I thought I’d share here a story I submitted for inclusion in Billy Bragg – A People’s History. The book came out late in 2025 and is a wonderful read. If you want to read more stories from Billy’s fans, you can get a copy online or at Unity Books. Here’s my memory:
“You’re just the kind of fucker I hate” – not the words you hope to hear from your musical idol when you meet him, but once we understood where he was coming from, we had to admit it was a fair call.
So it’s 1987. I’m in my first year at Massey University, in Palmerston North, New Zealand. I was doing some writing for Chaff, the student newspaper, and hanging on the coattails of my friend Simon, who was writing for Radio Massey. Together we interviewed an exciting array of (mostly New Zealand) musicians as they came through town. But the one we were really excited about was Billy Bragg.
I thought a lot about what to wear when we went to interview Billy. I was in my Cyndi-Lauper-meets-Siouxie-Sioux phase, so I would have been in an op shop dress, with boots and a heck of a lot of jewellery. Simon won’t have given it any thought – he was wearing what he always wore: doc marten boots, stovepipe black jeans and a union jack tshirt, because he LOVED UK music. He had very short hair.
So when we walked in to meet Billy, and those were the first words out of his mouth – you’re just the kind of fucker I hate – well it was a bit of a shock. We took a step back, and probably stammered a bit, and Billy I think took pity on us, because we were just kids and maybe he could see that something was amiss. He explained, and we explained. Simon looked like he was in the National Front, and Billy wasn’t having any of that, and he called it as he saw it. Is it believable to say that we just didn’t know that the lovely Simon was dressing like a racist? It was Palmerston North in 1987. We really didn’t. We did now.
I was 18, and the idea that you could offend or alienate someone in defence of your principles was genuinely revolutionary for me. I was a bit scared of it but also in awe of it.
That day he became not just a music idol for me, but an example of how to use your power for good.
Creating Good Change 