Radio 1's The NET (Newsbeat Entertainment Transmission) today (20.08.96, 18.18) featured some comments from Billy on the next General Elections:

[...]
[background: Upfield]
Billy Bragg says he won't campaign for 'New Labour' at the next General Election. The socialist popstar was one of the co-founders of RED WEDGE, which supported the Party in the 80's by touring the country. Now Billy believes the Wedge is a spent force, and if it came back it would put Labour's spin-doctors in a spin.
"The thing about Red Wedge was: we didn't take orders off anybody. we said what we wanted to say, we encouraged them when we could, but we criticized them when we we felt we had to. But now it's all far too controlled, far too run by media operators who are much much cleverer than I [am]; [they] wouldn't want me come in on a radio programme like this, saying what I think, and that then becoming party-policy. So what I'll do what I did in the last election: I'll find people that, that I feel strongly about and I'd like to see in Parliament, and I'll do what I can if—probably in the form of gigs—to help them."
[background: Thatcherites]
The CD of Billy's new single UPFIELD contains a track called THATCHERITES, lyrically one of Billy's most fertile subjects [sic!] areas, and he says, for him there's still little else to talk about:
"Now I wish that her ideas left with her, but I'm afraid they remain, like a stink in the land."
"It's difficult to get [prejudiced] on John Major in the way t'used to, and as he and Tony Blair moved closer and closer together, yeah, the, the [ballpark] I have for working in does become more and more thinner and thinner. But, y'know, there is still in ideological difference, and, y'know, I'm sort of looking forward to the next election, whenever it might come."

Mark Radcliffe, Radio 1, 20.08.1996, 10-12pm
Billy Bragg live in session

Billy's 'appearance' started at 10.19 and ended at 11.54. He also partici- pated in the discussion on a Bulgarkov novel and a prize draw. He played live the following tracks:
10.22 Upfield (acoustic)
10.54 Brick Bat
11.17 A Pict Song (LP version!)
11.52 Goalhanger
The 'conversation' pieces weren't that interesting (unlike the Peel session last October), so I won't prepare a full transcript of it (unless someone convinces me otherwise).

Reading '96
24-26.08.1996

Billy Bragg, Main stage, Sat., 24.08.1996, ca. 17.00
Broadcast on Radio 1 18.33-18.56

1. Levi Stubbs' Tears
   
2. Greetings To The New Brunette
   
3. Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards
   
4. Upfield
   
5. Sexuality
   
6. A New England

He played most songs with (more or less radically) altered lyrics, but I'll leave that to other people ...
The BBC's tape has a gap/glitch during WFTGLF.
It's not clear whether that is the whole set, so anyone who attended Reading, let us know!

