The National – Boxer (LP)

Beggars Banquet started life as a small chain of independent record shops in West London and in 1977, spurred by the prevailing DIY aesthetics of punk, the Beggars Banquet imprint was launched with the first band on the label The Lurkers releasing their classic 'Shadow ' / 'Love Story' 7" single. Later in the decade and into the early '80s, hits with Tubeway Army and Gary Numan spelled a successful time for the label. They continued to release music by Bauhaus, Buffalo Tom, The Charlatans, The Cult, The Fall, The Go-Betweens, Peter Murphy and more. In 2008, Beggars Banquet ceased actively signing acts and now only releases back catalogue reissues. For more information about Beggars Banquet reissues, please go the Beggars Archive site. The label became the starting point for what is now The Beggars Group, one of the world’s largest, most influential independent label groups. The labels under their umbrella include 4AD, Matador Records, Rough Trade, XL Recordings, Young and Beggars Arkive.