Latest News From Topic Records - June 2017.

This month Topic Records focus on what is regarded to be one of the greatest acoustic folk albums of all time, Nic Jones Penguin Eggs. Released in June 1980 it was critically acclaimed and named "Folk Album of the Year" by Melody Maker. Nic Jones was greatly influenced by Martin Carthy, whose percussive guitar style he adopted for his own, Nic first surfaced during the late 1960s as a member of the group the Halliard, mounting a solo career in 1970 with his debut album 'Ballads And Songs'. Nic continued to release solo records and appeared on albums for artists like Richard Thompson and June Tabor. Sadly, Nic’s recording and performing career was tragically cut short when, returning home after a gig a Glossop Folk Festival in February 1982 he was involved in a serious traffic accident that left him in intensive care and hospitalised for some eight months. His injuries were such that he now only performs for his own pleasure. A truly tragic loss to the Folk World. The rarity and beauty of Nic Jones recordings only add to their status as truly remarkable recordings. Nic Jones will forever be a cornerstone in the history of English Folk. Find the following Nic Jones titles with a 25% discount on the Topic store. Penguin Eggs Shop now » Game Set Match Shop now » Canadee-I-O (7") Shop now » The Enigma of Nic Jones Shop now » Copyright © 2017 Topic Records, All rights reserved.. Our mailing address is: Topic Records The New Powerhouse, Gateway Business Centre Kangley Bridge Road London, Eng SE26 5AN United Kingdom Add us to your address book

A Happy New Year for 2017 From Topic Records.

Happy New Year Welcome to the first Topic Records Newsletter of 2017. We would like to wish you all a happy and peaceful New Year. Our exhibition at the Barbican Music Library - ‘Topic Records & The Art of Folk Music’ - will continue until February 7th, and is free to visit. During this month we have two very special evening events planned: Monday January 16th  - An Audience with Eliza Carthy Eliza will be in conversation with Colin Irwin (Mojo, fRoots, The Guardian) and David Suff (Topic Records) + a very rare solo acoustic performance. Barbican Music Library, 7pm – 9pm (refreshments available) Monday Jan 30th 2017 - An Audience with Martin Carthy and Martin Simpson The two Martins will be in conversation with Colin Irwin and David Suff, and perform some songs in a  unique unplugged acoustic performance. Barbican Music Library, 7pm – 9pm (refreshments available) The Music Library is situated on the 2nd floor of the Barbican Centre: Barbican Music Library, Barbican Centre, Silk Street,  LONDON EC2Y 8DS Opening hours: Monday 9.30am - 5.30pm Tuesday 9.30am - 7.30pm Wednesday 9.30am - 5.30pm Thursday 9.30am - 7.30pm Friday 9.30am - 2pm Saturday 9.30am - 4pm The library is closed on bank holidays. Some exhibition special offers Our monthly special offers are a great way of filling the gaps in your music collection, or to give as splendid gifts for friends. Throughout January we are continuing our selection of very special offers - ten albums from the expansive Topic catalogue at the very special price of only £6 each:   TSCD 126  LOUIS KILLEN ~ BALLADS & BROADSIDES TSCD 411  NIC JONES ~ PENGUIN EGGS TSCD 427  ALISTAIR ANDERSON ~ STEEL SKIES TSCD 449  JUNE TABOR ~ AQABA TSCD 472  The WATERSONS ~ EARLY DAYS TSCD 512  HARRY COX ~ THE BONNY LABOURING BOY TSCD576D  EWAN MacCOLL ~ BALLADS TSCD 602  VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ IRISH DANCE MUSIC TSCD 607  VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ ENGLISH COUNTRY MUSIC TSCD774D  VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ VOICE + VISION   BUTTON BADGES For the splendid NORMAFEST in Whitby last weekend we produced some beautiful new button badges - one set based upon icon photographs of the classic mid-'60s Watersons and one set using images of Waterson:Carthy from 1994:   Limited quantities are now available for mail order. The WATERSON badge set WATERSON:CARTHY badge set BIG MACHINE Pioneering English traditional folk powerhouse, Eliza Carthy, first assembled the Wayward Band in 2013 in order to explore and celebrate her long and varied career in folk music, ‘the last truly underground music scene’. To do this Eliza put together a team of hugely talented musicians from across the UK and together they hit the road to promote her ‘Best Of’ compilation, Wayward Daughter, which coincided with a biography of the same name. Eliza and the Wayward Band loved playing together so much – as well as becoming a festival favourite – that it seemed natural and inevitable, as well as characteristically ambitious, that this 12-piece would set about recording an album. The result is ‘Big Machine’, recorded at the renowned Real World and Rockfield Studios and produced by the multi-talented Jim Sutherland. The Wayward Band line-up is a veritable dream team of musicians comprising Sam Sweeney (Bellowhead), David Delarre (Mawkin), Barn Stradling (Blowzabella), Saul Rose, Beth Porter, Lucy Farrell (Emily Portman Trio), Will Molleson, Andrew Waite (Tyde), Laurence Hunt, Nick Malcolm and Adrien ‘Yen-Yen’ Toulouse. The material on Big Machine represents a healthy slice of everything good that is happening in traditional music now, across a sparkling spectrum of sound. The album features three contemporary songs; Eliza’s own “You Know Me” about the refugee crisis and notions of hospitality (featuring MC Dizraeli), a powerful cover of Ewan Maccoll’s Radio Ballad “The Fitter’s Song” (at the behest of Peggy Seeger – and the song which inspired the album title) and an affectionate reworking of Rory McLeod's “Hug You Like a Mountain”, re-imagined here as a duet with Teddy Thompson. There are also several examples of the Broadside ballad collections housed in Chetham’s Library in Manchester given a new twist with music by Eliza and the band. This follows a programme Eliza presented for BBC Radio 4 about the Manchester Ballads, covering everything from songs about and caused by domestic abuse (“Devil in the Woman”, the sumptuous and searing “Fade and Fall (Love Not)”, to the seafaring life in “The Sea”. Added to that a couple of brilliantly constructed instrumentals, a song about dying from custard poisoning and a heartbreaking traditional ballad “I Wish that the Wars were all Over” (performed live with the band onstage in Real World Studios’ Studio One and featuring Irish superstar Damien Dempsey), and you begin to get the picture. A very big picture, a Big Machine firing on all cylinders. Big Machine is certainly one of Eliza Carthy’s most adventurous and accomplished works to date – and given that Eliza is the most passionate and groundbreaking English traditional singer of her generation, ‘Big Machine’ is an album you really won’t want to miss. BIG MACHINE is released on the 3rd February 2017 and available to pre-order now from: PLEDGE, PROPERMUSIC.COM, AMAZON and ITUNES

