Billy Bragg might be one of the old guard but he’s got a new look: a beard.

“It’s the male facelift,” he laughs.

The beard should help with his two appointments to engage the yoof on the South Coast.

He is to talk at the Great Escape festival’s DIY convention and is one of three established artists booked for one of the headline slots at the new music bash.

But there’s another reason he’s visiting: to pay his respects to a Brighton hero who helped shape his style as much as The Clash and Bob Dylan.

“It was the talk that attracted me but I always like to play the Brighton Dome because it’s got that statue of Max Miller out the back.

“I always go out there and pay my respects before the show because I think what I do is as much to do with Max Miller as it is to do with The Clash and Bob Dylan.”

The Cheeky Chappie, who died 50 years ago this week, irritated the establishment and entertained the public.

“I modelled myself on him, you know, by joshing on the audience a bit before I deliver the politics. And a bit of comic timing is needed in what I talk about.

“For instance, I was in Texas in March at the South By South West festival. An American senator – a Republican senator – suddenly decided he was in favour of gay marriage after his son came out.

“I said imagine what we could have done if we found out his son was poor.”

Bragg’s shows are as much political rallies as pop concerts. Rock Against Racism headlined by The Clash made Bragg realise that he was not in a minority. He says the band brought people together but that being in the crowd had a greater effect on forcing change than the music.

“People are more likely to listen if you make them smile – particularly if it is self-effacing humour. I find that makes people much more conducive when you want to talk about something serious.”

There are serious matters for Bragg to discuss at the DIY conference, which is aimed at music’s grassroots – managers, promoters, songwriters, producers, self-releasing artists.

“Being inspired by punk, punk was all about DIY. That was the great message of punk.

“Do it yourself. Don’t wait for someone else to do it for you. Don’t conform to somebody else’s idea of what you want to do. Do it yourself.

“And now after 30 years in the business, I am putting out my new album, more or less, DIY. I funded it myself. I’m paying for promotion myself. I’m putting together a band for it myself.

“I’ve got to the stage where I am in bit of an odd position because there is no major record company banging on my door. But there are clearly people out there who want to hear my stuff.”

Bragg joined Grammy Award-winning producer Joe Henry (who has worked with Solomon Burke, Aimee Mann and Elvis Costello) in his basement studio in South Pasadena, California, to record new album Tooth & Nail.

His voice has always been a sticking point for some and to get the best from Bragg, Henry made him record without vocal overdubs.

Fans of Bragg’s 1998 album Mermaid Avenue, recorded with Wilco, will recognise the rootsy soul, country and folk influences.

“If I am to avoid becoming some 1980s nostalgia act, I need to get some new records out there. So this year is all about working on that DIY principle.

“I’m trying to work out how I find my niche in the record industry, because I know where I belong in the music industry, that’s easy: I belong out there on stage. People are still interested in that.

“But the recording industry – it’s been a while since I’ve really tangled with that.”

As Bragg talks about the DIY response to the changing industry, the lines he sang so prophetically on Waiting For The Great Leap Forward, from 1988’s Worker’s Playtime – “Start your own revolution and cut out the middleman” – sound fresher than ever.

“The real question is how does a young band with no ready-made audience break out? That is what the digital revolution has made more difficult.

“It’s how to get out there and get seen when there is so much out there.”

The number of people coming to gigs is a positive. Bands have to be more imaginative. Don’t expect record companies to come up with all the ideas and strategies.

“Punk was a reaction against the record industry. The record industry didn’t like punk when it first started. When the Pistols signed to A&M, Rick Wakeman threatened to leave.”

In the five years since his last record, Bragg has put out songs for download talking about phone hacking, bankers and the credit crunch.

For Tooth & Nail he has picked deeper, very personal songs which are more reflective than his usual fare.

“I’d forgotten I had the nickname the Sherpa of Heartbreak until someone Tweeted me to say she was recovering from a broken relationship. It reminded me I also write love songs. It was a wake-up call and I started digging a bit deeper.”

The bluesy, rootsy sound comes as Bragg remembers favourite albums by Marvyn Gaye, Simon And Garfunkel and from Tamla Motown.

“That stuff strikes a chord with people. It’s soul with a small ‘s’ not a capital ‘s’. It touches you in your heart. I’ve always aimed to do that. I’ve always thought I was a soul singer. I’ve always aimed to touch people in their hearts rather than just make them think something, to make them reflect on their own situation.

“The best music does that to me – and any music that does that is soul music.”

  • Billy Bragg plays Brighton Dome Concert Hall, Church Street, on Friday, May 17, as part of the Great Escape festival. Doors 7.30pm, £17.50 or £7 if you already have a Great Escape weekend ticket. Visit mamacolive.com/thegreatescape