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Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy
Studio album by Billy Bragg
Released	May 1983
Recorded	February 2–4, 1983
Studio	Chappell Music, Park Street, Mayfair, London
Genre	British folk rock, folk punk
Length	15:57
Label	Utility, Go! Discs (November 1983)
Producer	Oliver Hitch
Billy Bragg chronology
Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy (1983) Brewing Up with Billy Bragg (1984)

Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy is Billy Bragg's first album, released in 1983. All songs on the original album consisted of Bragg singing to his electric guitar accompaniment.

The original album played at 45 rpm rather than the more usual 33⅓ rpm, contained only seven songs and lasted for only 15 minutes and 57 seconds. However, rather than being classified as an EP, it qualified for the UK Albums Chart due to its total number of tracks meeting the rules and reached number 30 in January 1984.

The album contains both politically charged songs, such as the attack on the school system and unemployment, "To Have and to Have Not", and love songs such as "The Milkman of Human Kindness" and "A New England" (which was later a hit for singer Kirsty MacColl).

The title of the album alludes to Bragg's pseudonym of Spy vs Spy which he used when busking prior to his recording career, and which in turn comes from the strip of the same name in Mad magazine.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Entertainment Weekly	A−
Mojo
Q
Record Collector
Record Mirror
Rolling Stone
Sounds
Spin Alternative Record Guide	7/10
Uncut	7/10

It was ranked at number 3 among the "Albums of the Year" for 1983 by NME; thirty years later, the magazine ranked it at number 440 in its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

Spin wrote the album would, "probably fully launch Bragg on the already friendly seas of college radio, and maybe beyond. It deserves a listen, but it's not going to spearhead any 'folk revival' you've read about yesterday or three years ago."

Versions

The album was originally released by Utility Records through Chrysalis in May 1983. The cassette version of the album was recorded on only one side of the tape; the second side of the tape was blank, inscribed with a message that fans should use it to bootleg his concerts. The album was then reissued in November 1983 on Go! Discs. In 1986 the tracks from the album along with the tracks from Brewing Up with Billy Bragg (1984) and the tracks from the Between the Wars EP (1985) were issued on a compilation album called Back to Basics by Go! Discs. This compilation was reissued by Cooking Vinyl in 1996. Cooking Vinyl released another compilation album in 1996 combining the tracks from the album with the four tracks from the Between the Wars EP and titled Life's a Riot Between the Wars.

In 2006 as part of a series of reissues of albums from his back catalogue, the album was reissued as Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy, with the original tracks on one disc along with a bonus CD of alternative versions and previously unreleased material. The tracks on the bonus CD were produced and compiled by Grant Showbiz.

In October 2013, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original release, a new version was released. This featured a remastered version of the original tracks alongside a live performance of the album which was recorded live at the Union Chapel, London on 5 June 2013.

Track listing

All songs written by Billy Bragg, except where noted

1. "The Milkman of Human Kindness" – 2:49
2. "To Have and to Have Not" – 2:33
3. "Richard" – 2:51
4. "A New England" – 2:14
5. "The Man in the Iron Mask" – 2:13
6. "The Busy Girl Buys Beauty" – 1:58
7. "Lovers Town Revisited" – 1:19

Additional tracks on 2006 reissue

1. "Strange Things Happen" (alternative version) – 3:19
2. "The Cloth I" – 2:50
3. "Love Lives Here" – 1:42
4. "Speedway Hero" – 2:39
5. "Loving You Too Long" – 2:51
6. "The Guitar Says Sorry" (alternative version) – 2:14
7. "Love Gets Dangerous" (alternative version) – 2:32
8. "The Cloth II" – 2:47
9. "The Man in the Iron Mask" (alternative version) – 2:17
10. "A13, Trunk Road to the Sea" (music by Bobby Troup, words by Bragg) – 2:27
11. "Fear Is a Man's Best Friend" (John Cale) – 2:32

Additional tracks (live) on 2013 reissue

1. "Intro"
2. "Lovers Town Revisited"
3. "To Have and to Have Not"
4. "The Busy Girl Buys Beauty"
5. "The Man in the Iron Mask"
6. "Richard"
7. "The Milkman of Human Kindness"
8. "A New England"

Personnel

Musicians

• Billy Bragg – vocals, guitar
• Dave Woodhead – trumpet on "The Man in the Iron Mask" (alternative version)

Production

• Oliver Hitch – producer, engineer, (original album plus "The Guitar Says Sorry" (alternative version), "Love Gets Dangerous" (alternative version), "The Cloth II", "A13, Trunk Road to the Sea", "Fear Is a Man's Best Friend")
• Grant Showbiz – responsible for compiling and production of reissue
• Tim Young – digital remastering (original album tracks)
• Duncan Cowell – digital remastering (bonus tracks)
• Steve Goldstein – recording ("Strange Things Happen" (alternative version), "The Cloth I", "Love Lives Here")
• Wiggy – recording ("Speedway Hero", "Loving You too Long")

Footnotes

1. British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). 2006. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
2. Collins 2018, p. 84.
3. Deming, Mark. "Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy – Billy Bragg". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
4. Willman, Chris (3 March 2006). "CD reissues from ZZ Top, Billy Bragg, Mott and Merle". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
5. Wilson, Lois (December 2013). "Billy Bragg: Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy". Mojo. No. 241.
6. Perry, Andrew (December 2013). "Billy Bragg: Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy". Q. No. 329.
7. Staunton, Terry (December 2013). "Life's A Riot With Spy Vs Spy: 30th Anniversary Edition | Billy Bragg". Record Collector. No. 421. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
8. Reid, Jim (13 August 1983). "Billy Bragg: Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy". Record Mirror. p. 20.
9. Wolk, Douglas (9 March 2006). "Billy Bragg: Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy". Rolling Stone. No. 995. p. 95.
10. Bushell, Garry (30 July 1983). "Billy Bragg: Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy". Sounds.
11. Arnold, Gina (1995). "Billy Bragg". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 57–58. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
12. Thomson, Graeme (December 2013). "Billy Bragg: Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy: 30th Anniversary Edition". Uncut. No. 199. p. 86.
13. "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
14. "Rocklist.net....NME: The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time : October 2013".
15. RJ Smith (September 1985). "Spins". Spin. No. 5. p. 31.
16. "Bragg's Emporium - Tooth & Nail BILLY BRAGG NEW ALBUM 2013". www.billybragg.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 November 2013.

Sources

• Collins, Andrew (2018). Still Suitable for Miners: Billy Bragg (5th ed.). London: Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-7535-5271-1.

References

• Official Billy Bragg discography
• 2006 reissue CD liner notes

• Billy Bragg albums
• 1983 debut albums
• Cooking Vinyl albums