Billy Bragg has announced a new box set to mark his four decades in music, ‘The Roaring Forty’ – find all the details below.

The singer-songwriter and left-wing activist is due to release the career-spanning collection on October 27. Its deluxe CD version will comprise 14 discs, with the vinyl edition coming as a 3xLP (40 tracks) or a single ‘primer’ LP (13 tracks).

READ MORE: Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?! – Billy Bragg

According to a press release, the 300-song CD box set is made up of Bragg’s 12 studio albums to date as well as a host of non-album singles and B-sides, session tracks, rare live recordings, collaborations and previously unreleased material from the past 40 years.

It also boasts a large format book containing images of 40 significant objects from the musician’s career, including his debut NME cover, the hand-tinted flyer to his first solo gig, the original lyrics to ‘A Lover Sings’, the Red Wedge manifesto, his membership card to the Smokey Robinson & The Miracles fan club, along with with commentary from Bragg himself.

In a statement, Bragg recalled of first starting out: “It seems like just the other day that I was handing John Peel a mushroom biryani and asking him to play my first record. The music business has changed dramatically since then, but my belief in the power of the song is undimmed.”

In the early 80s, I realised if I wanted to hear music that said something about the state of the world, I’d have to make it myself. To mark my 40th anniversary, I’ve compiled a number of commemorative releases spanning my career since then. Pre-order: https://t.co/BuRCFT8RJS pic.twitter.com/Or2sN0JqVh

— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) February 28, 2023

He added on Twitter: “In the early 80s, I realised if I wanted to hear music that said something about the state of the world, I’d have to make it myself. To mark my 40th anniversary, I’ve compiled a number of commemorative releases spanning my career since then.”

You can pre-order/pre-save ‘The Roaring Forty’ here, and see the full tracklist below.

1xLP
A1. ‘A New England’ (2013 Remaster) from ‘Life’s A Riot With Spy Vs. Spy’ (1983)
A2. ‘Between The Wars’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Between The Wars E.P. ‘ (1985)
A3. ‘Levi Stubbs’ Tears’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Levi Stubbs’ Tears’ (1986)
A4. ‘Greetings To The New Brunette’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Talking With The Taxman About Poetry’ (1986)
A5. ‘Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards’ (2006 Remaster) from ’Workers Playtime’ (1988)
A6. ‘Sexuality’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Don’t Try This At Home’ (1991)
A7 .‘Accident Waiting To Happen (Red Star Version)’ (1999 Remaster) from ‘Accident Waiting To Happen’ (1992)
B1. ‘Upfield’ (2006 remaster) from ‘William Bloke’ (1996)
B2. ‘The Boy Done Good’ (1999 Remaster) from ‘Bloke On Bloke’ (1997)
B3. ‘California Stars’ (Live October / November 1998) from ‘Mermaid Avenue Tour / You Can Call Me Cupcake’ (1999) – Billy Bragg & The Blokes
B4. ‘I Keep Faith’ from ‘Mr. Love & Justice’ (2008)
B5. ‘The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore’ from ‘Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad’ (2016) – Billy Bragg & Joe Henry
B6. ‘I Will Be Your Shield’ from ‘The Million Things That Never Happened’ (2021)

