John Rea and his five brothers were all taught to play the fiddle by their father, but in 1924 a dulcimer was made for John, and that became his instrument. His father was a big influence on John's repertoire, and many of [...]
Vera Aspey's 1977 solo LP garnered lavish praise on release, Maurice Rosenbaum of the Daily Telegraph declaring it one of his albums of the year. A selection of mostly traditional material, with one Gary and Vera Aspey original and an Alfred Noyes [...]
After a long European and New Zealand tour in 1985/6, the original line-up of The House Band disbanded, and Chris Parkinson and Ged Foley formed a new group with Brian Brooks and John Skelton. This line-up recorded 'Pacific' for Topic in 1987, [...]
The House Band's first album, and the first of three for Topic, this was recorded in January 1985, just before a long European tour for the band that year, and a tour of New Zealand at the end of the year and [...]
The selections on this record reflect a certain affinity between Norwegian and Shetland musical traditions: a kind of musical bridge over the North Sea. These are conventional recordings, without gimmicks, intended to deepen the appreciation of this unique fiddle music from Northern [...]
The second of Chris Foster's highly regarded Topic albums. Chris Foster is a master of his trade. Alongside Nic Jones, Dick Gaughan and June Tabor, he established himself in the 1970s as one of the finest interpreters of the traditional ballads of [...]
By the time of the release of this 1978 Topic album, the musical evenings in pubs in the district around Woodbridge in East Suffolk had long been diminished due to the popularity of television and the ability for easy travel to new [...]
Chris Foster was born in Somerset. It is there that he first heard and started singing traditional songs. He trained as an artist at the Norwich, then Chelsea Schools of Art. His professional "break" came in the early 1970s when a music [...]
Formed on New Year's Day, 1974, The Gaugers comprised Peter Hall, Tom Spiers and Arthur Watson. The Gaugers dispensed a heady distillate of 100 per cent proof North-East spirit. So fundamental was their commitment to the rich yet underexploited wealth of song [...]
Cheviot Barn Dance is the third recording of The Cheviot Ranters Country Dance Band on Topic. As with their previous records The Sound of the Cheviots (12TS214) and The Cheviot Hills (12TS222) it is a programme of old time and country dances. [...]
Peta Webb's 1973 LP for Topic came after great interest in her work with Oak; this album showcases her individual vocal style, with songs learned from some of the great Irish traditional singers, Brigid Tunney, Winnie Ryan and John Docherty among them. [...]
Until Topic Records featured Harry Boardman singing six Lancashire songs on the 1965 LP 'New Voices', available recordings of songs with their roots in the North West of England were scarce. The growing demand for such material led to the release of [...]