It’s Record Store Day 2025, and for some record stores around the country, it means they’re about to have their busiest day yet.
Many vinyl fans have been queuing overnight to make sure they’re able to get into the stores early doors, which has left others equally impressed and ‘panicked’.
The annual day, a celebration of vinyl, is exclusive to independent retailers. Almost 300 independent record shops all across the UK come together to celebrate their unique culture. There are special vinyl releases made exclusively for the day, and some shops and cities host artist performances for the occasion.
But understandably, some have been confused by the appearance of long queues outside record stores – with one person even queuing a whopping 23 hours.
Evan, from Wigan, arrived at Piccadilly Records in Manchester at 9am on April 11, armed with a book to entertain him until the shop opened at 8am on April 12, Manchester Evening News reports.
The young man had joined the queue to secure a copy of the Wicked movie soundtrack, which is limited to just 2,000 copies worldwide.
Elsewhere people shared pictures of queues that seemed endless this morning. One person wrote: “Panic on the streets of Dublin… Record Store Day queues outside Tower and Spindizzy Records.”
Another shared pictures from Manchester, and wrote: “I normally shake my head at the sight of queues but those prepared to queue for a record are the coolest people on earth, without exception. I hope each gets that piece of vinyl their hearts yearn for. Total respect.”
Banquet Records in Kingston showed a clip of while they were setting up for Record Store Day, at around 8pm on Friday night – and there was already a queue. On the TikTok clip, people were in disbelief, with one person asking: “There’s a queue already?!” Another said they “didn’t realise” they’d need to get there “earlier than anticipated” to snag the record they wanted.
At Waterloo Records in Austin, Texas, they shared their first customer joined the queue around midday on Friday, and has already been queuing for more than 17 hours.
While some were incredibly impressed by her efforts, others were horrified at the prospect of queueing for so long. Another said: “Wow! Even earlier than last year!! Hoping the line won’t be too bad when I get there.”
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