The Latest News From Fledg'ling Records November 2016

"our nearest star" Shirley Collins has been one of our dearest friends and loyal supporters ever since Fledg'ling Records began in 1994. We are thrilled beyond words that she has returned to recording after 38 years. Lodestar is released today, Friday 4th November, on the Domino label. It is an absolutely wonderful album - austere, full of foreboding and stunningly beautiful. Undoubtedly one of the finest recordings of the year. “… picking her way back across almost a century, finding for herself the traditional heart of each song… What comes through is sincerity, purity of instinct, and a tremendous depth of feeling.” Alan Lomax Fledg'ling has helped to keep much of Shirley's back catalogue in print over the past twenty years. During November we are celebrating the release of Lodestar with some special offers. The perfect opportunity to fill the gaps in your music collection, or to give as splendid gifts for friends:  During November these early Shirley albums are priced at only £6.00 each:         FLED 3029  SHIRLEY COLLINS ~ False True Lovers FLED 3080  SHIRLEY COLLINS ~ Sweet England FLED 3028  SHIRLEY COLLINS ~ The Power Of The True Love Knot FLED 3023  SHIRLEY COLLINS ~ Adieu To Old England FLED 3019  SHIRLEY & DOLLY COLLINS ~ For as Many As Will FLED 3057  SHIRLEY & DOLLY COLLINS ~ Snapshots We have a very limited stock of the souvenir programme from Shirley's 80th Birthday event at the Southbank in July 2015. Special November price only £12.00: SHIRLEY COLLINS ~ All In The Downs with 7" single     WING 1001  SHIRLEY COLLINS ~ The Foggy Dew WING 1002  SHIRLEY COLLINS ~ English Songs WING 1004  SHIRLEY COLLINS ~ English Songs volume 2 MARTIN SIMPSON & DOM FLEMONS ~ Ever Popular Favourites Stocks of the vinyl LP are disappearing fast! We are currently preparing some exciting new releases for early next year. The first is a previously unreleased 1993 recording of the JOHN SURMAN / JOHN WARREN BRASS BAND with a specially composed suite by John Warren. DAPHNE'S FLIGHT have just finished recording a second album Knows Place, Knows Time which is stunningly beautiful. The album will be released in time for their 21st Anniversary Spring tour. Watch this space. N E W   W E B S I T E We have a shiny new home on the Internet: www.fledglingrecords.co.uk

