Billy Salisbury, a.k.a. “The Undercover Hippy”, is a singer songwriter and producer who brings together elements of folk, hip-hop, and reggae amongst other influences. The result is a selection of extremely catchy, politically charged and thought provoking songs.

Billy started his musical career as a DJ aged 16. He spent the next 7 years DJing and MCing to crowds across the UK, finally ending up as the resident MC for the “Guerrilla Collective”, a drum and bass outfit based in Singapore.

In 2002, Billy bought a guitar, sold his turntables, and began singing and writing once more. To make up for his then empty repertoire of songs, Billy would use lyrics he had written for Drum and Bass/Hip-Hop, and sing them over the guitar. This fusion of styles is very characteristic of the music he writes today. Since moving back to the UK, he has been steadily building a highly loyal fan-base, tirelessly touring the best of the UK’s music festivals during the summer, and gigging around the UK during the colder months.

Billy spent last winter out in The Gambia, collaborating with local musicians and helping organise the Katong Festival, a local festival of the performing arts. In only a short time he developed a strong local following and now receives regular airplay on Gambian radio. Regular sessions jamming with local reggae artists gave him a chance to develop the freestyle aspects of his live show, which is already a major selling point. Billy plans to return to The Gambia this winter to set up a community studio and help local artists get their songs recorded.

This summer has been Billy’s third year of doing the UK festival circuit. In those three years he has gone from being a virtual unknown to being one of the most passionately championed acts of the festival scene. After starting out playing solo in 2007, Billy now has a 5 piece band consisting of James Pagella (drums), Andreas Millns (keys), Jona Ballard (percussion), Darren Hougham (bass guitar), and of course Billy himself on guitar and vocals. He has performed at some of the UK’s best festivals, including Glastonbury, The Big Chill, Beach Break Live, The Secret Garden Party and Ireland’s Electric Picnic. He has played alongside bands like The Bays, The Dub Pistols, Pama International and The Portico Quartet to name but a few.

He was recently featured as a potential candidate for next years Ivors Awards in M Magazine, the members’ magazine for PRS (UK Equivalent of GEMA).

The Undercover Hippy has a large international following on the Internet, both on social networking sites like Myspace , Facebook etc, and on his own website. Over 70,000 song plays on Myspace alone. His songs are also highly popular in the Podcasting community, getting regular airtime.

Billy’s songs have also gained airplay on traditional radio, being played on local BBC radio stations in Hereford and Bristol, and also a number of independent and student radio stations, not to mention Gambian radio.