TOPIC
RECORDS

 Independent label: 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. 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 Bush 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. Topic Records (Former Address) 27 Nassington Road, London, N.W.3. Distributed By Topic Records.

  
 
TOPIC  Long Players, EPs and Singles - 7", 8" 10" and 12".

57	Various Artists	Warsaw festival 1955	TOPIC	T	1
57	Various Artists	International folk song contest	TOPIC	T	2
57	Patrick Galvin With Al Jeffery	Irish songs of resistance part i	TOPIC	T	3
57	Patrick Galvin With Al Jeffery	Irish songs of resistance part ii	TOPIC	T	4
57	Jack Elliott	Woody guthrie’s blues	TOPIC	10T	5
57	Various Artists	Street songs and fiddle tunes of ireland	TOPIC	8T	6
57	A. L. Lloyd And Ewan Maccoll	Row, bullies, row	TOPIC	T	7
57	A. L. Lloyd And Ewan Maccoll	The black ball line: sea songs and shanties	TOPIC	T	8
57	Peggy Seeger	Eleven american ballads and songs	TOPIC	10T	9
57	Nancy Whiskey	Nancy whiskey sings	TOPIC	7T	10
57	John Gibbon	John gibbon's disc	TOPIC	10T	11
57	Various Artists	Rumanian folk music	TOPIC	10T	12
57	Ewan Maccoll With Peggy Seeger	Shuttle and cage	TOPIC	10T	13
57	Jack Elliott And Derroll Adams	The rambling boys	TOPIC	10T	14
58	Jack Elliott	Jack takes the floor	TOPIC	10T	15
58	Ewan Maccoll & Peggy Seeger	Chorus from the gallows	TOPIC	12T	16
58	Paul Robeson	Paul robeson's transatlantic concert	TOPIC	10T	17
58	Peggy Seeger With Barbara And Penny Seeger	Come along, john	TOPIC	7T	18
58	The Jeffersons	Round and round with the jeffersons	TOPIC	7T	19
58	Pete Seeger	Pete seeger's guitar guide for folk singers	TOPIC	12T	20
58	Sonny Terry And Brownie McGhee	R And B From S And B	TOPIC	TOP	21
58	Not Issued		TOPIC	12T	22
58	Pete seeger	Pete seeger's play the 5 string banjo	TOPIC	10T	23
58	Guy Carawan	Mountain songs and banjo tunes	TOPIC	10T	24
58	Ewan Maccoll With Peggy Seeger	Second shift	TOPIC	10T	25
58	Ewan Maccoll With Peggy Seeger	Barrack room ballads	TOPIC	TOP	26
58	Stan Kelly	Liverpool packet	TOPIC	TOP	27
58	Dominic Behan	Irish songs recalled	TOPIC	10T	28
58	Brownie Mcghee And Sonny Terry	Brownie mcghee and sonny terry	TOPIC	12T	29
58	Harmonica Blues	Sonny terry	TOPIC	10T	30
58	Bound For Glory	Woody guthrie	TOPIC	12T	31
58	Paul Robeson	Robeson's here	TOPIC	TOP	32
58	Pete Seeger	Pete and five strings	TOPIC	TOP	33
58	Not Issued		TOPIC	TOP	34
58	Dominic Behan With Peggy Seeger	Down by the liffeyside: irish street ballads	TOPIC	12T	35
58	Ewan Maccoll And A.L. Lloyd	Bold sportsmen all	TOPIC	10T	36
59	Pete Seeger With Sonny Terry	Hootenanny new york city	TOPIC	TOP	37
59	Peggy Seeger And Her Sisters Penny And Barbara	Shine like a star	TOPIC	TOP	38
59	The Fisk Jubilee Singers	Spirituals	TOPIC	12T	39
59	Not Issued		TOPIC	12T	40
59	Ewan Maccoll & Dominic Behan	Streets of song	TOPIC	12T	41
59	Not Issued		TOPIC	12T	42
59	Not Issued		TOPIC	12T	43
59	Dominic Behan	Easter weekend and after: songs of the ira	TOPIC	12T	44
59	Mouan(Tan)Gue & His Drummers	Songs and dances of the french cameroons	TOPIC	TOP	45
59	Various Artists	Songs and dances of argentina	TOPIC	TOP	46
59	Not Issued	Songs and dances	TOPIC	TOP	47
59	Not Issued	Songs and dances	TOPIC	TOP	48
59	Pieris Zarmas	Songs of the aegean	TOPIC	10T	49
60	Ewan Maccoll & Isla Cameron	Still i love him	TOPIC	10T	50
60	A.L. Lloyd	Outback ballads	TOPIC	12T	51
60	Jeannie Robertson	Great traditional singers” series	TOPIC	10T	52
60	Various Artists	The music of new orleans, vol. 1.	TOPIC	12T	53
60	The Eureka Brass Band	The music of new orleans, vol 2	TOPIC	12T	54
60	Various Artists	The music of new orleans, vol 3	TOPIC	12T	55
60	Perry Friedman	Vive la canadienne	TOPIC	TOP	56
60	Sandy And Caroline Paton	Hush little baby	TOPIC	TOP	57
60	Not Issued		TOPIC	TOP	58
60	Jesse Fuller	Working on the railroad	TOPIC	10T	59
60	Stan Kelly	Songs for swinging landlords	TOPIC	TOP	60
60	Not Issued		TOPIC	TOP	61
