To celebrate the 30th anniversary of his seminal 1983 debut recording 'Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy', Billy Bragg will release a special edition on October 21 comprising the original album re-mastered, plus a new, live solo version by Billy recorded as a unique encore at his London Union Chapel show on Wednesday 5 June 2013. Life's A Riot (30th Anniversary Edition) will feature a sleeve based on the original 1983 Barney Bubbles artwork and be available on CD, in a replica vinyl card sleeve with inner sleeve, limited edition LP with inner sleeve and lyrics on 180g vinyl with DL and digital. In keeping with the 'Pay No More Than £2.99' slogan that appeared on the front of the original record sleeve, the album will be available at a special 'Pay No More Than' price from iTunes of £2.49 for the original 7 track re-mastered album and £3.49 for the 30th Anniversary Edition, which includes the live Union Chapel show encore, for pre-orders and during the first week of release.
Billy says "Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy has a very special place in my heart, being the first step on a 30 year journey that has seen me travel to places that I could never have imagined back in '83. Also, as it's only 17 minutes long, I can knock the whole album out as an encore if the fancy takes me - no need to book the Royal Albert Hall and the London Symphony Orchestra"
Earlier this year, Billy released his first new studio album in five years Tooth & Nail (Cooking Vinyl) to huge critical acclaim. Drawing on personal as well as political themes, Tooth & Nail was recorded over a whirlwind five-day session with Grammy Award winning producer Joe Henry and was summed up by Mojo magazine thus: "Bard Of Barking, 56, gets personal, goes universal, makes his best album" (FIVE STARS).
Billy is touring through November and December and will be playing a milestone London show with his band at Hammersmith Apollo on Thursday 1 May 2014. He has asked that we point out that he's only 55...
