BIG PICTURE TOPIC RECORDS The world’s oldest independent record company has reached 70. Topic Records started in 1939, and has been a powerhouse of the British folk landscape ever since. With a back catalogue stretching from Pete Seeger to Eliza Carthy, Topic has always attracted praise from the great and good John Peel said of them, ‘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.’ To celebrate the anniversary Topic is releasing a seven-CD book set, Three Score and Ten, and putting on a series of concerts on London’s South Bank. Pictured here is a selection of the label’s best covers. Three Score and Ten is out on Topic Records, Mon 14 Sep.