''William Bloke'' is the seventh
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by
alternative folk
Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by contemporary folk music, folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of Folk music#Traditional folk music, traditional folk ...
artist
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...
, released in September 1996, five years after his last studio album. It peaked at number 16 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
.
The album's only single, "Upfield", reached number 46 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in August 1996.
[ The albums's title is a pun on the 18th-century English poet ]William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
.
Background
After the release of 1991's '' Don't Try This at Home'', Billy Bragg became a father in 1993 and took time out to concentrate on fatherhood before recording ''William Bloke'' in 1996. Bragg has said that he saw the albums he made in the 1980s as "ideologically political" because that's how he viewed his country of Britain. However, by the mid-1990s, he felt that things had moved into "a less clear phase", and with his family life having changed completely, "those two things are what you're hearing on the album."
The album's lyrics deal with themes such as lost idealism ("From Red to Blue"), lamenting the loss of childhood dreams ("The Space Race Is Over"), latent revolution (" A Pict Song"), romance ("The Fourteenth of February"), domesticity and fatherhood ("Brickbat"),[ and family values ("King James Version").]
"Northern Industrial Town" was written about the Northern Ireland conflict
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
. Bragg said in 1996, "It seemed to me that during the cease-fire I saw the first photographs on television of Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
without any troops or police on the street. Suddenly I realized what a normal place it was. What was happening there was absolutely abnormal; it looked like Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
or Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
– but it ain't, and I wanted to write a song that reflected that realization."[
The lyrics to "A Pict Song" are by English poet ]Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
.
The lyrics to "Goalhanger" use the first verse of "The Little Man Who Wasn't There
"Antigonish" is a poem by the American educator and poet, William Hughes Mearns, written in 1899. It is also known as "The Little Man Who Wasn't There" and was adapted as a hit song under the latter title.
Poem
Inspired by reports of a ghost of ...
".
Track listing
Adapted from album liner notes.
All tracks written by Billy Bragg; except where indicated.
#"From Red to Blue" – 3:21
#"Upfield" – 4:07
#"Everybody Loves You Babe" – 3:10
#"Sugar Daddy" – 4:37
#" A Pict Song" (words: Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
) – 4:56
#"Brickbat" – 3:14
#"The Space Race Is Over" – 4:26
#"Northern Industrial Town" – 2:58
#"The Fourteenth of February" – 3:27
#"King James Version" – 3:21
#"Goalhanger" – 3:47
;Hidden bonus track on LP version
# "Qualifications" – 1:48
;2006 CD reissue bonus disc
#"As Long As You Hold Me" emo, November 1994– 3:26
#"Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet" (words and music adaptation by Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...
) emo, August 1995– 1:42
#"Sugardaddy" emo, October 1995– 4:07
#"Space Race Is Over" emo, October 1995– 5:10
#"Goalhanger" emo, October 1995– 2:43
#"Upfield" emo, October 1995– 5:03
#"Fourteenth of February" emo, February 1996– 3:26
#"Qualifications" P version bonus track, June 1996– 1:48
#"Never Had No One Ever" (Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
, Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...
) rom ''The Smiths Is Dead''; August 1996">The_Smiths_Is_Dead.html" ;"title="rom ''The Smiths Is Dead">rom ''The Smiths Is Dead''; August 1996– 3:40
#"Thatcherites" (music: traditional) [B-side of "Upfield"; from the ''William Bloke'' sessions] – 4:13
#"All Fall Down" (Alan Hull) [February 1997] – 3:34
;Notes
*Tracks 1-7 and 11 are previously unreleased.
*Track 1 was rerecorded by Kirsty MacColl and released in 1995 on the '' Mad Love'' soundtrack.
Personnel
Credits adapted from album liner notes.
*Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...
– guitar, vocals
*Terry Disley
Terry Disley is a jazz keyboardist and composer who was born in London. While in London, Cannes and Los Angeles in the 1990s, he recorded with many artists including Bryan Ferry, Bon Jovi, Sir Van Morrison, Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison, ...
– Hammond B3 organ (1), strings (6, 9), string arrangement
*Fionn O'Lochlainn – bass (2, 4)
*J. F. T. Hood – drums (2, 4, 7, 9, 11), percussion (7, 11)
*Cara Tivey
Cara Tivey is an English pianist/keyboardist and vocalist who has mainly worked as a side musician. She is best known for her collaborations with Billy Bragg. Tivey is also the cousin of Stephen and Nick Duffy of The Lilac Time.
Biography
Cara ...
– organ (2, 4), piano (2, 3, 4, 9), keyboards (7, 9, 11)
*Terry Edwards
Terry Edwards (born 10 August 1960) is an English musician who plays trumpet, flugelhorn, saxophones, guitar and keyboards.
Biography
Edwards gained a degree in music from the University of East Anglia in 1982, where he was also a founding me ...
– saxophones (2, 11)
*Caroline Hall – trombone (2, 11)
*Dave Woodhead – trumpet (2, 11), flugelhorn (4), brass arrangement
*Deirdre Cooper – cello (6, 9)
*Chris Morgan – double bass (7, 10)
*Chucho Merchan Chucho is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Chucho Avellanet (born 1941), Puerto Rican singer and comedic actor
*Christian Benítez (1986–2013), Ecuadorian footballer nicknamed 'Chucho'
*Chucho Castillo (born 1944), former Mexi ...
– double bass (9)
*Ashley Drees – mandolin (10)
*Nigel Frydman – bass (11)
;Technical
*Grant Showbiz
Grant Showbiz (real name Grant Cunliffe) is a British record producer principally known for his work with The Fall, The Smiths, and Billy Bragg plus as an artist in his own right with Moodswings. He has worked on more albums by both The Fall (1 ...
– producer
*Andy Peak – engineer
*Tim Young – mastering
*Jeff Kleinsmith – artwork
*Paul Slattery – photography
;2006 CD reissue bonus tracks
*Billy Bragg – vocals, guitar, keyboards (7), banjo (11)
*Cara Tivey – piano (4, 6), keyboards (4)
*The Mint Juleps
The Mint Juleps, who first gained notice in 1986, is a six-piece all-female a cappella group from the east end of London. The group consists of four sisters: Sandra, Debbie, Lizzie and Marcia Charles, who were joined by two school friends, Juli ...
– backing vocals (6)
*Nigel Frydman – bass (9)
*J. F. T. Hood – drums (9)
*Dave Woodhead – trumpet (9)
*Caroline Hall – trombone (9)
*Terry Edwards – saxophones (9)
*Elliet Mackrell – violin (10)
*Ashley Drees – mandolin (10)
*Rory Campbell – bodhran (10)
*Eliza Carthy
Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy, MBE (born 23 August 1975) is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing the fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson.
Life and care ...
– violin (11), vocals (11)
*Grant Showbiz – producer (8–11)
*Philip "Wiggy" Wigg – recording (2)
Notes
{{Authority control
Billy Bragg albums
1996 albums
Albums produced by Grant Showbiz
Cooking Vinyl albums