60s Pop Friday! Ladies and Gentlemen, from Queens, NY, it's the Shangri-Las! Mostly known for their grandly melodramatic songs about teen love gone awry, they aren't all downers. They've been covered by bands from France to Japan.
posted by The Whelk on Jun 5, 2009 - 12 comments

The Big-Nosed Bastard from Barking has been very, very busy. In the past month, Billy Bragg has won the Classic Songwriter Award from Q, then collaborated with Beethoven (some of the B-Man's fans mutter darkly), and taken the hand of a small, matronly admirer before kindly giving it back to her, along with an autographed copy of the score. (He's prepared for the fallout: "I'll probably get struck off Morrissey's Christmas card list." ) [more inside]
posted by maudlin on Oct 29, 2007 - 29 comments

Jail Guitar Doors is an independent initiative set up by Billy Bragg with the aim of providing musical equipment for the use of inmates serving time in Her Majesty’s prisons. With Mick Jones and in memory of Joe Strummer. It seems to be working. Here's an interview, a Guardian article, and the original.
posted by Alec on Aug 29, 2007 - 18 comments

Billy Bragg videos from 1991 I'm not much one for music videos, but Billy's "Sexuality" with Kirsty MacColl was one of my favorites back in the day. Sometime in the late 90's, I just assumed I'd never see it again. But ask and the Internet provides. There is also "You Woke Up My Neighborhood," with Peter Buck and Michael Stipe. I hadn't seen that one before, but it's wonderful, too.

Also enjoy a greyer Billy playing at a fairly recent Strummerville benefit. first link may be dodgy in firefox. Worked once for me but not on subsequent viewings.
posted by Mayor Curley on Mar 15, 2005 - 35 comments

Billy Bragg is releasing a new single next week, and he'd like it to be number 1 in the charts just in time for the big celebration of the Queen's Jubilee. Profits go to charity, and a thumb in the eye goes to the royalists.
posted by geneablogy on May 15, 2002 - 13 comments