer 1992, paying back the remainder of his advance in return for all rights to his back catalogue.{{sfn|Collins|2018|p=232}}

===Late 1990s and 2000s===
Bragg released the album ''[[William Bloke]]'' in 1996 after taking time off to help new partner Juliet Wills raise their son Jack. (There is a reference to him in the track "Brickbat": "Now you'll find me with the baby, in the bathroom".)<ref>{{cite web|title=Brickbat|url=http://www.billybragg.co.uk/music/album.php?albumID=14&songID=59|access-date=6 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129020854/http://www.billybragg.co.uk/music/album.php?albumID=14&songID=59|archive-date=29 November 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> After the ambitious instrumentation of ''[[Don't Try This at Home (Billy Bragg album)|Don't Try This at Home]]'', it was a simpler record, musically, more personal and even spiritual, lyrically (its title a pun on the name of 18th-century English poet [[William Blake]], who is referenced in the song "Upfield").{{sfn|Collins|2018|pp=248–250}}

Around that time, [[Nora Guthrie]] (daughter of American folk artist [[Woody Guthrie]]) asked Bragg to set some of her father's unrecorded lyrics to music. The result was a collaboration with the band [[Wilco]] and [[Natalie Merchant]] (with whom Bragg had worked previously). They released the album ''[[Mermaid Avenue]]'' in 1998,<ref>{{cite web|title=Mermaid Avenue|url=http://www.nonesuch.com/albums/mermaid-avenue|work=Nonesuch catalogue|access-date=10 June 2014}}</ref> and ''[[Mermaid Avenue Vol. II]]'' in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mermaid Avenue Vol II|url=http://www.nonesuch.com/albums/mermaid-avenue-vol-ii|work=Nonesuch catalogue|access-date=10 June 2014}}</ref> The first album was nominated for a [[Grammy Award]] in the Best Contemporary Folk Album category. A third batch, ''Mermaid Avenue Vol III'', and ''The Complete Sessions'' followed in 2012 to mark Woody Guthrie's centennial.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions|url=http://www.billybragg.co.uk/store/index.php/music/mermaid-avenue-the-complete-sessions.html|work=Bragg's Emporium|access-date=10 June 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140621171719/http://www.billybragg.co.uk/store/index.php/music/mermaid-avenue-the-complete-sessions.html|archive-date=21 June 2014}}</ref> A rift with Wilco over mixing and sequencing the first album led to Bragg recruiting his own band, The Blokes, to promote the album live. The Blokes included keyboardist [[Ian McLagan]], who had been a member of Bragg's boyhood heroes [[the Faces]]. The documentary film ''[[Man in the Sand]]'' depicted the roles of Nora Guthrie, Bragg, and Wilco in the creation of the ''Mermaid Avenue'' albums.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/237191/Billy-Bragg-and-Wilco-Man-in-the-Sand/overview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621161648/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/237191/Billy-Bragg-and-Wilco-Man-in-the-Sand/overview |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 June 2008 |title=Billy Bragg and Wilco: Man in the Sand (1999) |author=|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=2008    <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |access-date=5 October 2013}}</ref>

A developing interest in [[English nationalism|English national identity]], driven by the rise of the [[British National Party|BNP]] and his own move from London to rural [[Dorset]] in 1999, informed his 2002 album ''[[England, Half-English]]'' (whose single, "Take Down The Union Jack" put him back on ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' in the Queen's Golden Jubilee year<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3171574.stm|title=Bragg's 20 years on campaign trail|date=7 October 2003 |publisher=BBC Entertainment |access-date=10 June 2014}}</ref>) and his 2006 book ''The Progressive Patriot''. The book expressed his view that English socialists can reclaim patriotism from the right wing. He draws on Victorian poet [[Rudyard Kipling]] for an inclusive sense of Englishness.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xppmt Rhyme and Reason], [[BBC Radio 4]], 25 January 2011.</ref> In 2007 Bragg moved closer to his English folk music roots by joining the [[World of Music, Arts and Dance|WOMAD]]-inspired collective [[The Imagined Village]], who recorded an album of updated versions of traditional English songs and dances and toured through that autumn.<ref name="The Imagined Village">{{cite web|url = http://www.imaginedvillage.com/|title = The Imagined Village Official Website|access-date = 18 November 2014|archive-date = 23 November 2014|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141123081142/http://imaginedvillage.com/|url-status = dead}}</ref>

