Topic Records
Encyclopedia
Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival
. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939
, making it the oldest independent record label
in the world.
was involved with choral and orchestral music released on the label. Topic also produced some of the first American blues
records to be commercially available in Britain. From about 1950 the two key figures of the second revival, Ewan MacColl
and A. L. Lloyd
, became heavily involved, producing several records of traditional music. One of the earliest albums of UK traditional music was Street Songs and Fiddle Tunes of Ireland by Margaret Barry
and Michael Gorman
, issued in 1958.
With the decline of British Communist Party membership in the late 1950s financial aid to the label began to dry up and, under director Gerry Sharp, they were forced to pursue an entrepreneurial strategy to survive. In the early 1960s Topic Records separated from the Workers' Music Association, but those involved still had socialist credentials. A new company was registered in 1963. Financially, the company was in a precarious state until 1963 when they had substantial sales from the album The Iron Muse, a ground-breaking compilation of industrial folk songs. This success allowed them to produce a greater and wider range of records until tastes began to radically change again in the 1970s.
After the arrival of managing director Tony Engle, Topic released a series of albums by ground breaking artists including Nic Jones
, Dick Gaughan
, The Battlefield Band, as well as major figures on the folk scene including Martin Carthy
and Roy Harris. They also began to reissue their back catalogue on cd. In the late 1990s, with the resurgence of traditional folk, spearheaded by children of the revival like Eliza Carthy
, Topic managed to gain both commercial and critical success. In the inaugural BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
in 2000 the label received the Good Tradition Award in recognition of their role in the folk music movement.
Other major figures who recorded for Topic included Peggy Seeger
, The Watersons
, Shirley Collins
, June Tabor
and John Tams
. The breadth of the Topic catalogue was evident in the release of The Voice of the People
(1998), a twenty-part series sampling the earliest and greatest of folk singers of the British Isles.
In 2009, the label celebrated 70 years of activity with the release of a seven-CD hardback book set entitled Three Score & Ten - A Voice To The People.
British folk revival
The British folk revival incorporates a number of movements for the collection, preservation and performance of traditional music in the United Kingdom and related territories and countries, which had origins as early as the 18th century...
. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939
1939 in music
-Events:*March 23 – Béla Bartók's Violin Concerto No. 2 is premiered by Zoltán Székely and the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Willem Mengelberg...
, making it the oldest independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
in the world.
History
The label began as an offshoot of the communist led Workers' Music Association in 1939, selling Soviet and left-wing political music by mail order. After a period of relative inactivity in the Second World War production resumed in the later 1940s, moving towards traditional music for the emerging revival market. Up to 1949 the composer Alan BushAlan Bush
Alan Dudley Bush was a British composer and pianist. He was a committed socialist, and politics sometimes provided central themes in his music.-Personal life:...
was involved with choral and orchestral music released on the label. Topic also produced some of the first American blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
records to be commercially available in Britain. From about 1950 the two key figures of the second revival, Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
and A. L. Lloyd
A. L. Lloyd
Albert Lancaster Lloyd , usually known as A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd, was an English folk singer and collector of folk songs, and as such was a key figure in the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s....
, became heavily involved, producing several records of traditional music. One of the earliest albums of UK traditional music was Street Songs and Fiddle Tunes of Ireland by Margaret Barry
Margaret Barry
Margaret Barry was a traditional Irish singer and banjo player.Born in Cork into a family of Travellers and street singers, she taught herself how to play the zither banjo and the fiddle at a young age. At the age of sixteen, after a family disagreement, Margaret left home and started performing...
and Michael Gorman
Michael Gorman (musician)
Michael Gorman was an Irish fiddler , often partnering Margaret Barry. He has been described as "one of traditional music's few superstars of the post-War decades" and one whose "musical roots in Ireland can be identified back to the artisan musicians in the immediate aftermath of the famine, and...
, issued in 1958.
With the decline of British Communist Party membership in the late 1950s financial aid to the label began to dry up and, under director Gerry Sharp, they were forced to pursue an entrepreneurial strategy to survive. In the early 1960s Topic Records separated from the Workers' Music Association, but those involved still had socialist credentials. A new company was registered in 1963. Financially, the company was in a precarious state until 1963 when they had substantial sales from the album The Iron Muse, a ground-breaking compilation of industrial folk songs. This success allowed them to produce a greater and wider range of records until tastes began to radically change again in the 1970s.
After the arrival of managing director Tony Engle, Topic released a series of albums by ground breaking artists including Nic Jones
Nic Jones
Nicolas Paul "Nic" Jones is an English folk singer, fingerstyle guitarist and fiddle player whose professional career spanned the years 1964-1982. He recorded five solo albums, and was a frequent guest performer.-Biography:...
, Dick Gaughan
Dick Gaughan
Richard Peter Gaughan usually known as Dick Gaughan is a Scottish musician, singer, and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs.-Early years:...
, The Battlefield Band, as well as major figures on the folk scene including Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy MBE is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon and later artists such as Richard Thompson since he emerged as a young musician in the early days...
and Roy Harris. They also began to reissue their back catalogue on cd. In the late 1990s, with the resurgence of traditional folk, spearheaded by children of the revival like Eliza Carthy
Eliza Carthy
Eliza Carthy is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson.-Life and career:...
, Topic managed to gain both commercial and critical success. In the inaugural BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British radio station BBC Radio 2....
in 2000 the label received the Good Tradition Award in recognition of their role in the folk music movement.
Other major figures who recorded for Topic included Peggy Seeger
Peggy Seeger
Margaret "Peggy" Seeger is an American folksinger. She is also well known in Britain, where she lived for more than 30 years with her husband, singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl.- The first American period :...
, The Watersons
The Watersons
The Watersons were an English folk group from Hull, Yorkshire. They performed mainly traditional songs with little or no accompaniment. Their distinctive sound came from their closely woven harmonies.-Career:...
, Shirley Collins
Shirley Collins
Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE is a British folksinger who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s...
, June Tabor
June Tabor
June Tabor is an English folk singer.- Early years :June Tabor was inspired to sing by hearing Anne Briggs' EP Hazards of Love in 1965. "I went and locked myself in the bathroom for a fortnight and drove my mother mad. I learned the songs on that EP note for note, twiddle for twiddle. That's how I...
and John Tams
John Tams
John Tams is an English actor, singer, songwriter, composer and musician.- Folk musician :John Tams was a member of Derbyshire folk group Muckram Wakes in the 1970s, then worked with Ashley Hutchings as singer and melodeon-player on albums including Son of Morris On, and as a member of the...
. The breadth of the Topic catalogue was evident in the release of The Voice of the People
The Voice of the People
The Voice of the People is an anthology of folk songs sung by Traditional singers and musicians of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.There are 511 recordings on 20 CDs, compiled by Dr Reg Hall, a historian at Sussex University...
(1998), a twenty-part series sampling the earliest and greatest of folk singers of the British Isles.
In 2009, the label celebrated 70 years of activity with the release of a seven-CD hardback book set entitled Three Score & Ten - A Voice To The People.