September 1939: Number 8 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of world and folk music
Britain's declaration of war on Germany rather overshadowed the release of a 78rpm disc called The Man That Waters Down the Workers' Beer by Paddy Ryan. With the Internationale on the reverse, it was remarkable only for the catalogue number TRC1, marking the first release of the new Topic Record Club, formed as an adjunct of the Workers Music Association by frontline composers and musicians with leftwing sympathies such as Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears and John Ireland. More than 70 years later, Topic is still going strong, upholding its claim as the world's oldest independent label, having long established a formidable reputation as the unsullied guardian of Britain's folk tradition. Its exhaustive back catalogue includes not only many of the traditional singers who kept the songs alive when nobody else gave a fig, but most of the leading revivalists who gave these songs a new lease of life. Topic Records has been both launch pad and sanctuary for key artists such as Ewan MacColl, Bert Lloyd, the Watersons, Shirley Collins, Martin Carthy, June Tabor, Martin Simpson and Eliza Carthy, while its astonishing 20-CD The Voice of the People series ? released in 1998 without thought of profit-making ? provides a treasure trove of traditional material for new generations.
bethenny frankel and josh hoppy justin bieber kesha wiz khalifa nicki minaj
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