Billy Bragg needs little introduction. Active since the late 1970s, his profile as a singer-songwriter and committed activist came into view the following decade, particularly during the miners’ strike of 1984–85, when his songs and performances directly attacked Thatcherism and its policies toward Britain’s working class. In 1985, Bragg was among the founders of Red Wedge, a musicians’ collective that supported the Labour Party. Called a “one-man Clash,” he has built a repertoire including originals like “A New England” (1983) and “There Is Power in a Union” (1986) as well as updated versions of the labor song “Which Side Are You On?” (1931) and the communist anthem “The Internationale” (1887), with Bragg writing new lyrics for each.

Late last year, Bragg released The Roaring Forty: 1983–2023, a comprehensive career retrospective consisting of fourteen CDs and over three hundred songs, including live material, B-sides, and other archival material. In this interview with Christopher J. Lee, he discusses the background to this release, his career as an activist since the 1980s, and the role of the singer-songwriter as a witness. Their far-ranging conversation touches on the war in Palestine, the connections between love songs and political songs, and why his own love for socialism remains unrequited.