John Harris (The Guardian) writes .....
From agitpop to love songs, Bragg has brought his audience through life with him, creating a soundtrack to thousands of lives
Billy Bragg has a new beard, a mixture of grey and what he calls "sandy coloured: a bit grey, and a bit red". When he grew it, he says, "everyone said it suited me". It also chimes with an element of his past. "When I was forging my career as a solo artist, I dyed my hair blond, so I when I looked in the mirror in the morning, I looked like someone else. And I felt like somebody else. It didn't last, and I don't expect the beard will last forever. But again, I feel like I've passed through a change."
His new album is titled Tooth & Nail, and it has its own strapline, taken from a tweet by a fan who listened to his music while recovering from a broken relationship. She called him "The Sherpa of Heartbreak.
