View Full Version : Billy Bragg
steevo
22-09-2009, 01:18 AM
I wonder what this blokes politics are ? Anyone got any opinions ? I saw this book in the local bookshop, and it made me wonder. I know he was all into labour at one time (Red Wedge etc), but I dont know what he has said lately. I used to consider myself a socialist a long while back, but now I know the truth i feel alot differently. I am not into politics AT ALL. Was Bragg conned like I was, or is he a "gatekeeper". I dont know.
He was in the army for a short time, but he bought out his contract for £175 according to his bio.
http://www.wherediditallgoright.com/sub_pages/BB.jpg
sortitout
22-09-2009, 01:40 AM
I wonder what this blokes politics are ? Anyone got any opinions ? I saw this book in the local bookshop, and it made me wonder. I know he was all into labour at one time (Red Wedge etc), but I dont know what he has said lately. I used to consider myself a socialist a long while back, but now I know the truth i feel alot differently. I am not into politics AT ALL. Was Bragg conned like I was, or is he a "gatekeeper". I dont know.
He was in the army for a short time, but he bought out his contract for £175 according to his bio.
http://www.wherediditallgoright.com/sub_pages/BB.jpg
You are good at spotting these charlatans..a defo insider Billy Bragg (m) a regular on BBC progs like The Jeremy (NWO) Vine Show... A total talentless pratt.. Always portrayed for supporting the miner's strike and vilifying Thatcher..
Disagree with the assertion that he is a charlatan, Billy's a top bloke.
dreamweaver
24-01-2010, 03:30 PM
steevo, aren't you aware of his latest campaign? It's been all over the MSM and been mentioned on here a couple of times.
He has been calling on people not to pay their taxes in protest against the bonuses being paid out by Royal Bank of Scotland - and he's set up a Facebook group NoBonus4RBS at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=417490570190&ref=ts and a website at http://www.nobonus4rbs.co.uk/ (looks like it's still under construction).
This is the opening statement:
If you pay tax in the UK, you are a major shareholder in several banks - Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Lloyds and Northern Rock - who were saved from financial ruin by government intervention in 2008.
The Treasury spent £117bn of taxpayers' cash bailing out Britain's failing banks - and last month it was revealed that this figure could rise to £850bn.
Some of those billions will be paid to investment bankers as annual bonuses in February.
I understand that the Treasury had little choice but to use taxpayers' money to safeguard savings and stabilise and restore confidence in the financial system.
What I don’t understand is why, now that we taxpayers are the majority shareholders of these banks, we seem totally powerless to curb their excessive bonus culture?
The estimated £1.5bn that RBS will pay to its investment bankers next month in the form of bonuses will ultimately be drawn from the taxes that you and I are due to pay on 31st January.
Meanwhile, we are being softened up by the main political parties for painful cuts in public spending after the election.
I believe that the government have their priorities wrong.
I have written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, to inform him that I am no longer prepared to fund the excessive bonuses of RBS investment bankers. Unless he acts to limit them to £25,000, I shall be withholding my tax payment on 31st January.
There is a brief window of opportunity in the next two weeks in which to exert pressure on the government over the issue of the RBS bonuses. If enough of us are prepared to withhold our tax payments, we may be able to convince the Treasury to act decisively to curb the multi-million pound bonuses at RBS.
If you are a British tax payer and feel strongly about this issue, I invite you to join this campaign by simply writing a letter to the Chancellor informing him of your decision to withhold your tax payment until he acts on bonuses.
E-mails may be easier to send, but they are just as easy to delete. Sacks full of angry letters landing on the Chancellors desk are harder to dismiss.
If nothing else, we may discover if people in this country care more about banker's bonuses than they do about who will be the Xmas No1.
Billy Bragg
And here's a TV interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzHia7eBvf4
This blokes politics will most probably be what ever his mosinic masters tell him.
The book cover shows him flashing the eye whilst thumb and fingers show 3.
I always wondered how this guy became famous so i utubed him,first vid I saw hes performing with a pyramid T-shirt on.
my opinion is that his polotics are to keep the ppl that are pissed off with democrocy hanging in there. Just like Ron paul does. Every vote gives power to the system.
The guy can't sing for toffee looking at the sublimes the one the book cover, his t-shirt in this vid,and on this pic,hes illumiati controlled.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgwU4zCEJtY
http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/105027/Billy+Bragg.jpg
steevo
24-01-2010, 04:29 PM
Dreamweaver, Them, yes I am aware of his stance on the banks and paying tax, but I feel that the PTB have an agenda of getting rid of the current monetary system ANYWAY. I feel that Bragg is working for the NWO. I will keep an open mind though, cos OBVIOUSLY I could be wrong. I feel that people like Bragg are used to help forward the agenda, and they are also used as gatekeepers.
Bragg was part of red wedge. He is a communist (ie. extreme leftist). They are equal to the extreme right (Nazis). They are there to take our freedom away.
Bragg is not a braindead bloke, he KNOWS the game. How can he NOT know the game ? He is a thinker (apparently), and SURELY he has worked it out by now that it's all a scam. Let's wait and see what happens. It's interesting watching these people when you know how their tricks work.
