Living legend Billy Bragg will release his tenth studio album ‘The Million Things That Never Happened’ on 8 October 2021 through the Cooking Vinyl label. The record was produced by Romeo Stodart and Dave Izumi at Echo Zoo studio in Eastbourne. All songs are written by Billy Bragg apart from the final song (Ten Mysterious Photos That Can’t Be Explained), which is co-written by Billy’s son Jack Valero.
Bragg today releases the first taster from the album, and a personal favourite, the beautiful love song ‘I Will Be Your Shield’.
To me this (I Will Be Your Shield) is the heart and soul of the album. I’ve come to the conclusion that empathy is the currency of music – that our job as songwriters is to help people come to terms with their feelings by offering them examples of how others may have dealt with a situation similar to that in which listeners find themselves. After what we’ve all been through, the idea of being a shield, physically, emotionally, psychologically, really resonates.
This has all the hallmarks of classic Bragg: heartfelt and expressive delivery filled with his veracity and passion.
You can download/stream the single here and pre-order the album here.
The full tracklisting of ‘The Million Things That Never Happened’ is:
- Should Have Seen It Coming
- Mid-Century Modern
- Lonesome Ocean
- Good Days And Bad Days
- Freedom Doesn’t Come For Free
- Reflections On The Mirth Of Creativity
- The Million Things That Never Happened
- The Buck Doesn’t Stop Here No More
- I Believe In You
- Pass It On
- I Will Be Your Shield
- Ten Mysterious Photos That Can’t Be Explained
On Thursday 9th September ‘21, a month prior to the album release, an online concert experience exploring the music and mind of Billy Bragg will be streamed on the Stabal platform. The show will feature the first outing of some songs from the new album, plus some nuggets from Bragg’s illustrious catalogue. He is joined onstage by Romeo Stodart (gtr), Michele Stodart (bass), Darren Beckett (drums), Nick Pynn (lap steel gtr, violin) and Jack Valero (gtr), who all played on ‘The Million Things That Never Happened’.
Bragg has also announced tour dates for Australia and New Zealand in 2022:
FREMANTLE – FRI 14 JAN – FREO.SOCIAL – NIGHT 1
FREMANTLE – SAT 15 JAN – FREO.SOCIAL – NIGHT 2
FREMANTLE – SUN 16 JAN – FREO.SOCIAL – NIGHT 3
ADELAIDE – THU 20 JAN – THE GOV – NIGHT 1
ADELAIDE – FRI 21 JAN – THE GOV – NIGHT 2
ADELAIDE – SAT 22 JAN – THE GOV – NIGHT 3
SYDNEY – THU 27 JAN – ENMORE THEATRE – NIGHT 1
SYDNEY – FRI 28 JAN – ENMORE THEATRE – NIGHT 2
SYDNEY – SAT 29 JAN – ENMORE THEATRE – NIGHT 3
MELBOURNE – WED 2 FEB – FORUM – NIGHT 1
MELBOURNE – THU 3 FEB – FORUM – NIGHT 2
MELBOURNE – FRI 4 FEB – FORUM – NIGHT 3
BRISBANE – TUE 8 FEB – THE TIVOLI – NIGHT 1
BRISBANE – WED 9 FEB – THE TIVOLI – NIGHT 2
BRISBANE – THU 10 FEB – THE TIVOLI – NIGHT 3
WELLINGTON – SUN 13 FEB – THE OPERA HOUSE – NIGHT 1
WELLINGTON – MON 14 FEB – THE OPERA HOUSE – NIGHT 2
WELLINGTON – TUE 15 FEB – THE OPERA HOUSE – NIGHT 3
AUCKLAND – FRI 18 FEB – BRUCE MASON CENTRE
CHRISTCHURCH – SAT 19 FEB – TOWN HALL
For further details on this and his UK tour, see here.
