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Topic Records 80th Anniversary

,Barbican Hall
Eliza and Martin Carthy sitting in a boat outdoors. Eliza is looking at the camera and Martin is wearing a red scarf.

Eliza Carthy leads this concert celebrating 80 years of Topic Records, the oldest independent record label in the world and the home of British folk music.

Respected throughout the world, Topic retains resonance like no other, even in today’s complex times. Its foundation was in the Workers’ Music Association, collecting and archiving the voices of working people, becoming a key factor in the folk revival of the 20th century to the present day.

Alongside Eliza Cathy, special guests – Norma Waterson, Martin Carthy, Lisa Knapp, Sam Lee, Alasdair Roberts, Olivia Chaney, Spiro, Chris Wood, Marry Waterson, Bernard Butler, Gerry Diver, Emily Portman and Boss Morris – present new takes on the label’s repertoire, drawing out our common heritage as we navigate the uncertainty of our age.

This concert accompanies Vision & Revision: The first 80 years of Topic Records, a double album released in May which sees musicians from the UK folk scene covering a song of their choice from Topic’s back catalogue.

Tagged with: Contemporary music

Approximate running times:

8pm first half

9.10pm interval

9.30pm second half

This concert expected to finish at around 10.40pm.

All times are approximate and subject to change.

Produced by the Barbican

‘Topic has played a major role in ensuring old voices are still audible and creating a space for those that hear them to make new recordings. Formats come and go, but like the music, Topic endures.‘
Billy Bragg
‘I’ve been buying and scrounging Topic Records since 1954. It feels like Topic has always been there, quietly doing good work. Like a backbone.‘
John Peel, 1999

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