Beggars Group

Infobox record label
name = Beggars Group


image_bg =
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founded = 1977
founder = Martin Mills, Nick Austin
defunct =
distributor =
genre = Various
country = United Kingdom
location = Wandsworth, London
url = [http://www.beggars.com www.beggars.com] [http://www.beggarsgroupusa.com www.beggarsgroupusa.com] [http://www.beggarsgroup.ca www.beggarsgroup.ca] [http://www.beggarsgroup.de www.beggarsgroup.de] [http://www.beggarsjapan.com/ www.beggarsjapan.com] The companies’ roots stem from the Beggars Banquet record shops, which first opened in 1973 with a shop in Earls Court, London.

In 1977, spurred by the prevailing DIY aesthetics of the British punk rock movement (then at the height of its popularity), the shop founders decided to join the fray as an independent label and release records under the Beggars Banquet imprint.cite book |last=Larkin |first=Colin |title=The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music |year= 1992 |publisher=Guinness Publishing |isbn=0-85112-579-4 ] 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 '80s, hits with Tubeway Army and Gary Numan secured the label's future. Beggars Banquet then went on to release music by Biffy Clyro, Buffalo Tom, The Charlatans, The Cult, The Go-Betweens, The National and Tindersticks.

Having since been trading for over three decades, the Beggars Group is still both owner run (Martin Mills) and its musical focus remains fiercely alternative. In 2008, the labels that form the group are 4AD, Matador Records, Rough Trade Records and XL Recordings. The company owns 4AD outright (this label also took on the rosters of two other Group owned labels, Beggars Banquet and Too Pure when they were mothballed in 2008) and retains a 50% stake in each of the others.

Artists currently working with the above labels include Adele, Anthony & The Johnsons, Atlas Sound, Basement Jaxx, Beck, Belle & Sebastian, Beirut, Blonde Redhead, Bon Iver, The Breeders, Cat Power, Jarvis Cocker, Dizzee Rascal, The Hold Steady, Jay Reatard, Mogwai, M.I.A., My Morning Jacket, The National, The Raconteurs, Radiohead, Scott Walker, Sigur Ros, The Strokes, Stereolab, Super Furry Animals, Thom Yorke, TV On The Radio, Vampire Weekend, The White Stripes and Yo La Tengo.

References

External links

* [http://www.beggars.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.beggarsgroupusa.com/ American site]
* [http://www.beggarsgroup.ca/ Canadian Site]
* [http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?storycode=1031536 Beggars Group company profile piece on Music Week website (Sept 2007)]