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.