Billy Bragg will release a 14-disc deluxe box set (3 LP and single LP versions also available) entitled ‘The Roaring Forty 1983-2023’ on October 27, 2023 on Cooking Vinyl. ‘The Roaring Forty 1983-2023’ celebrates the legacy of the songwriter, principled activist and alternative national treasure. ‘The Roaring Forty 1983-2023’ compiled by Billy Bragg will be available in three formats:

1. a single disc 13-song ‘primer’ on red vinyl,
2. a 40-song 3 album collection on three shades of green vinyl (also available as a 2 CD and digital set) and… (saved the best ‘til last!)
3. a 14 CD box set, containing more than 300 songs including each of Billy’s twelve studio albums, non-album singles and B- Sides, session tracks, rare live recordings, collaborations and previously unreleased material from across his illustrious career. The box set also includes a large format book containing images of 40 significant objects from Billy’s career, including the hand tinted flyer to his first solo gig, his first NME cover, the original lyrics to ‘A Lover Sings’, the Red Wedge manifesto, his membership card to the Smokey Robinson & The Miracles fan club, and much else besides, with fascinating commentary from the man himself.

The previously unreleased version of “My Youngest Son Came Home Today” featuring Michael Stipe is included on the box set and out now. The song tells a sad tale of a soldier who is brought back to his family. “While in his box of polished pine Like dead meat on a butcher’s tray My youngest son same home today”. Fortunately, he has a legacy. “My youngest son was a fine young man With a wife, a daughter and two sons”. Bragg tells how he met his end. “ And a man he would have lived and died ‘Till by a bullet sanctified Now he’s a saint, or so they say. The song ends repeating the first verse. Listen to the song below.