Beggars Banquet Records

Beggars Banquet Records

Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels. In 1977, spurred by the prevailing DIY aesthetics of the British punk rock movement (then at the height of its popularity), they decided to join the fray as an independent label and release records under the Beggars Banquet imprint. The first band on the label was English punk group The Lurkers; the first ever release on the label was The Lurkers' punk classic Shadow/Love Story 7" single. Later in the decade and into the early 1980s, hits with Tubeway Army and Gary Numan secured the label's future. They have since released music by Biffy Clyro, Buffalo Tom, The Charlatans, The Cult, The Go-Betweens, The National and Tindersticks. In 2008, Beggars Banquet became a catalog label only, closed to new signings. Artists that remained on their roster were shifted over to affiliate label, 4AD.

The label became the start point for what is now The Beggars Group, an umbrella group of iconic indie record labels. It is the largest and most influential independent group of labels in Europe and 4AD, Matador Records, Rough Trade Records and XL Recordings are the four main labels that now form the group. The group is managed by Martin Mills, Managing Director Paul Redding and non-executive Andy Heath Their main offices are in the UK with a large satellite office in New York City. The labels are distributed by Alternative Distribution Alliance in the United States.