Independently Alternative (Banquet Records Feature)
Friday, 02 September 2011
Written by Mark Molloy
“More than just your local record store - Independently run Banquet Records is thriving at the heart of the music scene in southwest London”
“There must be something in the water tonight,” exclaimed Mystery Jets guitarist William Rees as he stopped to take a quick sip of beer midway through his band’s electrifying gig at the Hippodrome, Kingston earlier this year.
After a series of appearances at various international music festivals in 2011, the four-piece stopped off for an evening of thrills and spills by the Thames. It didn’t take long for the Jets to whip the fervent crowd into a ferocious frenzy as they ripped through tunes from their critically acclaimed third album 'Serotonin'.
The gig was hosted by independent record store Banquet Records who manage the increasingly popular New Slang club night, which has now been running for five years. Every Thursday they bring the UK’s most in-demand bands to the 2,000 hardcore indie revellers who are crammed inside this truly unique music venue, recently welcoming bands such as Two Door Cinema Club, Friendly Fires and Bombay Bicycle Club.
Despite their limited budget, Banquet continue to attract bands of extremely high quality. New Yorkers Vampire Weekend played the venue the same year they headlined Festival Internacional de Benicàssim and just a few months before selling out two dates at the 7,000 capacity north London arena Alexandra Palace.
Banquet Records events organiser, Adam Sait, believes their dual ability to promote a band’s record through their store and deliver a sold out gig at an award winning live venue gives them a unique selling point.
“A lot of the bands we host either want to play a festival warm up show or promote their album. So when Vampire Weekend played, it was to promote their album and we done that through the shop with a combined New Slang ticket/album deal,” said the 22-year-old.
“I think bands come to the venue expecting a night club and don’t expect much and then when they get here they are normally pleasantly surprised by how big the music scene is and how up for it the music fans in Kingston are. These bands want to come back as well.
“It’s a club night also, so instead of just going to a gig, which might finish at 12 o’clock, you can stay, have some beers and listen to more music. It’s quite an intimate venue, when you compare it to Brixton Academy and places like that … We tie in a lot more things than just live performance.”
Today Banquet Records are a major part of the southwest London music scene, however this wasn’t always the case. In 2005 the record store, known then as Beggars Banquet, was just a few days away from going bankrupt, before current manager and long-term employee Jon Tolley stepped into save the ailing business.
Tolley’s new vision for Banquet was to reinvent the store as an independent, community driven project which would remain at the forefront of the music scene in Kingston. It was a decision which saved the shop from extinction and a principal which remains an essential part of the Banquet make-up today.
“Because we are an independent record store we can do much more to promote albums. Because we run New Slang and other club nights in Kingston, we can push new music and create a music community in Kingston,” Sait revealed.
“So we provide for the community in that way, Banquet Records run a lot of shows so people can buy the album and can also see that band at our club night and it creates a kind of community. Rather than going to HMV which is quite soulless. When you go and buy a CD you don’t have a chat with people, you can’t connect with what you are buying.”
As well as New Slang, Banquet also hold club nights across a variety of venues in Kingston and neighbouring Merton. They also host in-store gigs where bands perform in the shop and stay for a meet and greet session afterwards.
Despite the success of New Slang, Banquet Records remains first and foremost a record shop. Stocking a broad range of music on CD and vinyl, Banquet offers a friendly, personalised service to its loyal customers.
Despite the difficult economic climate and the increasing struggles on the High Street, Banquet Records continues to thrive. Their strong ties to the local community and alternative music scene in this leafy London suburb ensures their immediate future is a bright one.
“We need to keep adapting to whatever happens, as long as we do that and keep going in that way we should be fine,” concludes Sait.
“It’s more about the community with us, we’re quite proud in creating a strong community in Kingston and if we keep doing that I think people will keep coming back. As long as we continue to offer more than just being a local record store.”
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Today Banquet Records are a major part of the southwest London music scene, however this wasn’t always the case. In 2005 the record store, known then as Beggars Banquet, was just a few days away from going bankrupt, before current manager and long-term employee Jon Tolley stepped into save the ailing business.
