Anne Briggs (1971) Release Date: 22 March TOPIC TREASURES SERIES Celebrating the first 80 years of , 1939-2019

Topic Treasures series Deluxe CD issue / Original album artwork / Introduction by Anne Briggs / Rare photographs and track-by-track notes

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the oldest independent label in the world, Topic Records are releasing a long overdue reissue of the classic first album from Anne Briggs as part of the Topic Treasures series. Widely regarded as a long-lost treasure and recorded in 1971 by Sean Davies and featuring from Sweeney’s Men on bouzouki.

Anne Briggs began singing in local folk clubs in her teens. In 1962 she became part of the Centre 42 tour which was a leftist group of artists, writers, actors and musicians whose aim was to make arts and culture accessible to the masses. Ewan MacColl first heard Briggs’ remarkable voice and persuaded her to join the group and tour. There Briggs met MacColl’s comrade A.L. ‘Bert’ Lloyd who became her mentor.

Briggs debut EP, , was produced by Lloyd. Lloyd also recorded Briggs for Topic released albums The Iron Muse and The Bird In The Bush. In 1971 Anne Briggs recorded this, her debut full-length album simply named Anne Briggs with Johnny Moynihan of Sweeney’s Men appearing on one track. Tracks include ‘Blackwater Side’, ‘The Snow It melts The Soonest’ and ‘Go Your Way (My Love)’. Famously, Briggs taught the song ‘Blackwater Side’, which he recorded on his classic 1965 debut album; the next year his pivotal traditional album largely comprised songs he learnt from Briggs who helped him understand the structure of folk song. Briggs and Jansch also wrote a handful of songs together, ‘Go Your Way’ being one of them. Briggs went on to record a follow up album The Time Has Come later that same year for CBS. Two years later she recorded again but blocked the album’s release because she was so disheartened by her singing and retired from the limelight only to resurface in the mid 90’s to perform with Bert Jansch for a TV documentary. For more information, contact Jo Donnelly : [email protected] or Joshua Hart: [email protected]

TOPIC RECORDS Cat. No: TTSCD002