In December, Bragg previewed tracks from his forthcoming album ''[[Mr. Love & Justice]]'' at a one-off evening of music and conversation to mark his 50th birthday at London's [[South Bank]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wherediditallgorightblog.wordpress.com/2007/12/10/a-big-boy-now/|title=A big boy now |date=10 December 2007 |publisher= Never Knowingly Underwhelmed|access-date= 10 June 2014}}</ref> The album was released in March 2008, the second Bragg album to be named after a book by [[Colin MacInnes]] after ''England, Half-English''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/colin-macinnes/|title=Colin MacInnes|publisher=Fantastic Fiction|date=18 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.faber.co.uk/9780571252848-england-half-english.html|title=England Half English|publisher=Faber|date=18 November 2014}}</ref> The same year, during the [[NME Awards]] ceremony, Bragg sang a duet with British solo act [[Kate Nash]]. They mixed up two of their greatest hits, Nash playing "[[Foundations (song)|Foundations]]", and Bragg redoing "A New England".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2-5gv81cC0| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211113/a2-5gv81cC0| archive-date=2021-11-13 | url-status=live|title=Kate Nash And Billy Bragg – A New England/Foundations – NME| date=12 May 2008|publisher=YouTube |access-date=10 June 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Also in 2008, Bragg played a small role in Stuart Bamforth's film ''A13: Road Movie''.<ref name="A13 Road Movie">{{cite web |url= http://www.dekkoproductions.co.uk/dekkofilms.htm|title= Dekko Productions|access-date= 10 June 2014}}</ref>

In 2009, Bragg was invited by London's [[South Bank]] to write new lyrics for "[[Ode to Joy]]", the final movement of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Ninth Symphony]] (original libretto by [[Friedrich Schiller]]), since adopted as an international anthem of unity. The London Philharmonic Orchestra performed it at the Royal Festival Hall in front of [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]], whom Bragg met afterwards to earn "brownie points" with his mother, who was also in attendance.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/billy-braggs-new-odes-to-_b_1321000.html|first=Greg|last=Mitchell|date=3 May 2012|title=Billy Bragg's New Odes to Woody Guthrie—and Beethoven|work=The Huffington Post|access-date= 9 September 2014}}</ref>

===2010s–present===
Bragg was involved in the play ''Pressure Drop'' at the [[Wellcome Collection]] in London in April and May 2010. The production, written by Mick Gorden, and billed as "part play, part gig, part installation", featured new songs by Bragg. He performed during the play with his band, and acted as [[Master of ceremonies|compere]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wellcomecollection.org/whats-on/the-identity-project/play-pressure-drop.aspx|work=Wellcome collection|title=Pressure Drop|date=April–May 2010|access-date=11 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307072444/http://www.wellcomecollection.org/whats-on/the-identity-project/play-pressure-drop.aspx|archive-date=7 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Bragg was invited by [[Michael Eavis]] to curate the Leftfield stage at [[Glastonbury Festival]] in 2010,<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.billybragg.co.uk/press/story.php?ID=37|title=Glastonbury Festival announces return of Leftfield with Billy Bragg|access-date=23 July 2011|place=UK|type=press release|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928101128/http://www.billybragg.co.uk/press/story.php?ID=37|archive-date=28 September 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> which he has continued to do in subsequent years.<ref>{{Cite web|website=Glastonburyfestivals.co.uk|url=http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/areas/left-field/|title=Leftfield 2013|access-date=10 June 2014}}</ref> He also took part in the [[Bush Theatre]]'s 2011 project ''[[Sixty-Six Books]]'', where he wrote a piece based upon a book of the [[King James Bible]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/06-2011/bush-inaugurates-library-home-with-66-books_8645.html|title=Bush Inaugurates Library Home with 66 Books|first=Terri|last=Paddock|date=9 June 2011|work=WhatsOnStage.com|access-date=15 July 2015}}</ref> Bragg performed a set of the Guthrie songs that he had set to music for ''Mermaid Avenue'' during the [[Hay Literary Festival]] in June 2012,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://billybragg.co.uk/gigs/details.php?gigID=228|title=Gigs: Hay Literary Festival|access-date=18 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129031935/http://billybragg.co.uk/gigs/details.php?gigID=228|archive-date=29 November 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> he also performed the same set on the Friday night of the 2012 Cambridge Folk Festival.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk/about/past-artists/cambridge-folk-festival-2012/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513125234/http://www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk/about/past-artists/cambridge-folk-festival-2012|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 May 2013|title=Cambridge Folk Festival 2012|access-date=18 November 2014}}</ref>

