Founded in 1985, Champion Records quickly established itself as a leading independent label, releasing underground club music, hip-hop, rare groove, soul, and early house records, often licensing standout tracks from the US. Early releases included classics from Spank, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Salt-N-Pepa, and Angela.
As dance music evolved, Champion became a key player in the rise of house and garage, releasing iconic records such as Raze's Break 4 Love, Robin S.'s Show Me Love, Sandy B.'s Make The World Go Round, Kristine W.'s Feel What You Want, and Sybil's Don't Make Me Over. The label also helped elevate influential artists and DJs including Todd Terry, Kerri Chandler, Junior Vasquez, and StoneBridge.
In 1993, Champion launched Cheeky Records, founded by Mel and Rollo Armstrong. The label became synonymous with the success of Faithless and their landmark album Reverence, before releasing acclaimed projects from artists including Rob Dougan, Skinny, and Dido, whose No Angel became the world's best-selling album of 2001. Cheeky grew into one of the UK's most successful independent labels before being acquired by Sony BMG.