Loading

Talking To...Billy Bragg

And what we hear on the record is what you played in the studio, there's no overdubs. Was it difficult to stick to the plan?

Well, I usually do a guide vocal because I'm not a technical singer, then I go back and redo the vocals which also allows me to tweak the lyrics, but what you hear on Tooth & Nail is what I sang when we recorded it. I just had to trust Joe - maybe that should have been the title of the record: Trust Joe - but I had to go with it.
There are little bits that when I hear it I wish I could change a lyric or do something slightly different - there's one lyric in particular I know I should've changed, but I've seen artists spend fortunes on records and want to change the words or some little details, but that way madness lies so I have to let go of it.
In fact it's important that you do leave it alone. You have to let people feel what they feel about your songs, it's no use telling them the demo's miles better or they should have heard the earlier version.
It made for a fascinating dynamic in the studio. The songs are all new and the guys are listening hard to me - they can't see me remember because I'm in the vocal booth - so they're listening to me to hear what my voice is doing. I'm only playing acoustic guitar on this record, there's no Billy Bragg electric there at all.
It means they're playing very tentatively in places, particularly on something like Your Name On My Tongue where my voice is going up and down, almost to a whisper and they're reacting to that.
Not that I should mention my work in the same breath but we were talking about this and it's that tentativeness that makes Astral Weeks the record it is because nobody knew what the fuck Van Morrison was gong to do. So they're hanging back a bit and they're all great musicians of course, but they waiting to find out where the song is going.
And for me the mark of all great musicians is not what they put in but what they leave out, you know someone like Ry Cooder left so much space around what he played.

There are songs like Swallow My Pride on this record that have those distinctive 60s southern soul chops on them, the way they made them at FAME or Stax.

That's not me though I'm only on acoustic. Greg plays it all and I'm right there, I'm in Muscle Shoals. Incredible. Now, you know what it does to you when you hear it? Well, I'm actually there and he's playing it and I'm right there.
That slide work he does on Handyman Blues, I'm sat here and I'm not getting out of my chair when he's playing like that.
In fact, that's the lyric. I should've said 'just sat here reading the paper' - it's just a better lyric, but there it is, I'll do it live.

The ideas will turn to gold dust later - I love the cockiness about the delivery of that line as well.

There has to be as he's saying it looks like he's just sat there reading the paper, but he's saying he's at work really. He's getting away with it - the ideas will turn to gold dust later. The whole song is delivered from behind the paper really.

I'll try it and let you know how if I get away with it… Now, what about this beard?

Well, that's down to Sid Griffin who's an old, old friend of mine - from the Long Ryders. Actually, it was through him I found CJ Hillman who's in the band now, so I owe him a big one for that. Anyway, we were playing this festival and he'd grown a beard and it was grey and looked good. I wondered if my beard would come through grey so I gave it a go, a roll of the dice if you like, but it wasn't grey it was red with bits of grey coming through. I grew it though and crucially it got the Juliet seal of approval so I thought I'd keep it.
It seems to fit with the record as well. It's a transitional moment and it's good to have a bit of reinvention - I don't mean a Bowie-style reinvention, more a reappraisal. Some of those old Billy Bragg tunes when you've been playing them as long as I have, they can stand a fresh look and so it is with the beard.
The Beard Liberation Front gave me the Beard of the Winter Award, which is a great honour. Unfortunately, it rules me out of winning My Hairy Valentine because Beard of The Winter can't be entered for that as well.

Then there's the lifetime achievement award at the Radio 2 Folk Awards…

Yes, the Roots Award, for still having me own quiff! It's all about hair now - the beard and the Roots Award. So, there's me with the beard and the Gibson ES125 on the album cover, it all fits.
Don't worry, the old Billy Bragg chop and clang is still there though, I can still do that - go and get my Fred Perry on!
Here, I got mistaken for David Beckham… this woman on Facebook said her son had said: 'I didn't know you were friends with David Beckham.' She said: 'I'm not.' And he said: 'You are - who's that then?' And it was me with my beard! Apparently, he asked if I was any good at football. I'm not but I'll take the mistaken identity!

Wouldn't we all. Thanks Billy, a pleasure as always. Cheers.

Words:Nick Churchill
www.thegranvillechambers.co.uk
Pictures:Neil King
Full review of Tooth & Nail