Live interview with John Peel, 17.40

[talking about that weekend's soccer results]
17.41
[Peel]   How did it go this afternoon then, we saw you on the screen here.
Yeah, it was great, I mean, halfway through Marion it started to rain, but I thought that's fair enough for Goths. But when I went on I thought, 'What am I gonna get?' And I felt sorry, 'cos [?] about Dodgy, y'know, sort of sunshine, great sunny music ... and it's chuckin' it down.
[Peel]   Did you read the stuff about them going to, they went to Sarajevo, doing some gigs in Sarajevo.
Yeah, yeah.
[Peel]   And I thoght that was really good. They had all their equipment, their equipment got impounded or something, and they went over there and used the local stuff, which, y'know, for reasons which yu know, alas only too obvious, I mean the local equipment probably made out of old washing machine parts and bits of pram.
I've done a few gigs in that part of the world, although I've never done my gigs in a, literally in a warzone. So more power to them going over there, and I think that ... when you, y'know, that's one of the times when you do find that popular music does have an effect -- I'm not saying it's a heeling effect, or word-changing effect, but having a gig on -- first gig since they stopped blowing up your [house/arse?] -- is one of those small steps to back towards normality, y'know.
[Peel]   Yes, it has. I mean, people .. t'has disproportionate importance with it, people's lives when they're [?] to do stuff like this.. So, but everything went well, once you statred playing the [cards?] came bursting out ...
That's right. A crack in the clouds and the audience were drying out perceptably in front of me, bless'em, and so I though I'd try out a few new songs and a couple of old favourites. That's my old favourites, 'cos I don't know what they're favourites are -- so I never met any of them, but they seemed to respond quite well to it.
[Peel]   Good, excellent. Tunes from William Bloke ...
Yeah, from William Bloke, yep, [?] new songs. And it kinda took a kinda like a quite political turn. I think t'was been able to see those privatised trains going past on the railway, you can see the railway from the stage, I think that spurred me on to do a few more political tunes than perhaps usual ... and also having in mind Radio One listeners at home who might be thinking, What's old Braggy up to these days, is he still as political, does 'New Daddy' equal 'New Labour'? And I just hope your listeners will understand that ... there is a third way, John.
[Peel]   There is a third way, Billy, this is certainly the case. Right, where do you go from here then? Back home, or off to somewhere exciting ...
Well, I'm going ... yeah, somewhere very exciting, down to Dorset for a week, me holidays, so I then when I come back from that more or less the album's out, so I'm doing a show at the Roundhouse in London on the 9th.
[Peel]   Is there -- obviously being a country boy -- I didn't know the Roundhouse was reopened as a venue, I went there a couple of years ago ...
Well yeah, they got the tram out, they finally got the trams out, they do still occasionally [...?]. I went there years and years ago to see bands like The Ramones, I saw The Clash, ...
[Peel]   I saw The Ramones there, yeah.
I saw The Clash there at the bar. I had a conversation, I actually had a conversation with Mick Jones at the bar of the Roundhouse. This was one of those moments in your life when you sorta like, y'know, ...
[Peel]   Well, of course, being an older man I saw people like The Doors and Jefferson Airplane and those sort of people.
Yeah, ah of course, yeah. What, just about to ...
[Peel]   Just trying to top you ...
Yeah, did well, but didn't chat at the bar with'em!
[Peel]   No, no, they wouldn't speak to you, see, they weren't the kind of people that spoke, y'know, they just ...
But apparently they're knocking it down or turn it into something else, gonna build a Bridge library, or there [ ...?], but they had to put in some gigs before. So for me it's really great, 'cos obviously I wasn't really gigging at the time, I was just a punter, so I'd a opportunity now to go in and do a gig there, so that's cool. So that's on September 9th, which is the day that William Bloke comes out, and on the 10th I'm going over to do a show in Dublin at the Mean Fiddler, and then I'm going to America to do some shows, and fortunately they have an election this year. So that gives me something to chat about to DJ's over there, rather than what colour my guitar is and showing pictures of the kid. And then I'll be back here in November and December doing some tours in the UK.
[Peel]   Right, keep talking for a minute, it's just ...
OK, yeah, off for Christmas [seeing?] me mums, and then in the new year I'll probably go out and do some shows in Europe and ...
[...]
[Peel]   OK, I just noticed that I hadn't got a record cued, so ... Is that Dodgy? Hey, hey, were not on the radio, kid, are we?
[Peel]   But I'm afraid we are, Billy, I'm afraid we are ...
Oh, great! I just thought this is your dressing room.
[Peel]   No, no, no.
Eh, you're such an old pro.
[Peel]   I wouldn't work in a dressing room like this, believe me. I have standards, you know. Is that Dodgy that are out there, are we allowed to fade them up, or does that mean we got to pay them money. We can't fade them up, alright, so it's not ...
Wot, you can't her'em through the wall? Take your headphones off, can hear'em, mate, for nothing.
[Peel]   That's ... You can hear'em, ...
[Dodgy faded up]
[Peel]   Oh, that's enough, that's 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 Pounds. It's going up at a hell of a rate.
[Dodgy faded out]
[Peel]   Well, listen, thanks very much, and ...
Thank you. Great to see you, mate, keep up the good work.
[Peel]   And I look forward to playing William Bloke, hearing William Bloke, and OK ... having gone through all of that and I [now?] have to try and find the right record, which I think is this one ...
[plays a track]
17.46