On 18 March 2013, five years after ''Mr. Love & Justice'', Bragg released the studio album ''[[Tooth & Nail (Billy Bragg album)|Tooth & Nail]]''. Recorded in five days at the home studio of musician/producer [[Joe Henry]] in [[South Pasadena, California|South Pasadena]] it featured 11 original songs, including one written for the Bush Theatre and a Woody Guthrie cover. Stylistically, it continued to explore genres of [[Americana (music)|Americana]] and [[alternative country]], a natural progression since ''Mermaid Avenue''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/tooth-nail-mw0002484063|title=Tooth & Nail|website=AllMusic|date=5 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2013/06/billy-bragg-the-sherpa-of-heartbreak.html|title=Billy Bragg, The Sherpa of Heartbreak|publisher=PBS|date=5 June 2013|access-date=24 August 2017|archive-date=19 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140119071136/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2013/06/billy-bragg-the-sherpa-of-heartbreak.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The album was a commercial success, becoming his best charting record since 1991's ''Don't Try This at Home''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/billy%20bragg/|title= Billy Bragg: Official UK Chart Positions|publisher=Official UK Chart Company|date=18 November 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Billy Bragg and Joe Henry.jpg|thumb|300px|Bragg with [[Joe Henry]] at the [[Union Chapel, Islington]].]]
In February 2014, Bragg started a series of "radio shows" on [[Spotify]], in which he talked listeners through self-curated playlists of "his favourite tracks and artists, and uncovering some little-known musical gems".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/bill-bragg-and-spotify-launch-radio-shows/057578|title=Billy Bragg and Spotify launch 'radio shows'|first=Tom|last=Ingham|publisher=MusicWeek.com|date=10 February 2014}}</ref> On 14 April 2014, Bragg put out ''Live at the Union Chapel'', a souvenir album and DVD of a show he played on 5 June 2013 at the [[Union Chapel, Islington|Union Chapel]] in London, featuring songs from ''Tooth & Nail'' as well as favourites from his back catalogue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nItemID=77995|title=Billy Bragg to release Live at the Union Chapel|publisher=Music News|date=3 April 2014}}</ref>

In February 2016, Bragg was given the Trailblazer Award at the inaugural Americana Music Association UK Awards in London.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://americanamusic.org/news/uk-americana-awards-billy-bragg-be-honored-feb-3-london|date=17 December 2015 |title=Billy Bragg to be Honoured Feb 3 in London | work=Americana Music Association}}</ref> Following that, in September he was given the Spirit of Americana Free Speech Award at the Americana Music Association US Awards in Nashville.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://americanamusic.org/news/americana-music-association-announces-lifetime-achievement-honorees|date=30 August 2016 |title=Americana Music Association Announces Lifetime Achievement Honorees | work=Americana Music Association}}</ref>

In August 2016, Bragg released his eleventh album, a collaboration with Joe Henry, ''[[Shine a Light (Billy Bragg and Joe Henry album)|Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad]]'', recorded at various points on a journey between [[Chicago]] and [[Los Angeles]] by train in March. It reached number 28 in the UK Albums Chart<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/shine%20a%20light%20-%20field%20recordings%20from/|date=6 October 2016 |title=Shine a Light: Field Recordings official UK Chart position | work=Official UK Charts}}</ref> and number one in the UK Americana album chart.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/americana-albums-chart/20160930/americana/|date=30 September 2016 |title=Shine a Light: Field Recordings official UK Americana Album Chart debut | work=Official UK Charts}}</ref> The pair started a dual ''Shine a Light'' tour at the [[Americana Music Festival and Conference|Americana Music Festival]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] in September 2016, and taking them across the States and Canada, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. In April 2017, they played in Australia.

[[Faber and Faber|Faber]] published Bragg's second nonfiction book (after 2006's ''The Progressive Patriot''), ''Roots, Radicals and Rockers'' in June 2016, a history of the British [[skiffle]] movement, tracing the form from its 1950s boom back to [[ragtime]], [[blues]], [[jazz]] and American [[folk music]]. On [[BBC]] Music Day 2017, he helped unveil a blue plaque marking the studio (Trident) where the late [[David Bowie]] recorded two classic albums and the single "[[Space Oddity]]", in [[Soho]]; he joined album sleeve designer George Underwood and [[BBC Radio London]]'s [[Robert Elms]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.musicweek.com/media/read/bbc-music-day-blue-plaque-unveiled-in-honour-of-david-bowie/068821|date=15 June 2017 |title=BBC Music Day Blue Plaque unveiled in honour of David Bowie| work=Music Week}}</ref> In November, he released all six tracks from the [[mini-album]] ''[[Bridges Not Walls]]'' as downloads through the Billy Bragg website,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.withguitars.com/billy-bragg-new-album-bridges-not-walls-released-november-3rd/|date=9 October 2017 |title=Billy Bragg – New album Bridges Not Walls released November 3rd| website=With Guitars}}</ref> followed by the single,  "Full English Brexit" through Cooking Vinyl.

