Record Store Day: Collectors queue for vinyl deals

It was annual record store day on Saturday, and all over the nation record collectors queued up outside their local independent stores so they could be first to grab the newest releases.

Outside Vintage & Vinyl, in Cleveland Street, owner Claire Howell arrived at work at 7am to find 60 people waiting outside her shop.

At the front was Queen fan Katie Lawrence, who had been sitting in her camp chair outside the store since 7pm the previous evening.

Record Store Day is the one day of the year when more than 200 independent record shops all across the UK come together to celebrate their unique culture.

Special vinyl releases are made exclusively for the day and many shops and cities host artist performances and events to mark the occasion. Thousands more shops celebrate the day around the globe in what’s become one of the biggest annual events on the music calendar.

Owner Claire Howell said: "Katie arrived at about 7pm, and then someone else about half eight, then it went from there. We got there in the morning and there were about 60 or 70 people outside. We gave them tea and biscuits and let them in about 7.45am. There must have been about 100 people by half past eight. We always hope there is a queue!"

She added: "It was a really successful day. We are so happy people came.We don't do this day for the profit, we do it for the people who collect vinyl. It's a big expense and hard work."