Billy Bragg back on the road for the miners

Twenty five years on, Billy Bragg will undertake a special nine-date solo tour of Wales in June 2009 to remember the Miners' Strike and its legacy on 'communities across Wales.

The tour, co-produced by Coda, Theatr Mwldan and Big Pit, will begin at Blaenafon Workmen's Hall on Friday 5th June with a special unique event in which Billy Bragg will both play songs and discuss, with a guest interviewer, the Miners' Strike and its impact on his own life and music.

The full dates are:

June
Fri 5th Blaenafon Workmen's Hall 01239 621200
Sat 6th Porthcawl Grand Pavillion 01656 815995
Sun 7th Cardigan Theatr Mwldan 01239 621200
Tue 9th Pontardawe Arts Centre 01792 863722
Wed 10th Brecon Theatr Brycheiniog 01874 611622
Thu 11th Caernarfon Galeri, 01286 685222
Fri 12th Wrexham William Aston Hall 01978 316780
Sun 14th Aberystwyth Arts Centre 01970 623232
Mon 15th Blackwood Miners Institute 01495 227206

Tickets for the concerts, which mark one of the most significant events in modern Welsh history are priced at £17 (£16 concessions) and are on-sale now.

Ex-punk, ex-soldier, and ex-member of the Labour Party, Billy Bragg rose from working class origins in the 1980s to become one of the UK's foremost pop and protest singers and left-wing icons. It was Margaret Thatcher who propelled the bard of Barking into action; Bragg's defining political moment came with the Miners' Strike of 1984-5, when the Conservative government set out to lay waste to Britain's industrial heartlands, crippling communities and livelihoods in the process. Bragg became a fixture at political rallies and benefits, particularly during the Strike, with his powerful pro-union songs including Which Side Are You On, There Is Power In A Union and the EP title track Between The Wars.

A rebel in every sense, Bragg is best-known for his passionately political lyrics, but also admired for his offbeat love songs. This unique man continues to prove that music still has something to say about political causes, and, thank goodness, has a sense of humour.

Billy Bragg's life encapsulates so much about his generation: born in the 50's with politics shaped by Thatcherism, passions forged by punk and hope provided by the end of the cold war. Yet he is also unique: Billy is a British institution that will never go out of fashion – a peerless entertainer, fearless campaigner, much-loved maverick and idiosyncratic icon of leftfield pop.

Dilwyn Davies, Director of Theatr Mwldan, said "It's fantastic for Wales that Billy Bragg has chosen to tour small venues right across the country to mark such a momentous event in Welsh history. We believe it's also unique for a Welsh museum and arts centre to be working together to produce a music tour of such huge cultural significance in Wales."

Bragg is currently on tour in the UK, the remaining dates are:

December
Wed 3rd Belfast Empire Music Hall £17.50 0870 243 4455 /
Thu 4th Dublin Vicar Street €25.00 0818 719 390 /
Fri 5th Cork Cyprus Avenue SOLD OUT
Mon 8th London Shepherds Bush Empire £18.50 0844 4772000