Handsome Tours is thrilled to announce that Billy Bragg will be returning for a very special tour entitled “One Step Forward. Two Steps Back.” In each city Bragg will perform three unique shows on consecutive nights. 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.
Don’t miss the orator, entertainer, rabble-rouser, negotiator, pamphleteer, the fabled ‘Bard of Barking’, Billy Bragg, across three extraordinary evenings.
BILLY BRAGG ‘ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK’ Australian Tour
Friday 24th April, Saturday 25th April and Sunday 26th April 2020 – Freo Social, Fremantle
Thursday 30th April, Friday 1st May, Saturday 2nd May 2020 – The Gov, Adelaide
Wednesday 6th May, Thursday 7th May, Friday 8th May 2020 – Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne
Tuesday 12th May, Wednesday 13th May, Thursday 14th May 2020 – Metro Theatre, Sydney
Monday 18th May, Tuesday 19th May, Wednesday 20th May 2020 – The Triffid, Brisbane
Pre-sale for single night and 3-night packages starts 10am Thursday 1 August. Sign up at handsometours.com to receive pre-sale access. General on-sale begins Friday 2 August at 10am.
PRAISE FOR ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK
“…with such a rambunctiously entertaining and inspiring set, Billy Bragg should probably think about setting up a residency, because we could all do with the joyous feeling I left with, every night.” Radio 13 NZ
“There’s a simplicity and honesty of emotion that cuts through the crap. At best it hits home with a subtle power.”Louder than War
“…you would be a fool to miss Bragg, an artist that is as relevant and thought-provoking today as he always has been.” Ambient Light
