I would actually credit David Letterman for that. As a fan of generally non mainstream music I’ve noticed that Dave seems to really respect music that might not otherwise reach as mainstream an audience as he was capable of providing. And I think that Billy Brag was the best example of that commitment.

Comment of the week!

Absolutely!

Yip he is the real deal only cares about the working man

Any time he wants to tour Sydney by bus or ferry he can use my opal card

Genius ❤

Ahm sure he wis on ah blacklist but ay

:D I'd never noticed the 2nd part of that until you mentioned it. Nice.

Also ‘those that burn books will later burn people’. Couldn’t ring more true today.

Yip so true

Absolutely ❤

More a Champagne Socialist these days sadly 🥲

​@@Chrisdavies33because workers should never have champagne? You're a fetishist! Have you ever been poor?

​@@Chrisdavies33Indeed he is, unfortunately.

Well said.

The world will never be all it could be in some Utopian concept. The Great Leap Forward was into the grave for a huge number of people, and into terrible tyranny for the rest.

@@anthonyodonnell8724 he's not talking about that one...hence 'still waiting'

@@garyfinch8267 That's the funny thing; they are always waiting, waiting for SOMEBODY to get it right. I'm sure 2021 will offer an opportunity for success for Socialism. Keep the faith!

Your words just hit me directly in my now overweight, corporate American gut. I think that deep down I’m still angry, but much of it is now directed more inwardly. Billy is still out there preaching, but I didn’t do my part.

I was listening to this and thought I wonder which band would have been even better with him as lead singer?

Me too! That Horsehoe stint was amazing - I went to two of the three nights. I've been lucky enough to see him gig in London & Dublin on a few occasions over the decades as well. He remains such an incredible inspiration.

Your comment got my attention because in the early 90’s I was at a folk festival in Edmonton and Billy was at a smaller stage doing a workshop with Arlo Guthrie it was epic.

Billy is the custodian of Woody Guthrie's music as his family gave Billy the rights to his unpublished music. Dylan asked for it but they said no, Billy was chosen and rightly so.

he put music to woody lyrics.. two albums of pure exllence in the mermaid avenue songs

dahlski Screw reformist socialism, we need a fucking nitrogen fire to burn up capitalism, and a revolution to pummel through it

Nestor's Dragon sounds like you’re waiting for the great leap forwards

All socialism is democratic

@@zooms6316 *laughs in Mao Zedong*

#bernie2024

I've been waiting for you...

So true. I'm both a huge Letterman fan and Bragg fan. In fact, I became a Bragg fan after first catching him on Letterman in '88 and must've seen Billy gig over 25 times in three different countries since then.

Me too! I saw this episode of Late Night when it aired, not knowing who Billy was. But I was hooked and have seen him perform many times since.

Letterman has no idea what to make of him... viva murhikkah.

It seems like he made a very serious effort to ensure his every word was as audible as possible for this performance... that might have included keeping the guitar low

Clear as day

Whoooaahha. Waiting for the next pint of Tenants.

Yeah, that's cos he's English!

That's Essex, that's what that is.

Which side are you on?

@@AwesomeLover98 theres a side ?

​@@unwind6553you don't get the reference.

Here you go - track 9 x archive.org/details/bbragg1986-06-21.flac16

Satwa Dude Tell it to the post-millennials. They’re the ones who are going to drag us into the streets.

Fully agree. Still trying to work out (in my house in the UK) when "socialism" became a dirty word. When I did my Politics degree in the late 80's it meant that you were a believer that we could all work together to help each other. FOX changed that apparently......

+Nobby Nolevel And nowadays, more than a dirty word, it has even become a crime all around the Western world... I just hope some other generation finds out what socialism really means (and learns from the past mistakes), or this world will get digested and craped by itself!

jamesg3456 Explain your definition of socialism. To me this isn't about communism, capatilism or any ism for that matter. There's programming of a kind going on, coming from every side of the coin. There's good people and there's bad, There's good ideas and bad. A good leap forward is asking oneself what one really feels and knows in comparison to what one thinks one knows. Maybe. Not having a go here, just asking question that I ask of myself. I hold no strongly held beliefs in any dogmatic ideologies. There are other methods of living that are coming into view. There's tough times ahead and neither communism nor capitalism in its current form is the answer.

5 years after your comment and now 20% of working class but deeply ignorant Americans following a billionaire called Trump as their economic woes answer, are calling in clueless chorus, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for being socialists or commies, as if these two really were even 'liberals' at all.... how distorted things have come off any Reality as they're fiddled by that side road charlatan swindling all with lies and more lies

@@HairyBosch You've got to be kidding. You cannot be that credulous at your age. Or, I guess you can.

I'm not sure. Given the time of the performance it could also have been Oliver North.

Billy endorsed Bernie a while back.

Fuck you

Too bad, you fucked up, no response- total toad.

Vocals near perfect

I noticed that as well.

RACISM ????? So many people whinge when a truth is told about a non white! The fact that there where many taxi drivers who didnt speak a word of English isnt racist its true! I lived in Queens from 87 to 92 and yes Lettermans correct ! so fukin what if the joke offends a few people hahahaha I , and obviously Letterman, coud not give a fuk ! By the way I love being white ! .

@@darrenlacy3975 Shut the fuck up boomer.

@@darrenlacy3975 Jesus Christ, Darren