MIK SABIERS savours the first headline solo show of the stalwart of Brighton’s indie-punk outfit Blood Red Shoes
Latest editorial
Top Topic tribute
PETER MASON enjoys a great line-up celebrating eight decades of the radical record label
Celebrating: Martin Carthy, Marry Waterson, Eliza Carthy and Lisa Knapp
New releases reviewed by IAN SINCLAIR
STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
CAILEAN MCBRIDE welcomes a refreshing and timely study of the way officialdom creates structures that exclude LGBT+ rights and humanity
The bard mourns the loss of comrades and troubadours, and looks for consolation with Black Country Jess
CHRIS MOSS relishes the painting and the life story of a self-taught working-class artist from Warrington
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a star-studded adaptation of Ibsen’s play that is devoid of believable humanity
Topic Records 80th Anniversary
Barbican, London
TOPIC, the oldest independent record company in the world, was founded in 1939 by the Workers Music Association under the wing of the Communist Party of Great Britain and had its first release in 1939 with Paddy Ryan’s The Man That Waters the Workers’ Beer.
Shortly after, the second world war broke out and most of its activity stopped. But since the end of that conflict, Topic has been delivering handsomely on its pledge “to use popular music to educate and inform and improve the lot of the working man.”
Although the label has had its troubles over the years, all currently seems well and this two-hour 80th anniversary bash, well constructed under the musical direction of Eliza Carthy — a Topic artist since 1997 — brought together an impressive line-up of musicians in celebration of that happy circumstance.
More from this author
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
PETER MASON applauds a thought-provoking study of the relationship between a grieving woman and her photographer
PETER MASON is moved by a striking production of Noel Streatfeild’s enduringly popular children’s book
PETER MASON reckons the NYT’s production of Shakespeare’s comedy is the pick of the Christmas shows on offer in London
