Temple Records was a

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

founded in 1978 by Robin Morton, previously a member of

The Boys of the Lough The Boys of the Lough is a Scottish-Irish Celtic music band active since the 1970s. Early years Their first album, called ''Boys of the Lough'' (1972) consisted of Aly Bain (fiddle), Cathal McConnell (flute), Dick Gaughan (vocals and guitar) a ...

. It was located in

Temple, Midlothian Temple () is a village and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland. Situated to the south of Edinburgh, the village lies on the east bank of the river South Esk. The civil parish has a population of 225 (in 2011).Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS1 ...

. Although Morton is from

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

, the label is devoted almost purely to acoustic

Scottish traditional music Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

. Morton worked as a producer for

Topic Records Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.M. Brocken ...

. This label was not interested in recording the

clarsach The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton and in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring gre ...

player Alison Kinnaird, as they did not think the record would sell. He formed Temple Records to release her first LP, '' The Harp Key'' (1978), which became a best selling traditional music record. Morton later married Kinnaird. One of the earliest signings was The

Battlefield Band Battlefield Band was a Scottish traditional music group. Founded in Glasgow in 1969, they have released over 30 albums and undergone many changes of lineup. As of 2010, none of the original founders remain in the band. Their last known live per ...

, who rapidly rose to international fame. Morton became their manager in 1980. All their albums are on the Temple label (except for their debut and third ones released on the Escalibur label). The success of the Battlefield Band in America prompted Morton to set up

Temple US Records Temple US Records is a record label founded in the late 1970s by Robin Morton (musician), Robin Morton. Morton, a former member of The Boys of the Lough, had already founded Temple in Temple, Midlothian; Temple US is based in Arlington, Massachuset ...

in the mid-1980s. As well as recordings by current folk artists, the label has released historic recordings by

James Scott Skinner James Scott Skinner (5 August 1843 – 17 March 1927) was a Scottish dancing master, violinist, fiddler and composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential fiddlers in Scottish traditional music, and was known as "the Strathspey Kin ...

. The

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

" supergroup" Mac-Talla, formed in 1992 at Morton's suggestion, was composed wholly of the label's artists.

References

External links

* British record labels Record labels established in 1978 1978 establishments in Scotland Companies based in Midlothian {{Scotland-company-stub

See also

References

External links