If you live in Kingston, or within a sizable radius, the chances are you’ve heard of Banquet Records. Banquet Records is an extraordinary record shop based on Eden Street in Kingston, acting as a record shop by day and a gig host by night. Established from the older Beggars Banquet company, it has been owned and run by Jon Tolley and Mike Smith since 2005. I spoke to Jon Tolley about what has made Banquet Records so successful for the last few years. 

We meet in Banquet Records, full to the brim with music and merchandise, and I pose my questions to him. I start by asking him about what has made Banquet so successful in recent years. He tells me that the meteoric success of Banquet Records is relatively recent, and that until 6 or 7 years ago they were ‘almost going bust’ and ‘in a dark place’ which couldn’t be further from the Banquet Records we know and love, that frequently has people queuing down the street to see some of the world’s hottest artists (recents include Conan Gray, Maisie Peters and Declan McKenna) in Kingston, usually for less than £20. We explore the factors in their rise to success over the course of our meeting.

Our conversation moves onto how Banquet Records is able to get such famous artists into Kingston when they could be selling out the O2. Jon tells me that the appeal for artists comes from a number of factors including the increased album sales from a Banquet event, smaller artists being able to perform for a decent amount of money and artists wanting to do a ‘vibey, fun gig’. For many artists performing at Pryzm (where Banquet Records hosts larger gigs) is the closest that they’ve been to the audience in years and for others playing a night in Kingston can make a tour affordable. Given the success that the company has had in Kingston I ask if the Banquet empire will be expanding elsewhere, but Jon (who grew up in Kingston) says that it couldn’t be replicated elsewhere because of the ‘hands on leadership’, and attitude that it’s ‘not just about making money’ that makes the Kingston shop so prosperous. 

Like all small businesses, they have to deal with uncertainty from day to day and I ask Jon how they work around this. I’m told that ‘uncertainty is the game’ in business and that the economics of the business don’t concern him as much as larger scale issues such as climate change, supply chain issues and threats to the building itself. Jon gives me the example of uncertainty when, several years ago, there was a threat of the major records supplier going down which would have destroyed the business model, but disaster was averted when the supplier was saved by another company.

I couldn’t resist asking about Jon’s personal favourite gigs and his hopes for future artists to come to Kingston. One of his many favourites was Young Knives in 2007 which was the first ever gig they hosted with over 1000 people in attendance. He also mentions The Shins as artists he’d love to host in the future, because they wrote ‘New Slang’ which the Banquet Records night at Pryzm is named after, as well as the Foo Fighters and the ‘big deal’ bands which generate huge buzz around Banquet. 

Earlier I mentioned the affordable price of gig tickets for Banquet Records events which is a huge draw from far and wide, and I ask Jon how they are able to keep prices so low. The aim of playing at Pryzm for big artists is more about promoting their tours than making money, which they do at bigger venues where ticket prices could be upwards of £50. There is also a major attraction for artists to play at Pryzm, coming from the appeal of practising new material in front of a live audience, the proximity to Heathrow Airport if they have limited time before jetting off to the next location and the proximity to London for PR appearances (which is why you’ll often see an artist you saw the night before at Pryzm on a chat show in the morning).

The overall impression that I get from speaking to Jon is that Banquet Records is such a successful pillar of music in Kingston because of their values. He tells me that ‘it’s my hobby as much as my job’ which shines through in everything he tells me about the company’s success being from trust; locally, by bands and agents and by accounts departments. Jon tells me that they are able to ‘throw money’ at Kingston Carnival and community events and it’s clear to see that it’s a ‘labour of love’ for him. I know I’m not alone in hoping that Banquet Records continues to prosper well into the future.