Lots of news from Topic Records

the sun he is a-drawing to the west, to the west After a summer full of festivals in the sun, Topic looks forward to more great music, recorded and live, along with some very special offers from our back-catalogue. MARTIN SIMPSON ~ Photo by Sandy McGhie After a very busy summer touring solo and with Dom Flemons (The American Songster), Martin Simpson already has a pretty full touring schedule planned, beginning in September with the following dates: Friday 16th September – GUILDFORD – The Electric Theatre Saturday 17th September – SUDBURY – Quay Theatre Friday 23rd September – ST HELENS – The Citadel Arts Centre Saturday 24th September – KIRKGATE, Cockermouth – The Kirkgate Centre Sunday 25th September – LANGHOLM, Dumfriesshire – The Buccleuch Centre Monday 26th September – EDINBURGH – Traverse Theatre Friday 30th September – HEBDEN BRIDGE – Wadsworth Community Centre Also, as part of Nancy Kerr’s ‘Words and Music’ events at Kings Place, on Friday 2nd December, SimpsonŸCuttingŸKerr join forces with author Rob Cowen, exploring different ways of writing about nature and wildlife: Words & Music at King's Place  Our monthly special offers are a great way of filling the gaps in your music collection, or to give as splendid gifts for friends. Topic’s special offers for September are seven classic albums by Martin Simpson at the very special price of only £6 each:           SIMPCD001   BOOTLEG USA TSCD 513   THE BRAMBLE BRIAR TSCD 540   RIGHTEOUSNESS & HUMIDITY TSCD 567   PRODIGAL SON TSCD 578   TRUE STORIES TSCD 584   PURPOSE & GRACE TSCD 589   VAGRANT STANZAS Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band have been playing stunning live sets at festivals during the summer months, and have a fabulous new album ‘Big Machine’, coming soon. Eliza appears with dad Martin Carthy and The Gift Band at the Lyme Regis Folk Weekend on Sunday 11th September, then has the following Wayward Band dates booked: Thursday 3rd November – BURY ST EDMUNDS – The Apex Friday 4th November – HASTINGS – St Mary in the Castle Saturday 5th November – LONDON – Islington Assembly Hall Sunday 6th November – WARWICK – Arts Centre Friday 11th November – SALISBURY – City Hall Saturday 12th November – MANCHESTER – Royal Northern College of Music Sunday 13th November – SCUNTHORPE – Baths Hall Saturday 26th November – BASINGSTOKE – Anvil Arts Sunday 27th November – NOTTINGHAM – Glee Club “…of course, we already know the band is great. So what follows may not be a surprise – but it is completely thrilling… with Carthy dancing about at the centre of a joyful musical whirlwind, thrilling in the moment."  folkwitness.co.uk Eliza’s finest work so far is showcased on the Topic double CD set Wayward Daughter, available throughout September at the very special price of only £9.00! TSCD772D  ELIZA CARTHY ~ WAYWARD DAUGHTER   Finale : an evening with PENTANGLE Pentangle at the Royal Festival Hall June 2008 ~ photograph by Chris Bates 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. Topic is very proud to be releasing Pentangle’s final live recordings on 7th October on  ‘Finale’, a double CD set with some of their classic material, beautifully played and recorded, a fine testament to the majesty of a mercurial band, whose substantial individual talents came together to create magic in their music.    The Guitar Player and The American Songster Our very good friends at Fledg’ling Records also have a very exciting release on CD, DL and vinyl LP due on 7th October, Ever Popular Favourites by Martin Simpson and Dom Flemons, a collection of recordings made out on the road, capturing the infectious joy of a shared transatlantic musical heritage. Seasons of Song      The passing of the seasons feature prominently in the canon of songs sung by The Copper Family of Rottingdean, and Topic has two beautiful books available with the words and music to many of these songs included, plus a superb memoir of his life by Bob Copper, ‘A Man of No Consequence’ Now since we have brought this so cheerfully round We will send for the ploughman who ploughs up and down. See the boy with his whip and the man to his plough Here's a health to the jolly ploughman who ploughs up the ground.