In the 31.08.96 edition of Music Week, two pieces appear on Billy and the new album:

p10 (Album Reviews):
Billy Bragg
WILLIAM BLOKE
Cooking Vinyl COOKCD 100
Bragg clearly hasn't lost any of his lyrical bite. His soul boy roots are much in evidence here and he hasn't lost his knack for poignant ballads, either.
(5 out of 5)

p28/29 (Talent):
Billy Bragg : Taking A Simple Approach Again
Folk troubadour, pop star and honoratry bard of Barking, Billy Bragg has kept a low profile since his 1991 Top 10 album Don't Try This at Home.
That record, featuring a host of guest stars including REM and Johnny Marr, was widely regarded as his best yet but, along with the birt iof his son Jack in 1993, it is largely responsible for the five-year hiatus in his career.
"With the latest album, I waws on the verge of becoming a pop star," admits Bragg. "Suddenly, I was chasing my tail. I decided I wanted to be doing this in 10 years time and charging ahgead like a madman wan't the way to do it."
Bragg had been on the verge of leaving Go! Discs before delivering that album but was persuaded to remain and give it a big push.
"I felt I owed it to them to let them ahve a proper record. They wanted to go for it: singles, videos, the whole lot. So I went along with it and we ended up selling exactly the same amount of records as I usually do -- about 100,000 -- the differece being, we spent shitloads of money."
Bragg let his Go! deal expire and stepped back to ponder his next move and practice fatherhood. As one of the few artists to own his own back catalogue, he was able to immediately place it with a new label, Cooking Vinyl, and live off the relatively healthy sales it continues to generate -- mor than 20,000 units sold in the UK since 1993.
In fact, Bragg's business set-up is a lesson in DIY recording management.
"I sign album by album and, to me, getting your rights back is the most important part of a deal. I've been approached by majors, but they won't let my material revert back to me after a certain period so I've always said no." During his lay-off, Bragg also became co-owner of a recording studio, Fort Apache in Boston, US, which has spun off its own label.
"I wanted to put some money back into the industry, but my involvement is purely financial," he says. "Naturally, I get accusations that I'm a corporate sell-out, but there yo go."
Live appearances at benefit gigs have kept Bragg's hand in, along with soundtrack work for film and TV. He wrote the music for Safe, the BBC drama about homeless kids, and has penned much of the music fopr a forthcoming US indie film entitles Walking And Talking. Two covers of St. Swithin's Day have also playxed a part in keeping his name alive; the first by Dubstar, the second by Mercury Award niminee Norma Waterson.
And next month Cokking Vinyl releases his new album, wrtyly title William Bloke. "They've proved they can get records in shops, because my back catalogue sales have been really healthy. I don't even think of Cooking Vinyl as a foolk roots label, more as a genuine Nineties indie label, there's not many left outside the dance scene."
Steve Young, the label's sales and marketing manager, agrees. He says, "Our base of artists gets stronger and stronger with each year. We don't just see ourselves as folkies -- we signed The Wedding Present last year and they have a new album out the sane day as Billy, so we're looking to develop all the time. This is very much a Billy Bragg album, it's virtually just him and we see that as a real strength."
William Bolke reflect's BillyA's status as parent and elder statesman of pop -- "it's mature, I'm not ashamed of the word" -- but, while first single Upfield gets the full pop treatment, many of the songs benefit from a more stripped-back approach.
"Don't Try This ... was a very polished record but, in a way, it put me on a wrong path," says Bragg. "I needed a band to play it, which isn't really me. Playing solo is my great strength, getting that rapport with an audience." Bragg's career demonstrates his enduring appeal and all the pointers suggest that William Bloke will perform as well, if not better, than its predecessors.
Mike Pattenden

Artist:     Billy Bragg
Project:    Album (William Bloke)
Label:      Cooking Vinyl
Songwriter: Billy Bragg
Publishing: Billy Bragg
Producer:   Grant Showbiz
Studio:     Carthouse Studios, London
Released:   September 9

