Some new music for the Summer and Autumn From Topic Records

Some new music for the Summer and Autumn   Both Topic and our colleagues at Fledg'ling have been busy preparing some exciting new records for your enjoyment. Today, August 12th, Fledg'ling Records are releasing four previously unissued recordings by the wonderful Anne Briggs. Four Songs will be released as a vinyl 7" EP, with rare photos, three BBC recordings from the radio series ‘Folk-Song Cellar’, plus one song privately recorded by one of Anne’s oldest friends. These rare, simple, unadorned and intimate performances, aching with poignancy, make their first appearance on record, fifty years after recording and capture Anne Briggs singing at just the right time. Anne herself has been very excited about the project: “…the results couldn't have been better. Nice the way it came about too, with lost recordings and old friends caring for them for decades.” Track list: 1 The Recruited Collier, 2 My Bonny Boy (A Bower In My Breast), 3 Polly Vaughan, 4 The Verdant Braes Of Skreen. You can follow this link to preview: The Verdant Braes Of Skreen  In 2007 the original five members of PENTANGLE - Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Jacqui McShee, Danny Thompson & Terry Cox - reconvened to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from Sir David Attenborough at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. In 2008 they began a UK tour at the Royal Festival Hall, exactly 40 years to the day since they recorded their classic 'Sweet Child' at the venue. Emotions and memories ran high in the packed house. The evening was a musical triumph, as were the subsequent dates. On October 7th Topic will release PENTANGLE ~ Finale recorded live by the original line-up during the 2008 tour. This 2CD set captures the band on a musical high re-visiting their classic early repertoire. More details in the next newsletter; in the meantime, here's a link to preview: Light Flight Also on October 7th our friends at Fledg’ling Records will release Ever Popular Favourites - an infectious selection of songs recorded by Mr. Martin Simpson and Mr. Dom Flemons on tour in the autumn of 2015. Six of the best! Each month our special offers are a great way of filling the gaps in your music collection, or to give as splendid gifts for friends. The Topic special offers for August are six classic albums from the Topic catalogue at the very special price of only £6 each:         TSCD430  MARTIN SIMPSON ~ The Collection TSCD478  LAL WATERSON & OLIVER KNIGHT ~ Once In A Blue Moon TSCD485  VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ Deep Lancashire TSCD539  ELIZA CARTHY ~ Anglicana TSCD562  WATERSON:CARTHY ~ Holy Heathens & The Old Green Man TSCD565  TIM VAN EYKEN ~ Stiffs, Lovers, Holymen, Thieves

The Summer is A-Coming and Winter's Gone Away, Topic Records News

The summer is a-coming in, and winter’s gone away-o   Throughout the summer months, there’s plenty of our favourite folk music to enjoy at concerts and festivals across the land. Eliza Carthy and the Wayward Band start their festival programme at the Yorkshire Festival in Leeds on July 2nd, continuing with the following appearances: 31st July - Cambridge Folk Festival 19th August - FolkEast, Glenham 27th August - Tønder Festival (Official), Denmark 28th August - Purbeck Valley Folk Festival 29th August - Shrewsbury Folk Festival Martin Simpson has some festival solo shows and these select duo appearances with Dom Flemons, ‘The American Songster’: 17th July - Larmer Tree Festival SALISBURY 23rd July - The Village Pump Folk Festival WESTBURY 24th July - Folk by the Oak @ Hatfield House HATFIELD 31st July - Sidmouth FolkWeek SIDMOUTH Our friends at Fledg’ling Records will shortly be releasing Ever Popular Favourites - an infectious selection of songs recorded by Mr. Simpson and Mr. Flemons on tour in the autumn of last year. Six of the best!   Each month our special offers are a great way of filling the gaps in your music collection, or to give as splendid gifts for friends. The Topic special offers for July are six classic albums from the Topic catalogue at the very special price of only £6 each:        TSCD 298  JUNE TABOR ~ Airs and Graces TSCD 452   MARTIN CARTHY ~ Right Of Passage TSCD 475  WATERSON:CARTHY TSCD 517 DAVE SWARBRICK ~ Rags, Reels & Airs TSCD 563  The WATERSONS ~ FROST AND FIRE TSCD 567  MARTIN SIMPSON ~ Prodigal Son With accompaniment from Martin Carthy and Diz Disley, Rags, Reels & Airs is by the master fiddle-player Dave Swarbrick, who sadly recently passed away. Topic is proud to have arguably Dave’s finest album in its catalogue - the perfect example of the nature of folk music moving with the times, Dave’s modern techniques and ideas applied to traditional instrumental styles.   Our good friends at Fledg’ling Records have a very exciting release due in August, four previously unissued recordings by the wonderful Anne Briggs. ‘Four Songs’ will be released as a vinyl EP, with rare photos, three BBC recordings from the radio series ‘Folk-Song Cellar’, plus one song privately recorded by one of Anne’s oldest friends. Anne herself has been very excited about the project: “…the results couldn't have been better. Nice the way it came about too, with lost recordings and old friends caring for them for decades.” An Anne Briggs ‘lost classic’ is one of the albums on special offer this month from Fledg’ling; Sing A Song For You, recorded in 1973 with Steve Ashley’s band Ragged Robin, was intended to be the follow-up to Anne’s CBS album ‘The Time Has Come’, but remained unreleased until Fledg’ling issued it on CD in 1996. As with the other three great Fledg’ling titles here, it is now on sale at the special price of only £6 each:     FLED 3008  ANNE BRIGGS ~ Sing A Song For You FLED 3023  SHIRLEY COLLINS ~ Adieu To Old England FLED 3024  HELEN WATSON ~ Doffing FLED 3051  DAVY GRAHAM ~ Hat The TOPIC tote bag - perfect for the festival season (and avid record collectors). A black tote bag with the classic Topic accordion player logo on one side and a 1967 Topic flyer design on the other.   With best wishes from all at Topic

