Billy Bragg on politics and pop, 2005

I think a sense of humor is crucial in any kind of songwriting.... And if you’re writing political songs and playing them on [the BBC hit parade] Top of the Pops—I did “Between the Wars” on Top of the Pops—it’s utterly ridiculous because there you are with Duran Duran and the other bands of the day all dressed up in their finery, and you’re singing this song about the miners’ strike. If you didn’t have a sense of humor and see the ridiculous side of that, I think you’d come across as very very earnest, which I’m not particularly. But by the same token, going to play on Top of the Pops allowed me to get my ideas in everybody’s living room.

Outtake from a feature in the May 2006 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.

Listen to my review of the box set Billy Bragg, Volume 1, on NPR's All Things Considered.