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Banquet Records is a
record shop A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music. Per the name, in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records. But over the course of t ...
in
Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...
,
Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
. Formerly part of the Beggars Banquet Records retail chain, it became fully independent in 2002. It stocks a broad range of music on both
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
and CD. The establishment is also home to Gravity DIP music management, as well as the Banquet Records
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, ...
.


History

Started as part of the Beggars Banquet chain of record stores before becoming fully independent in 2002. The store was sold to the then manager, however decreased profits led the store to near bankruptcy towards the end of 2004. In February 2005, Banquet Records was taken over by new owners; previous employees of the Beggars store, Jon Tolley and Mike Smith. In 2013, 2017, 2020 and 2021, the store won
Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...
's award for best independent retailer of the year.


Services

The store uses its slogan "More than just your local record store" to provide services other than the sale of music, as it also runs various concerts, club nights and in-stores in and around Kingston upon Thames. The use of slogan has been described as such: "The premise outlined in their advertising strap line is simple: 'More than your local record store'. And it is incredibly apt. Not just content with supplying Kingston's art school students and music aficionados with their favourites, Banquet Records has firmly placed itself at the heart of this vibrant town's music scene." It stocks music on both
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
and CD but mainly specialises in new music from indie, punk, emo, electronica,
house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
, drum 'n' bass and hip hop and funk genres. As well as selling Vinyl Records and CDs, the store also sells merch, record players, record boxes and general vinyl accessories. The store takes part in Record Store Day, an annual celebration of independent record stores.


Promotions


In-stores

Banquet Records regularly features in store performances. Bands that have performed in store at Banquet include: Beans On Toast,
Shed Seven Shed Seven are an alternative rock band, formed in York in 1990. They were one of the groups which contributed to the Britpop music scene of the 1990s. They originally comprised singer Rick Witter, guitarist/keyboardist Joe Johnson, bassist To ...
, Nadine Shah,
Scouting for Girls Scouting for Girls are an English pop rock band. Their name is a play on the title of the 1908 Scouting handbook ''Scouting for Boys''. The band was formed in 2005 by three childhood friends from London, Roy Stride on vocals, piano and guitar, ...
, Kojey Radical, Mayday Parade; Title Fight; Frank Iero; The Flatliners;
Gnarwolves Gnarwolves were a British punk rock band, formed in 2011 and based in Brighton, England. The band consisted of vocalist and guitarist Thom Weeks, bass guitarist and vocalist Charlie Piper, and drummer Max Weeks. History Formation, and early r ...
;
Lemuria Lemuria (), or Limuria, was a continent proposed in 1864 by zoologist Philip Sclater, theorized to have sunk beneath the Indian Ocean, later appropriated by occultists in supposed accounts of human origins. The theory was discredited with the dis ...
; Knuckle Puck; Jimmy Eat World; Moose Blood; Great Cynics; Apologies, I have none; and Trash Boat.


Other shows

Banquet Records also holds separate one-off shows in and around Kingston showcasing some of the biggest bands in the country. The majority are held at PRYZM Kingston or in-store with additional shows at St John's Church and The Fighting Cocks. The Store hosted a Blink-182 concert at the Rose Theatre, which it claimed was the store's biggest show, for the lead up to the band's new album. Other major artists to have played in Kingston at shows organised by Banquet include
Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
, Madness,
Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (; born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer-songwriter, television personality, and actress. Born in Pristina, modern-day Kosovo, she rose to prominence when she featured on DJ Fresh's 2012 single, "Hot Rig ...
, Stormzy,
The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
,
Johnny Marr John Martin Marr (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Maher; born 31 October 1963) is a musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has sinc ...
,
Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...
,
Biffy Clyro Biffy Clyro are a Scottish Rock music, rock band that formed in Kilmarnock, composed of Simon Neil (lead vocals, guitar) and twin brothers James Johnston (Scottish musician), James (bass, backing vocals) and Ben Johnston (Scottish musician), Be ...
,
The Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, J ...
, Gary Barlow,
Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...
,
Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...
, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Shania Twain, Jungle and Paloma Faith.


Record label

The Banquet Records shop is also home to a music label of the same name. It has issued music by UK artists, sometimes to support tours. It also release foreign artist which don't have UK distribution deals. The label was created by the current owners of the shop. They were actually running the label before they bought the shop in 2004. Artists released include: * Modern Baseball * Lightyear * Tonight Alive


References

{{Use British English, date=August 2010 Independent stores Music retailers of the United Kingdom