3xLP/2xCD
A1. ‘A New England’ (2013 Remaster) from ‘Life’s A Riot With Spy Vs. Spy’ (1983)
A2. ‘The Milkman Of Human Kindness’ (2013 Remaster) from ‘Life’s A Riot With Spy Vs. Spy’ (1983)
A3. ‘To Have And Have Not’ (2013 Remaster) from ‘Life’s A Riot With Spy Vs. Spy’ (1983)
A4. ‘The Man In The Iron Mask’ (2013 Remaster) from ‘Life’s A Riot With Spy Vs. Spy’ (1983)
A5. ‘St. Swithin’s Day’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Brewing Up With’ (1984)
A6. ‘The Saturday Boy’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Brewing Up With’ (1984)
A7. ‘Between The Wars’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Between The Wars E.P.’ (1985)
A8. ‘The World Turned Upside Down’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Between The Wars E.P.’ (1985)
A9. ‘Which Side Are You On?’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Between The Wars E.P.’ (1985)
B1. ‘Levi Stubbs’ Tears’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Levi Stubbs’ Tears’ (1986)
B2. ‘Greetings To The New Brunette’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Talking With The Taxman About Poetry’ (1986)
B3. ‘There Is Power In A Union’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Talking With The Taxman About Poetry’ (1986)
B4. ‘Help Save The Youth Of America’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Talking With The Taxman About Poetry’ (1986)
B5. ‘She’s Leaving Home’ (1999 Remaster) from ‘She’s Leaving Home’ (1988) – Billy Bragg with Cara Tivey
B6. ‘She’s Got A New Spell’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Workers Playtime’ (1988)
B7. ‘Must I Paint You A Picture’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Workers Playtime’ (1988) Continued…/
C1. ‘Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Workers Playtime’ (1988)
C2. ‘The Internationale’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘The Internationale’ (1990)
C3. ‘Tank Park Salute’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Don’t Try This At Home’ (1991)
C4. ‘Sexuality’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Don’t Try This At Home’ (1991)
C5. ‘Accident Waiting To Happen (Red Star Version)’ (1999 Remaster) from ‘Accident Waiting To Happen’ (1992)
C6. ‘Upfield’ from ‘William Bloke’ (1996)
D1. ‘The Boy Done Good’ (1999 Remaster) from ‘Bloke On Bloke’ (1997)
D2. ‘Walt Whitman’s Niece’ from ‘Mermaid Avenue’ (1998) Billy Bragg and Wilco
D3. ‘Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key’ from ‘Mermaid Avenue’ (1998) Billy Bragg and Wilco
D4. ‘My Flying Saucer’ from ‘Mermaid Avenue II’ (2000) Billy Bragg and Wilco
D5. ‘California Stars (Live October / November 1999)’ from ‘Mermaid Avenue Tour / You Can Call Me Cupcake’ (1999) Billy Bragg and The Blokes
D6. ‘Some Days I See The Point’ from ‘England, Half English’ (2002) – Billy Bragg & The Blokes
E1. ‘England, Half English’ from ‘England, Half English’ (2002) Billy Bragg and The Blokes
E2. ‘Take Down The Union Jack (Band Version)’ (2006 Remaster) from ‘Take Down The Union Jack’ (2002) – Billy Bragg & The Blokes
E3. ‘Old Clash Fan Fight Song’ from ‘Johnny Clash’ (2007)
E4. ‘I Keep Faith’ from ‘Mr. Love & Justice’ (2008)
E5. ‘Bugeye Jim’ from ‘Mermaid Avenue III’ (2012)
E6. ‘Never Buy The Sun’ from ‘Fight Songs (A Decade Of Downloads)’ (2011)
F1. ‘No One Knows Nothing Anymore’ from ‘Tooth & Nail’ (2013)
F2. ‘Handyman Blues’ from ‘Tooth & Nail’ (2013)
F3. ‘The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore’ from ‘Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad’ – Billy Bragg and Joe Henry
F4. ‘King Tide And The Sunny Day Flood’ from ‘Bridges Not Walls’ (2017)
F5. ‘Mid-Century Modern’ from ‘The Million Things That Never Happened’ (2021)
F6. ‘I Will Be Your Shield’ from ‘The Million Things That Never Happened’ (2021)

14-disc CD
Disc 1. 1983 – 1984: Life’s A Riot… Plus
Disc 2. 1984 – 1985: Brewing Up With… Plus
Disc 3. 1986 – 1988: Talking With The Taxman… Plus
Disc 4. 1988 – 1989: Workers Playtime… Plus
Disc 5. 1990 – 1991: The Internationale… Plus
Disc 6. 1991 – 1992: Don’t Try This At Home… Plus
Disc 7. 1996 – 1997: William Bloke / Bloke On Bloke… Plus
Disc 8. 1998 – 2012: The Mermaid Avenue Recordings
Disc 9. 1998 – 2002: England, Half English… Plus
Disc 10. 2006 – 2010: Mr. Love & Justice / Pressure Drop… Plus
Disc 11. 2011 – 2015: Tooth & Nail… Plus
Disc 12. 2016 – 2017: Shine A Light / Bridges Not Walls… Plus
Disc 13: 2021 The Million Things That Never Happened Plus
Disc 14: 1990 – 2015: Rare & Previously Unreleased Recordings

Bragg released his most recent studio album, ‘The Million Things That Never Happened’, in October 2021.

Reviewing the record, NME said that it contained “nuanced, compassionate songwriting that never loses grip of its sense of empathy”, adding: “‘The Million Things That Never Happened’ is a gentle embrace of what unites us all.”

The post Billy Bragg to celebrate 40 years of music and massive new box set appeared first on NME.