Like I said I will keep an open mind.
edelweiss pirate
24-01-2010, 04:46 PM
I wonder what this blokes politics are ? Anyone got any opinions ? I saw this book in the local bookshop, and it made me wonder. I know he was all into labour at one time (Red Wedge etc), but I dont know what he has said lately. I used to consider myself a socialist a long while back, but now I know the truth i feel alot differently. I am not into politics AT ALL. Was Bragg conned like I was, or is he a "gatekeeper". I dont know.
He was in the army for a short time, but he bought out his contract for £175 according to his bio.
http://www.wherediditallgoright.com/sub_pages/BB.jpg
Me too. I used to go to meetings of the Workers Revolutionary Party...
What a load of pointless shit that was!
The thing is I didn't even join yet I found myself refused Visas and stuff for being a communist! Jeez that's a larf.
These fucking extreme socialism groups are all run by MI5 for the purposes of tracking dissidents.... that's what it's all about....
But yeah, I wanted to be a socialist because I thought it was the 'alternative', I used to idolise Tony Benn and all that old skool stuff.
Happy to say these days I've found something much better...
You lot!
dreamweaver
24-01-2010, 04:52 PM
Dreamweaver, Them, yes I am aware of his stance on the banks and paying tax, but I feel that the PTB have an agenda of getting rid of the current monetary system ANYWAY. I feel that Bragg is working for the NWO. I will keep an open mind though, cos OBVIOUSLY I could be wrong. I feel that people like Bragg are used to help forward the agenda, and they are also used as gatekeepers.
Bragg was part of red wedge. He is a communist (ie. extreme leftist). They are equal to the extreme right (Nazis). They are there to take our freedom away.
They can of course be gatekeepers. But I think in many cases people with very strong left or right views are simply victims of "compartmentalised knowledge" syndrome. Staying in their ideological comfort zone stops them seeing the bigger picture.
Billy Bragg has lived a comfortable life in the past couple of decades. He probably is trying to relive his more radical youth but I'm not going to hold that against him. I like this initiative, I hope it catches on like the non-payment campaign against the poll tax did. But it remains to be seen whether it will.
steevo
24-01-2010, 05:45 PM
They can of course be gatekeepers. But I think in many cases people with very strong left or right views are simply victims of "compartmentalised knowledge" syndrome. Staying in their ideological comfort zone stops them seeing the bigger picture.
Billy Bragg has lived a comfortable life in the past couple of decades. He probably is trying to relive his more radical youth but I'm not going to hold that against him. I like this initiative, I hope it catches on like the non-payment campaign against the poll tax did. But it remains to be seen whether it will.
You would have thought that he would stop paying taxes for to make a stance against the illegal invasion of Iraq/afganistan.
Anyway, I will only take the positives from the Bragg stance. Like I said, I see him has as someone who is being employed to STEER people in the desired direction, and also as a gatekeeper. I reckon that Billy Bragg IS aware of what he is doing. Maybe he is working for MI5.
BUT I WILL KEEP AN OPEN MIND :)
Me too. I used to go to meetings of the Workers Revolutionary Party...
What a load of pointless shit that was!
I sympathise with you, I used to go to Revolutionary Communist Party meetings!
decode reality
05-11-2010, 04:00 PM
I like Billy Bragg. Many can quibble about left wing affiliations etc but that's being a bit nit-picky.
Here's a quote currently on his website:
"The image of the protest singer has always been seductive - but the notion that you can change the world by singing songs can only serve to undermine activism. Sure, we songwriters have a role to play - we can bring people together to express solidarity, we can help to raise funds, we can use our platform to offer different perspectives - but once we step down from the stage, we are individuals with nothing more than the brittle power that celebrity bestows. My experience tells me that real change can only be achieved by organised individuals working together with one another in common cause".
"People tell me that they are inspired by my songs, and for that I’m thankful, but I take my inspiration from the only people in this equation who can actually make a difference - the audience. After 25 years of activism, my faith in your ability to change the world is undimmed".
edelweiss pirate
05-11-2010, 04:33 PM
Disagree with the assertion that he is a charlatan, Billy's a top bloke.
yep.
One of the best songwriters of our time.
steevo
07-11-2010, 02:31 AM
Billy Bragg is one of the following :-
1. A bloke who means well, but is a bit thick (he believes in the left v right paradigm).
2. He has invested too much time and effort into communism for him to give it up now, even though he now realises that he has been duped.
3. He is knowingly being used as controlled opposition.
His songs have no soul in them. Same as Bono. Same as Madonna.
Just my opinion.
I have always been a fan of the Beautiful South (formerly the Housemartins), they have always been of similar beliefs to Bragg (especially Paul Heaton). I would love to know if HIS views have changed now.
edelweiss pirate
07-11-2010, 08:55 AM
His songs have no soul in them. Same as Bono. Same as Madonna.
Try this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXQCp3Sflns
Truly a beautiful little song from one of the greatest albums ever made: Don't Try this at home.
It's one of the those albums that manages to get under your skin and leave a lasting emotional impression..... something I can't put into words but what you might call a profound sense of pathos.
Wish someone would upload more of his songs to youtube from this album.... there's only a load of live stuff which doesn't quite do his music justice.
Any Billy Bragg lovers with a bit of time on their hands out there?
Good older stuff (beautiful trumpet solo)
:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6Pla-HfGAs&feature=related
A modern(ish) classic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCfRcgoPxTw&NR=1