Topic Vinyl

Topic Vinyl On Saturday 18th April, Topic released two classic albums on beautiful 180g vinyl for Record Store Day, specially mastered for the occasion and sounding wonderful. These records, along with two vinyl titles from Fledg'ling Records, are now available to buy direct from the Topic website:     12T2207  ANNE BRIGGS A jewel in Topic's crown from one of the finest English singers. 12TS2015  MARTIN CARTHY A 50th Anniversary edition of Martin's essential first album.   FLLP3097 ~ BOB and RON COPPER - Traditional Songs from Rottingdean A lavish 180g reissue for a rare EFDSS album originally issued in 1963. WING1002 ~ SHIRLEY COLLINS - English Songs A superb reissue of the second of Shirley's short series of EPs on the Collector label, originally released in 1959.   We will be continuing with a series of attractively priced special offers each month throughout 2015. Continuing the vinyl theme, this month we are offering two fabulous vinyl LPs at the very nice price of only £5.00 each!   LINDA THOMPSON ~ Won't Be Long Now A superb 180g vinyl pressing of Linda's acclaimed 2013 album, in a glossy gatefold sleeve. IAN KING ~ Panic Grass & Fever Few Folk for the 21st century on 180g vinyl. "...elegant, witty, daring and powerful..." - Shirley Collins We also continue our Voice of the People offer with four more volumes at the special price of £25.00: TSCD655 - Come all my lads that follow the plough TSCD656 - Tonight I'll make you my bride TSCD657 - First I'm going to sing you a ditty TSCD658 - A story I'm just about to tell      Those nice chaps at Fledg'ling continue to celebrate 21 years of the label with their own monthly special offers. The CDs they have chosen for May at the special price of only £21.00 for this bundle of 4 classic albums from their catalogue are: FLED 3023  SHIRLEY COLLINS  Adieu To Old England FLED 3051  DAVY GRAHAM  Hat FLED 3055  DORRIS HENDERSON with JOHN RENBOURN  Watch the Stars FLED 3071  ROBIN WILLIAMSON & His Merry Band  Journey's Edge   The Full English at Cambridge Folk Festival 2014 - Photo by Phil Carter The Full English head out on the road this week for their final live tour; catch them while you can at the following venues: Saturday 2nd May ~ Bristol Folk Festival, BRISTOL Sunday 3rd May ~ The Lyceum, SHEFFIELD Monday 4th May ~ The Engine Shed, LINCOLN Tuesday 5th May ~ St. George's Hall Concert Room, LIVERPOOL Wednesday 6th May ~ Royal Hall, HARROGATE Thursday 7th May ~ Town Hall, BIRMINGHAM Friday 8th May ~ Anvil, BASINGSTOKE Saturday 9th May ~ St. Mary in the Castle, HASTINGS Sunday 10th May ~ Cecil Sharp House, LONDON

Topic's 75th Anniversary vinyl

Topic's 75th Anniversary vinyl

As part of Topic's 75th anniversary celebrations they are very proud to release a series of strictly limited edition 7" vinyl EPs and singles. In 1939 the first release was a shellac 78rpm - ‘The Man That Waters The Workers’ Beer’ / ‘The Internationale’ - 75 years and many technological shifts later, they are releasing a series of vinyl records to celebrate a continuing love affair with a piece of plastic that is still the most exciting format on which to listen to recorded music.

Topic have beautiful facsimile editions of the rare 1963 EPs from Shirley Collins and Anne Briggs:

Nic Jones makes his debut on 7" single with two tracks from his classic Penguin Eggs album, and we still have a few copies of the Martin & Eliza Carthy - Happiness single:

www.topicrecords.co.uk

Topic Records Ready For Record Store Day 2014

To celebrate Record Store Day on Saturday 19th Topic have two limited edition vinyl releases. A 50th anniversary facsimile edition of ANNE BRIGGS's seminal debut EP - The Hazards of Love and a brand new 7" single from MARTIN & ELIZA CARTHY.

The Hazards of Love is a jewel in Topic’s extensive catalogue, the influence of this record on myriad singers, songwriters and performers is incalculable; on a visit to London, June Tabor was bought a copy by her older sister: “She took me to Dobell’s and said she’d buy me a record. I got that Anne Briggs EP, Hazards of Love… I was captivated by this woman’s voice and what she did with it…”

Anne's EP became the calling card for one of the most influential figures in the English folk revival, with Bert Jansch, Jimmy Page, The Watersons and Sandy Denny all acknowledging that influence, and it continues years after its original release, with The Decemberists 2009 album title directly taken from the EP which inspired it.

Dad and daughter - Martin and Eliza Carthy - release The Moral of the Elephant their first duo album together on 2nd June. We have a limited edition picture sleeve single coupling two songs from the album.

Happiness is a graceful, timeless song written and originally recorded by Molly Drake, Nick Drake’s mother, and this is the very first time the song has been officially released by a major recording artist; Eliza Carthy has breathed new life into a beautiful song which deserves classic status.

Martin Carthy first recorded The Queen of Hearts for his very first album nearly 50 years ago, in 1965, the benchmark for folk singer-guitar players everywhere, and he revisits that song here with his daughter for a stately rendition that more than equals the quality of that first recording.

A full list of participating record shops can be found here: www.recordstoreday.co.uk

Throughout 2014 Topic will be making monthly special offers from their website.
www.topicrecords.co.uk