Post by Bazza on Nov 4, 2005 17:59:32 GMT -5
On 21st February 2006, Yep Roc Records will simultaneously reissue (in the USA) four Billy Bragg back-catalogue titles including rare and previously unreleased material, available singly and as a 9-disc box set that will include a booklet, 7 audio CDs and 2 DVDs of vintage live footage. This will coincide with Bragg's appearance at Austin's South by Southwest music conference in March 2006, followed by a two-week U.S. tour.
First up is 1983's "Life's a Riot with Spy vs. Spy", an EP done on the cheap which went on to sell over 100K copies in the UK alone with no advertising, no video, no rock-star poses. Next up are 1984's "Brewing Up With Billy Bragg", "Talking to the Taxman About Poetry" (1986), and a release that combines the "Live & Dubious" and "Internationale" EPs (1988 and 1990, respectively). Each release will feature the re-mastered original and a second disc of bonus material, much of it previously unavailable and handpicked by Billy and longtime Bragg cohorts Grant Showbiz and Wiggy - a labor of love indeed.
WE LAUGHED POISED FOR UK CHART ENTRY
"We Laughed", the touching song that emerged from a Billy Bragg song-writing workshop with women suffering from breast cancer, looks set to enter the UK singles charts on Sunday after its release on CD this week.
The song - Billy's music set to lyrics written by hospice user Maxine Edgington as a legacy for her teenage daughter - created an instant impact when aired on BBC Radio 2 in the UK. That, and considerable national media interest, has led to speculation that the track could become a surprise number one hit single at Christmas - a significant milestone in British pop culture.
The CD version features two other songs written by Billy and hospice users through the Rosetta Requiem charity project aimed at encouraging people suffering from life-threatening illness to express themselves through art. The songs are "My Guiding Star" (Veronica Barfoot) and "The Light Within" (Lisa Payne).
For details on where to buy the CD or the download for non-UK as well as UK buyers, please visit www.billybragg.co.uk and follow the links.
The Rosetta Life charity, the Trimar Hospice in Weymouth where Billy held the workshops earlier this year, and the women themselves will benefit from sales of the songs.
First up is 1983's "Life's a Riot with Spy vs. Spy", an EP done on the cheap which went on to sell over 100K copies in the UK alone with no advertising, no video, no rock-star poses. Next up are 1984's "Brewing Up With Billy Bragg", "Talking to the Taxman About Poetry" (1986), and a release that combines the "Live & Dubious" and "Internationale" EPs (1988 and 1990, respectively). Each release will feature the re-mastered original and a second disc of bonus material, much of it previously unavailable and handpicked by Billy and longtime Bragg cohorts Grant Showbiz and Wiggy - a labor of love indeed.
WE LAUGHED POISED FOR UK CHART ENTRY
"We Laughed", the touching song that emerged from a Billy Bragg song-writing workshop with women suffering from breast cancer, looks set to enter the UK singles charts on Sunday after its release on CD this week.
The song - Billy's music set to lyrics written by hospice user Maxine Edgington as a legacy for her teenage daughter - created an instant impact when aired on BBC Radio 2 in the UK. That, and considerable national media interest, has led to speculation that the track could become a surprise number one hit single at Christmas - a significant milestone in British pop culture.
The CD version features two other songs written by Billy and hospice users through the Rosetta Requiem charity project aimed at encouraging people suffering from life-threatening illness to express themselves through art. The songs are "My Guiding Star" (Veronica Barfoot) and "The Light Within" (Lisa Payne).
For details on where to buy the CD or the download for non-UK as well as UK buyers, please visit www.billybragg.co.uk and follow the links.
The Rosetta Life charity, the Trimar Hospice in Weymouth where Billy held the workshops earlier this year, and the women themselves will benefit from sales of the songs.