Bragg was educated at Barking Abbey Secondary School in Barking.
His lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes. His music career has lasted more than 30 years, and he has collaborated with Natalie Merchant, Johnny Marr, Kate Nash, Leon Rosselson, members of R.E.M., Michelle Shocked, Less Than Jake, Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Kirsty MacColl, and Wilco. Bragg often plays and speaks at the Tolpuddle Martyrs festival. Bragg Close, a street in Dagenham, Greater London, is named in his honour.
Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy (1983)
Brewing Up with Billy Bragg (1984)
Talking with the Taxman about Poetry (1986)
Back to Basics (1987)
Workers Playtime (1988)
Brewing Up with Billy Bragg (1984)
Talking with the Taxman about Poetry (1986)
Back to Basics (1987)
Workers Playtime (1988)
The Internationale (1990)
Don't Try This at Home (1991)
William Bloke (1996)
Bloke on Bloke (1997)
Mermaid Avenue (1998) (with Wilco)
Mermaid Avenue Vol. II (2000) (with Wilco)
Brewing Up with Billy Bragg (1984)
Talking with the Taxman about Poetry (1986)
Back to Basics (1987)
Workers Playtime (1988)
The Internationale (1990)
Don't Try This at Home (1991)
William Bloke (1996)
Bloke on Bloke (1997)
Mermaid Avenue (1998) (with Wilco)
Mermaid Avenue Vol. II (2000) (with Wilco)
England, Half-English (2002) (with the Blokes)
Mr Love & Justice (2008)
Fight Songs (2011)
Mermaid Avenue Vol. III (2012) (with Wilco)
Brewing Up with Billy Bragg (1984)
Talking with the Taxman about Poetry (1986)
Back to Basics (1987)
Workers Playtime (1988)
The Internationale (1990)
Don't Try This at Home (1991)
William Bloke (1996)
Bloke on Bloke (1997)
Mermaid Avenue (1998) (with Wilco)
Mermaid Avenue Vol. II (2000) (with Wilco)
England, Half-English (2002) (with the Blokes)
Mr Love & Justice (2008)
Fight Songs (2011)
Mermaid Avenue Vol. III (2012) (with Wilco)
Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions (2012) (with Wilco)
Bragg expressed support for the 1984 miners' strike, and the following year he formed the musicians' alliance Red Wedge, which promoted the Labour Party and discouraged young people from voting for the Conservative Party in the 1987 general election. Following the defeat of the Labour Party and the repeated victory of Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative government, Bragg joined Charter88 to push for a reform of the British political system.
Also during the 1980s, Bragg travelled to the Soviet Union a few times, after Mikhail Gorbachev had started to promote the policies of perestroika and glasnost. During one trip, he was accompanied by MTV, and during another trip he was filmed for the 1998 mini-documentary Mr Bragg Goes to Moscow, by Hannu Puttonen.
On 12 June 1987, the night after the UK General Election, he appeared on a memorable edition of After Dark. In 1999, Bragg appeared before a commission that debated possible reform of the House of Lords.
During the 2001 UK general election, Bragg attempted to combat voter apathy by promoting tactical voting in an attempt to unseat Conservative Party candidates in Dorset, particularly in South Dorset and West Dorset.
Bragg has been an outspoken opponent of fascism, racism, bigotry, sexism and homophobia, and is a supporter of a multi-racial Britain. During the 2005 general election campaign in the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, Bragg supported Oona King, the Labour Party's pro-Iraq war candidate.Bragg was also very active in his hometown of Barking as part of Searchlight's magazine's Hope not Hate campaign, where the BNP's leader Nick Griffin was standing for election.Bragg is a board director and key spokesman for the Featured Artists Coalition, a body representing the rights of recording artists. Bragg founded the organisation Jail Guitar Doors, which supplies instruments to prisoners to encourage them to address problems in a non-confrontational way.
Bragg is a regular at the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival, an annual event celebrating the memory of those transported to Australia for founding a union in the 1830s.