Billy Bragg

The man who started a one man revolution with a guitar and amp recounting his political leanings to a mass of left wing students finally releases a CD box set. Comprising of the first four albums there is also plenty of bonus material on offer. If, like myself, you purchased the originals on vinyl this may be a welcome addition to your collection. Now as we saw in a recent Music News poll [ click here] Billy stirs up mixed emotions in our readers. Personally I always loved him, sometimes he got a little too political but when you write songs like 'Sexuality' and 'New England' that can be forgiven. His timeless lyrics formed the backdrop to my teenage years, 'Safe sex doesn't mean no sex, it just means use your imagination'. These four albums are testament to a man who unswervingly stood by his beliefs and agree or disagree with them these albums document a man who the Times rightfully proclaimed 'a national treasure'. No big production or orchestra's visible here just a guitar, vocals and the odd bit of piano and accompanyment. An absolute must have, brilliant.