Drake has spoken out about how Lil Wayne got his name wrong when they first met.

READ MORE: Drake and 21 Savage – ‘Her Loss’ review: exciting prospect marred by lazy songwriting

The pair collaborated on the track ‘Ransom’ in 2008, with the latter rapping about Drake’s email address.

“And I think his name was kinda like ‘Drake Drizzy Rogers’ / Or ‘Drizzy Drake Rogers,’ I’m too busy to play father,” Wayne rapped on the song, not realising that Rogers wasn’t actually his last name but his email provider. Drake’s actual name is Aubrey Graham.

Speaking in a new interview on the debut episode of Lil Yachty’s A Moody Conversation interview series, Drake explained the the mix up. “My email was drizzydrake@rogers.com, Rogers was the service provider in Canada and [Wayne] didn’t realize the ‘at’ in the email was like a middle interference,” he said.

“He just thought my name was Drizzy Drake Rogers. I mean he rapped it once, I just didn’t have the heart to correct him.”

Meanwhile, it was recently revealed that Drake’s armed guards allegedly refused a subpoena issued to the rapper in relation to the murder of XXXtentacion.

According to the Miami Herald, Mauricio Padilla, lawyer for Dedrick Williams, one of the three men accused of murdering XXXTentacion, issued a motion requiring Drake (real name Aubrey Graham) to deliver a deposition later this month.

Padilla alleged that when an attempt was made to deliver the subpoena outside Drake’s California home on February 14, guards not only closed the gates in the face of the servers, but also kicked the subpoena down the driveway.

XXXtentacion (real name Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy) was killed in a shooting at the age of 20 as he left a car dealership in Miami, Florida in June of 2018.

Elsewhere, Wayne recently revealed that he hasn’t eaten fast food in decades, and that it’s been so long since he’s had a McDonald’s meal that he doesn’t know what it smells like.

The post Drake on how Lil Wayne got his name quite wrong when they first met appeared first on NME.

The Kid LAROI has shared a new single called ‘I Guess It’s Love?’ – check out the official video below.

The song will appear on the 19-year-old Australian rapper/singer’s forthcoming debut studio album, ‘The First Time’.

READ MORE: The Kid LAROI at Reading Festival 2021: a tyke fooling around in his playpen

Directed by Helmi, the visuals for ‘I Guess It’s Love’ present a satirical portrait of the life and relationship of an ageing rock star in Hollywood.

The DIY-looking clip contains footage of LAROI – real name Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard – spending time with his influencer girlfriend Katarina Deme. We see the pair jumping on a trampoline, running around a tennis court, kissing in bed and more.

At one point, the video takes a turn as LAROI’s face is suddenly transformed with an OTT surgery job and dodgy goatee. Deme later reveals that her breasts have inflated before it becomes apparent that she’s received a botched facelift of her own.

The visuals depict the couple’s life as they grow older in the limelight and eventually get married. To end the clip, a message confirms that LAROI will soon share another single, ‘What Just Happened’, and announce the release date for ‘The First Time’.

Watch the ‘I Guess It’s Love?’ video in full above.

‘The First Time’ will follow on from LAROI’s mixtape series ‘F*ck Love’. He dropped the track ‘I Can’t Go Back To The Way It Was (Intro)’ last month, before sharing the single ‘Love Again’ shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile, The Kid LAROI is scheduled to embark on a run of US headline dates next month. You can find any remaining tickets here.

The post The Kid LAROI imagines life as an ageing rock star in ‘I Guess It’s Love?’ video appeared first on NME.

Every year, Nike celebrates the LGBTQIA2S+ community throughout the entirety of Pride Month. And while the celebration has long come to an end, the brand’s “Be True” sneakers are not quite done paying homage, as the collection has just unveiled an Air Max 97 by way of official images.

As is custom, the Nike Air Max 97 “Be True” is unabashedly bold in its colorway, flaunting a rainbow-like range of hues through its frilled accents. These same tones — red, orange, yellow, green, and blue — also highlight the friendship bracelet hung along the side, whose letters spell out the pack’s namesake. Additional nods are applied to the insole, heel, and packaging, the latter of which is also done up in a series of playful graphics.

Enjoy a closer, official look at the Nike Air Max 97 “Be True” ahead. At the time of writing this, no firm release date has been revealed; for now, sit tight and stay tuned for further updates.

In other news, official images of the Dunk High 50 Years of Hip-Hop also just surfaced.

© Sneaker News, 2023.
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