England, Half-English

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England, Half-English
England, Half English.jpg
Studio album by
Billy Bragg and the Blokes
Released5 March 2002
StudioMonnow Valley Studios, Rockfield, Wales; Street Level; Roundhouse Studios, London
GenreRock
Length42:58
LabelElektra
ProducerGrant Showbiz
Billy Bragg and the Blokes chronology
Mermaid Avenue Vol. II
(2000) 		England, Half-English
(2002) 		Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg
(2003)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(64/100)[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic2.5/5 stars[2]
The Austin Chronicle3.5/5 stars[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[4]
Los Angeles Times3/4 stars[5]
Neumu.net3/10 stars[6]
NME(5/10)[7]
Playlouder4/5 stars[8]
Robert Christgau(choice cut)[9]
Rolling Stone2.5/5 stars[10]
Spin(7/10)[1]
Stylus MagazineF[11]
Uncut4/5 stars[1]
Yahoo! Music UK3/10 stars[12]

England, Half-English is a 2002 album by English political singer-songwriter Billy Bragg and The Blokes, and a song from that album. The song is about racism in England and the anti-immigration feelings and racist abuse of asylum seekers fuelled by the tabloid press, particularly the Daily Mail. The song uses examples such as the lions on the English football team's shirts, Britannia and the English patron saint, St. George (from Lebanon), the hyphen in Anglo-Saxon and the nation's favourite dish (curry) to convey his message that everything about English culture is shaped and influenced by the waves of immigration that have taken place in the past.

The title is taken from England, Half English, a 1961 collection of essays and articles by Colin MacInnes, which includes a 1957 article called "Young England, Half English" about the influence of American pop music on English teenagers.

"", a song from the album that protests against the monarchy, Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee and argues for English and Scottish independence, reached number 22 in the UK singles chart in May 2002.

Track listing[]

All tracks composed by Billy Bragg; except where indicated

  1. "St. Monday" (single)
  2. "Jane Allen" (Ian McLagan, Martyn Barker, Lu Edmonds, Ben Mandelson, Billy Bragg & the Blokes)
  3. "Distant Shore" (Ian McLagan, Martyn Barker, Lu Edmonds, Ben Mandelson, Billy Bragg & the Blokes)
  4. "England, Half English" (Ian McLagan, Martyn Barker, Lu Edmonds, Ben Mandelson, Billy Bragg & the Blokes)
  5. "NPWA (No Power Without Accountability)" (Billy Bragg & the Blokes) (single)
  6. "Some Days I See The Point"
  7. "Baby Faroukh" (Billy Bragg, Ian McLagan, Martyn Barker, Lu Edmonds, Ben Mandelson)
  8. "Take Down The Union Jack" (single)
  9. "Another Kind of Judy"
  10. "He'll Go Down"
  11. "Dreadbelly" (Ian McLagan, Martyn Barker, Lu Edmonds, Ben Mandelson, Billy Bragg & the Blokes)
  12. "Tears of My Tracks"

Personnel[]

  • Billy Bragg – guitar, vocals
The Blokes
  • Ben Mandelson – various string instruments
  • Ian McLagan – Hammond organ, piano
  • Lu Edmonds – various string instruments
  • Martyn Barker – drums, percussion
  • Simon Edwards – bass guitar

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Critic reviews at Metacritic
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ The Austin Chronicle review
  4. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
  5. ^ Los Angeles Times review
  6. ^ Neumu.net review
  7. ^ NME review
  8. ^ "Playlouder review". Archived from the original on 12 June 2002. Retrieved 4 June 2013.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
  10. ^ "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2013.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ Stylus Magazine review Archived 10 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "Yahoo! Music UK review". Archived from the original on 25 August 2004. Retrieved 4 June 2013.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

External links[]

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