Billy Bragg @ Yarmouth Hippodrome
Billy Bragg is a bloody hero.
Can’t deny it, there was a real sense of occasion last night as we queued to enter the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome, Great Britain’s last remaining indoor circus, to watch the Bard of Barking surround his stand-up comedy routine with some classics old and new. The Victorian auditorium lent vaudeville glitz to political folk; without exception, every person I spoke to was loving the venue.
Most seats were taken when support act Will Varley entered the ring. A commanding vocal presence with a whiff of Mumford about the delivery, he comfortably provided some well-crafted Americana and some almost Victoria Wood style comedy social storytelling, including very successful pieces about Internet cat videos and millionaires being made via email. Opening for a legend in a circus ring with no band must have been an intense experience, but Will used humour and exuded confidence to win us over.
Billy Bragg in a circus in Yarmouth is not an opportunity I was about to pass up. His skills as an orator, free thinker and raconteur are legendary and with a back catalogue amounting to 30 years and 15 albums worth of material everyone had high expectations.
After launching us in with a solo version of The Milkman of Human Kindness from his first album, the crowd was immediately rapt. Billy had us in the palm of his hand from the off with his gift for feeling at home in front of any sized crowd and bringing the goods. Another tune from the early 80’s A Lover Sings followed and we were treated to a story about shopping for Singing Postman albums in Norwich’s secondhand shops. A voice from the crowd asked about his preferred outcome in the EU referendum, and we had the benefit of the first of many eloquently stirring yet hilariously delivered routines.
Several covers in a row came next, including some of his collaborations with Wilco for the Mermaid Avenue project, each song interspersed with trademark sketches on feminism, or being honest about losing the skills of our fathers; all received enthusiastic laughter and applause. What Billy does best is give us permission to enjoy being socialist, feminist and environmental without losing sight of the reason anyone goes to gigs - for the tunes. Wingman CJ Hillman came on during this period and treated us to a dazzling display of steel guitar to replace the need for a travelling band, stripping back the songs to their roots but still sounding full of meaning and verve. She Came Along To Me was the blue touchpaper lit for several groovers on the top balcony who were leaping about with such gusto it filled your heart with joy to see. In the early 90’s Radio 1 had been to Yarmouth for the annual roadshow, and we heard some brilliantly catty recollections about Blur, who had apparently mimed on a bus for a transmission on the seafront, and some unlikely Morrissey stories. Billy Bragg can hold court for sure, the onstage memories a match for crowdpleasers Levi Stubbs Tears, The Warmest Room, Greetings To The New Brunette and Sexuality, the latter allowing us all to join in as the backing singers. A commanding performance which we all will remember for years. If you have never seen him live, I would almost insist you do so - the dour left-wing polemicist that the press would cast him as could not be further from reality.
The inevitable encore of New England took it to the limit; young and old chorusing like no one was watching, carefree and loving the liberation. Billy Bragg is a bloody hero, and seeing him perform in the incredible surroundings of the Hippodrome was a privilege.
Thank you NNF16 for getting him here for the first date of what will be, I’m sure, a tour talked about for years to come.
