Billy Bragg - Sexuality - Billy Bragg - Sexuality

JUL 01 1991 · 12:00

Billy Bragg - Sexuality - Billy Bragg - Sexuality (1991) Director: Phill Jupitus (conceived & directed); Jeff Baynes (director of record per IMDb) Era: Post-Thatcher British Alternative Pop (1991) - Early era of Major government Britain; indie-left politics entering mainstream pop via Go! Discs; pre-Britpop commercial push for politically engaged artists High. This video is a well-documented artefact of early-1990s British political pop at a pivotal cultural moment. Its Brit Award nomination, unusual split director attribution (Jupitus as conceiver, Baynes as technical director), and its position as a rare mainstream LGBTQ+-inclusive pop promo from the Section 28 era give it significant value for both music history and queer cultural studies archives. The warm, fast-cut aesthetic is a clean exemplar of the Go! Discs / British indie promo style of the period. Context: Released June 1991 at the intersection of post-Thatcher political exhaustion and pre-Britpop indie commercialism, 'Sexuality' was Billy Bragg's most explicit attempt at mainstream pop crossover. The song addressed LGBTQ+ inclusion and sexual liberation at a moment when Section 28 (prohibiting 'promotion' of homosexuality by local authorities) remained in force in the UK and the AIDS crisis continued to stigmatise queer communities. The video's playful, inclusive tone, directed by Jupitus, a comedian with deep roots in the left-wing music circuit, reflects the Red Wedge generation's shift from agit-prop confrontation toward accessible, humour-inflected advocacy. Its Brit Award nomination signals institutional recognition of Bragg's rare ability to fuse political messaging with commercial pop form. Director notes: The video is documented across multiple sources as having been conceived and directed by Phill Jupitus, with Jeff Baynes credited as director on IMDb, a split attribution consistent with a creative producer/conceiver arrangement common in low-budget British indie promos of the period. The video was nominated for a Brit Award. It begins with Billy Bragg and his band performing against a white background, interspersed with character vignette clips. The single was released June 1991 on Go! Discs (catalogue GOD 56), produced by Johnny Marr and Grant Showbiz, and was the lead single from the album 'Don't Try This at Home' (September 1991). It reached No. 27 on the UK Singles Chart.