[further to the Go! connection: Andy Macdonald, founder and co-owner of Go! has just (last Tuesday) resigned and sold his controlling stake (51%) to PolyGram, who already owned the other 49%: "...it has become apparent that PolyGram is not interested in negotiating the kind of deal which would have preserved the label's independence..."
LIFE'S A RIOT was Go!Discs' first success back in '83. Other Go! artists are (or were): The Housemartins, The Beautiful South, Paul Weller, Gabrielle, Drugstore, David Holmes, The Beat, The Pharcyde, John Martyn, Portishead, Gabrielle, Trash Can Sinatras, Sister Bliss, Lisa Moorish, Beats Int., Norman Cook, Stetsasonic, Bonjo, The La's, Butterfield 8, Captains of Industry, Bathers, Jali Musa Jawara, Blue Ox Babies, Girls At Our Best, Jim Kingston, His Latest Flame, The Southernaires, Father Father, Boothill Foot Tappers, Cedric Myton, The Congos, The Mood Elevators, and The Box.
Go! was also behind last year's HELP EPs(Smokin' Mojo Filters) and LP in aid of Bosnia.]

Melody Maker 21.09.1996, p41

Billy Bragg
The Roundhouse, London

He may have been away for five years, but he obviously wasn't forgotten. The Roundhouse is packed out with by Bragg's loyal following. For much of the early part of the show, with Bragg concentrating on his earliest songs, it really is as if he'd never been away. People are singing along with the verses, never mind the choruses.
When it come to "St. Swithin's Day",the touching lost-love lament recently covered by both Dubstar and Mercuy Music Prize runner-up Norma Waterson, Bragg is soon forced to acknowledge that the audience know the song better than he does, as he forgets the words and invites the rest of us to take over, though not before dedicating the song to Waterson and enthusing: "I love her. She's someone's grandma and she still sings the verse about wanking."
Bragg himself is playing alone tonight, with no sign of any of the band that accompanied him last time round---which seems something of a shame. He's always had an unfortunate habit of imposing limitations on himself, successfully disguising the loveliness of some of his best melodies with his trademark bellicose bellow. When he sings his subtly sinister new song, "Sugardaddy", in a gorgeous soft-soul falsetto, you can only feel frustrated that he doesn't allow himself that kind of freedom more often.
He prefaces the clumsy new single, "Upfield", with a lengthy monologue about recent political changes, how they've made him redefine his own convictions. His new solution is the "socialism of the heart" of which that song speaks, which essentially seems to boil down to old-fashioned empathy.
The irony is that it's always his most personal and least slogan-bound songs that actually induce that sort of fellow-feeling, in me at least. I find it as hard to imagine anyone being converted to anything by dour, drab things like the trad-folk anthem, "Thatcherites", as I do to imagine being unmoved by thoughtful, reflective things like "Space Race Is Over" or "Tank Park Salute". The Eastern bloc may have collapsed and his beloved Labour Party changed out of all recognition while he's been away; but tonight as ever, Billy Bragg frustrates and then casually throws in a moment of such irresistible warmth that you forgive him everything. Some things nver change.

Dave Jennings

Mojo, Oct. 1996, p111:

Billy Bragg
WILLIAM BLOKE
Cooking Vinyl

- The post-punk post-Wedge troubadour's first album since 1991
- This review will attempt to avoid the words 'bard', 'Barking', 'nosed' and 'big'.

The last time I saw Billy Bragg live was just after the fall of Thatcher. "Major-Major-Major!" he bellowed. "Out-Out-Out!" we chorused back. but we knew it wasn't the same. Five years on, the old Braggish universe of political certainties and romantic confusion ahs been inverted. His lovelife would appear blissful but the other object oif his passion seems to have been screwing being his back---opener From Red To Blue expresses his big disenchantment with New Labour in terms of a dead love affair. Brickbat also sums up the love/Left dialectic: "I used to want bombs at the Last Night Of The Proms / But now you'll find me with the baby"; but Northern Industrial Town is just that voice and that guitar and Ewan MacColl meets The Clash with a deft, contemporary twist. Nice one, Bignose. Shit, sorry ...
Tim Footman

[on p100 a full-page ad promotes WB, together with the reissues. Same ad as in NSS, qv.]