Galvanised in the late 70s by The Clash and an aversion to the austere policies of Margaret Thatcher, Billy Bragg set out to inspire political engagement and empathy, and he hasn’t deviated from that path. He has performed numerous benefit shows over the years – for the miners, the Labour party, CND, the jobless, the homeless and many more, and has run the Left Field political stage at Glastonbury for the last 15 years.

In 2023 Billy celebrated a remarkable 40 years as Britain’s favourite campaigning singer, songwriter. To mark this significant landmark, he released an acclaimed career-spanning box set The Roaring Forty and played to sell-out crowds around the world.

Billy Bragg has released 11 solo studio albums, three albums of Woody Guthrie lyrics set to contemporary music by Billy and Wilco (the Mermaid Avenue albums) and one album with Joe Henry. His most recent studio album, The Million Things That Never Happened came out in 2021.