National treasure (I think we can call him that now?) Billy Bragg has confirmed details of a 2019 U.K. and Ireland tour entitled “One Step Forward. Two Steps Back.” In each town Bragg will perform three unique shows on consecutive nights. In a similar way to Teenage Fanclub’s recent triple date shows, each evening will be themed. The first night’s performance will feature Bragg’s current set, which ranges across his 35-year career. The second will see Bragg perform songs from his first three albums: his punk rock debut Life’s a Riot with Spy Vs Spy (1983), its similarly raw follow-up Brewing Up with Billy Bragg (1984) and Talking with the Taxman about Poetry (1986). The third performance will see Bragg perform songs from his second three albums: the positively jangled Workers Playtime (1988), the pop classic Don’t Try This at Home (1991) and the back-to-basics William Bloke (1996).
Says Billy: “After more than three decades of travelling around the world in a van, or spending all day flying vast distances to play a gig, I’m looking forward to having some time to explore cities that I usually only get to see between the soundcheck and the show. And this three-night stand format is a way of keeping things interesting, both for me and the audience. I tried it out in Auckland recently and had a lot of fun revisiting my back pages.”
Billy Bragg has been a fearless recording artist, tireless live performer and peerless political campaigner for over 35 years. Politicised by a Tory government operating without love or justice, this previously adrift young man from Barking, whose failure at national exams had reduced his career opportunities to two, eventually bought himself out of the British Army in 1981 (‘the best £175 I ever spent’), determined to make a living out of song.
3-night package tickets go on sale from 10am on Tuesday 5th Feb from www.musicglue.com/billy-bragg/. Single night tickets will be available at 10am on Friday 8th Feb.
Billy Bragg 2019 Dates:
5 July – PORTSMOUTH, The Wedgewood Rooms
6 July – PORTSMOUTH, The Wedgewood Rooms
7 July – PORTSMOUTH, The Wedgewood Rooms
10 July – BRISTOL, Fiddlers
11 July – BRISTOL, Fiddlers
12 July – BRISTOL, Fiddlers
29 July – DUBLIN, Whelan’s
30 July – DUBLIN, Whelan’s
31 July – DUBLIN, Whelan’s
3 August – BARNSLEY, Underneath The Stars Festival
6 November – GLASGOW, St Luke’s
7 November – GLASGOW, St Luke’s
8 November – GLASGOW, St Luke’s
11 November – MANCHESTER, Academy 2
12 November – MANCHESTER, Academy 2
13 November – MANCHESTER, Academy 2
16 November – SHEFFIELD, The Leadmill
17 November – SHEFFIELD, The Leadmill
18 November – SHEFFIELD, The Leadmill
21 November – LONDON, Islington Assembly Hall
22 November – LONDON, Islington Assembly Hall
23 November – LONDON, Islington Assembly Hall
26 November – CAMBRIDGE, Junction
27 November – CAMBRIDGE, Junction
28 November – CAMBRIDGE, Junction
1 December – BIRMINGHAM, O2 Institute 2
2 December – BIRMINGHAM, O2 Institute 2
3 December – BIRMINGHAM, O2 Institute 2
