Life's a Riot With Spy Vs. Spy

With Barney Bubbles' distinctive sleeve art mirroring the no-nonsense, idiosyncratic "one-man Clash" sound of Billy Bragg thrashing around on an electric guitar and singing like a British Woody Guthrie to the working class he was trying to reach, the original seven-song Life’s a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy entered the world in 1983. Thirty years on, Bragg still sings from his heart and conscience—yet few could have imagined the success he'd achieve with a sound so uncompromising. For its 30th-anniversary edition, one version contains just the original tracks, while another adds a new, live solo version recorded by Billy as a "unique encore" at a June 2013 performance at the London Union Chapel. Songs such as “A New England,” “The Man in the Iron Mask,” “The Busy Girl Buys Beauty," and “The Milkman of Human Kindness” continue to ring as sterling social commentary. The album's unique sound served as an introduction for an idealistic young hero who'd become much more.