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If ever there was a blueprint for how to survive and succeed as an independent label in the UK, then surely Champion Records must be it. Started in 1980, Champion picked up on underground club tunes both in the US and UK, with over 50 top twenty records worldwide and is now celebrating its 25th Anniversary.

Founder Mel M's first employee as A&R manager was Paul Oakenfold and together they used the simple formula of discovering the best club tracks and turning then into chart hits. Who can forget the great hits of the 80's like Sybil's 'Don't Make Me Over', DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince 'Girls Ain't nothin' but Trouble' and Raze 'Break 4 Love'? This formula has been continued over the years and Champion have released tracks and mixes by the biggest names in dance music, including Fatboy Slim, Junior Vasquez, David Morales, Paul van Dyk and Tiefschwarz.

In 1993 Cheeky Records was conceived. The Cheeky name was quickly established by Mel & Rollo Armstrong and Mel pioneered the formation of Faithless and the making of their best selling album, "Reverence".This paved the way for credible albums by other Cheeky artists including Rob Dougan, Skinny and Dido's album "No Angel" which became the world's biggest selling album of 2001Cheeky soon became one of the most successful independent labels of the last decade. The label was eventually sold to BMG when it reached epic proportions, allowing Mel to focus back on Champion.

Future stars for Champion include the fantastic Future Funk Squad from affiliated label Default records, headed by blistering breaks DJ / Producer Glen Nicholls. When not DJ'ing around the world or appearing with his band in the awesome Future Funk Squad live shows, he is constantly working in his studio, either on new material or remixing for the likes of Mylo, Sander Kleinenberg and the legendary Prodigy. Expect to see the Future Funk Squad playing live at all the major festivals this year, supporting the release of the amazing debut album 'Audio damage'.