In April 2018, Bragg was invited to deliver a [[Bank of England]] Flagship Seminar; his presentation was titled ''Accountability: the Antidote to Authoritarianism''. The speech was made available on the Bank of England's website.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/events/2018/april/one-bank-flagship-seminar-billy-bragg|date=24 April 2018 |title=One Bank Flagship Seminar - Billy Bragg| website=Bank of England}}</ref> At the [[Ivor Novello Awards]] (''the Ivors'') in May, he accepted the [[PRS for Music|PRS]] Outstanding Contribution to British Music award.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://theivors.com/the-ivors-2018/|date=31 May 2018|title=The 63rd Ivor Novello Awards were presented on Thursday 31st May at the Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London|website=The Ivors|access-date=11 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717154009/http://theivors.com/the-ivors-2018/|archive-date=17 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Also in May, his official biography ''Still Suitable for Miners'' was published in a new, 20th anniversary updated edition.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1116107/billy-bragg/9780753552711/|date=24 May 2018 |title=Billy Bragg by Andrew Collins| website=Penguin/Virgin Books}}</ref>

Bragg ended 2018 touring New Zealand and Australia. During his shows in [[Auckland]], Bragg road-tested a new live format for 2019 that he had first tried out in [[Toronto]], which became the ''One Step Forward, Two Steps Back'' tour. On the tour, Bragg would play three consecutive shows over three nights at each venue: the first night a current, mixed Bragg set; the second from his first three albums; the third from his second three albums. "It's a way of keeping things interesting", he said of the format.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.musicglue.com/billy-bragg/|date=2019 |title=Billy Bragg gigs| website=Musicglue}}</ref> The tour covered the United States and the UK and Ireland throughout 2019. It was intended to continue onto Australia and New Zealand in 2020, but was rescheduled and delayed multiple times due to the ongoing [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. The shows ultimately took place in February and March 2023.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rankin |first1=Mia |title=Billy Bragg has plenty of music (and fight) left in him |url=https://centralnews.com.au/2023/03/23/billy-bragg-has-plenty-of-music-and-fight-left-in-him/ |website=Central News |date=23 March 2023 |access-date=23 August 2023}}</ref>

In May 2019, [[Faber and Faber]] published ''The Three Dimensions of Freedom'', a short polemic by Bragg intended, according to the publisher's blurb, to "protect ourselves from encroaching tyranny". The author urges readers to "look beyond [the] one-dimensional notion of what it means to be free" and "by reconnecting liberty to equality and accountability, restore... the three dimensions of freedom".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.billybragg.co.uk/product/the-three-dimensions-of-freedom/|date= 2 May 2019 |title=The Three Dimensions of Freedom| website=Billybragg.com}}</ref>

While unable to tour over the pandemic years, Bragg began working on new material. This resulted in his thirteenth studio album, ''[[The Million Things That Never Happened]]'', which was released in October 2021. Four singles were released from the album: "I Will Be Your Shield", "Ten Mysterious Photos That Can't Be Explained", "Pass It On" and "Mid-Century Modern".<ref name="Grammy">{{cite web |title=Billy Bragg On His New Album 'The Million Things That Never Happened,' Maturing As An Activist & Why Liberty Is Impossible Without Accountability |url=https://www.grammy.com/news/billy-bragg-interview-new-album-the-million-things-that-never-happened-activism-liberty-accountability |website=[[The Recording Academy]] |access-date=5 November 2022}}</ref>

In February 2023, Bragg announced a compilation series entitled ''[[The Roaring Forty (1983–2023)]]'' to commemorate 40 years of performing music.<ref name="AMG"/> These included a single LP compilation of 13 tracks, a triple-LP/double-CD of 40 tracks and a 14-disc CD box set of some 300 songs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Skinner |first1=Tom |title=Billy Bragg to celebrate 40 years of music with massive new box set |url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/billy-bragg-to-celebrate-40-years-of-music-and-massive-new-box-set-3406057 |website=NME |date=28 February 2023 |publisher=BandLab Technologies |access-date=23 August 2023}}</ref> He later announced the ''Roaring Forty'' tour, which took place across the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe from September to December 2023.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Skinner |first1=Tom |title=Billy Bragg announces 40th anniversary UK and Ireland tour |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/billy-bragg-announces-40th-anniversary-uk-and-ireland-tour-dates-buy-tickets-3417643 |website=NME |date=21 March 2023 |publisher=BandLab Technologies |access-date=23 August 2023}}</ref>

In August 2023, Bragg shared a new single entitled "Rich Men Earning North of a Million". The solo track was quickly written and recorded as an [[answer song]] to American country musician [[Oliver Anthony]]'s song "[[Rich Men North of Richmond]]".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Snapes |first1=Laura |title=Billy Bragg releases pro-unionisation response song to viral country hit Rich Men North of Richmond |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/aug/21/billy-bragg-releases-response-song-to-oliver-anthony-rich-men-north-of-richmond |website=The Guardian |date=21 August 2023 |access-date=23 August 2023}}</ref>