60	Paul Robeson	Paul robeson sings freedom songs	TOPIC	TOP	62
61	Paul Robeson	Songs of liberty	TOPIC	TOP	63
61	The Tine Rozanc Ensemble	Yugoslav dances	TOPIC	TOP	64
61	Orquestra Cobla Solers	Dancing sardanas: catalonian dancers	TOPIC	TOP	65
61	A.L. Lloyd	All for me grog: english drinking songs	TOPIC	TOP	66
61	Ray And Archie Fisher	Far over the forth	TOPIC	TOP	67
61	Dolina Maclennan And Robin Gray	By mormond braes	TOPIC	TOP	68
61	The Spinners	Songs spun in liverpool (live).	TOPIC	TOP	69
62	Davy Graham & Alexis Korner	3/4 a.d	TOPIC	TOP	70
62	A.L. Lloyd And Ewan Maccoll	Gamblers and sporting blades	TOPIC	TOP	71
62	Peggy Seeger	Troubled love	TOPIC	TOP	72
62	Peggy Seeger	Early in the spring	TOPIC	TOP	73
62	Louis Killen	The collier's rant	TOPIC	TOP	74
62	Louis Killen	Northumbrian garland	TOPIC	TOP	75
62	The Ian Campbell Folk Group	Ceilidh at the crown	TOPIC	TOP	76
62	Leon Rosselson	Songs for city squares	TOPIC	TOP	77
62	Johnny Handle	Stottin' doon the waall	TOPIC	TOP	78
62	Ewan Maccoll With Peggy Seeger	Jacobite songs: the two rebellions 1715 & 1745	TOPIC	12T	79
62	Not Issued		TOPIC	TOP	80
62	Enoch Kent	The butcher boy	TOPIC	TOP	81
62	The Ian Campbell Folk Group	Songs of protest	TOPIC	TOP	82
62	Bob Davenport Accompanied By The Rakes	Wor geordie	TOPIC	TOP	83
63	The Willett Family	The roving journeyman	TOPIC	12T	84
63	Dominic Behan	Peelers and prisoners	TOPIC	TOP	85
63	Various Artists	The iron muse. a panorama of industrial folk song	TOPIC	12T	86
63	The Mcpeake Family	Irish traditional songs	TOPIC	TOP	87
63	Not Issued		TOPIC	12T	88
63	William Clancy And Michael Gorman	Irish pipe and fiddle tunes	TOPIC	12T	89
63	Not Issued		TOPIC	12T	90
63	Joe Heaney	Irish traditional songs in gaelic and english	TOPIC	12T	91
63	The Mcpeake Family	Wild mountain thyme	TOPIC	TOP	92
63	Jack Elliott	Talking woody guthrie	TOPIC	TOP	93
63	Anne Briggs	Hazards of love	TOPIC	TOP	94
63	Shirley Collins	Heroes in love	TOPIC	TOP	95
63	Jeannie Robertson	The great scots traditional ballad singer	TOPIC	12T	96
63	Judith Silver	The summertime is over	TOPIC	TOP	97
63	A.L. Lloyd & Ewan Maccoll	Blow the man down	TOPIC	TOP	98
63	A.L. Lloyd & Ewan Maccoll	A hundred years ago	TOPIC	TOP	99
63	A.L. Lloyd & Ewan Maccoll	The coast of peru	TOPIC	TOP	100
63	Dominic Behan	Dominic takes the floor	TOPIC	TOP	101
64	The Galliards	Black and white	TOPIC	STOP	101
64	Campbell Lorna	The sun is burning	TOPIC	STOP	102
64	A.L. Lloyd And Ewan Maccoll	English and scottish folk ballads	TOPIC	12T	103
64	Ewan Maccoll	Steam whistle ballads	TOPIC	12T	104
64	Jack Elliott And Derroll Adams	Roll on buddy	TOPIC	12T	105
64	Jack Elliott	Muleskinner	TOPIC	12T	106
64	Various Artists	Bulgarian folk music	TOPIC	12T	107
64	Not Issued		TOPIC	12T	108
64	True Loves And False Lovers	Alice brenan	TOPIC	12T	109
64	Various Artists	Sea songs and shanties: farewell nancy	TOPIC	12T	110
64	Redgrave Vanessa	Hanging on the tree	TOPIC	STOP	111
64	Tine Rozanc Ensemble	Macedonian and albanian dances	TOPIC	TOP	112
64	Peggy Segger And Tom Paley With Claudia Paley	Who's going to shoe your pretty little foot	TOPIC	12T	113
64	Various Artists	Folk songs: an anthology. topic sampler 1	TOPIC	TPS	114
64	Dominic Behan	The patriot game	TOPIC	STOP	115
64	Paul Robeson	Ol' man river	TOPIC	STOP	116
64	Hedy West	Old times and hard times	TOPIC	12T	117
64	A.L. Lloyd	First person	TOPIC	12T	118
64	The Campbell Family	The singing campbells	TOPIC	12T	119
64	Not Issued		TOPIC	TOP	120
65	Sonny Terry And Brownie Mcghee	R & b from s & b	TOPIC	12T	121
65	Various Artists	Tommy armstrong of tyneside	TOPIC	12T	122
65	Margaret Barry And Michael Gorman	Her mantle so green	TOPIC	12T	123
65	Sonny Terry And Brownie Mcghee	More r & b from s & b.	TOPIC	TOP	124

 

75	Oldham Tinkers	For Old Time´S Sake	TOPIC	STOP	7001
75	Carthy Martin	The Bonny Lass Of Anglesey	TOPIC	STOP	7002
76	High Level Ranters	Dance To Your Daddy	TOPIC	STOP	7003