HOW THIS CAME TO BE…

I first picked up a guitar after hearing Billy Bragg’s ‘Talking with the Taxman About Poetry’ in the autumn of 1986. These songs resonated with this impressionable teenager, his sociopolitical songs of solidarity and fairness interspersed with melancholic love songs, perfectly matching my frustrations, heartbreak and aspirations. Over the 30-plus years since then, Billy has proved a consistently positive influence on my life.

A number of years ago, BBC music journalist Steve Lamacq ran a phone-in seeking favourite tribute band names, ‘Motorheadache’ being the eventual winner. But Steve pointed out there wasn’t a Billy Bragg tribute out there…so he then posed the question, what should Billy Bragg’s tribute act be called? And the winner was Billy Blagg. It just needed someone to step forward.

So, dusting off my trustee Burn’s Steer, I now do a one-man set spitting out the songs that shaped my life.

James Anthony, AKA Billy Blagg