Collectors and newbies alike welcomed for Record Store Day
"There's something special about walking out of a record store with a physical item and listening to it."
Clare Howell is one of many record store owners getting ready to welcome lovers of vinyl through their doors as part of a national celebration of records.
Record Store Day UK on Saturday, April 23, sees stores such as Vinyl and Vintage on Cleveland Street in Wolverhampton become hubs of activity, with people encouraged to come and look for rare albums, single-issue releases and albums they may never have considered listening to before.
The day, which is being supported by BBC Sounds, was set up by independent record stores to bring more people in to see what's on offer at those stores, with Claire Howell saying that it helped to engage people more with vinyl.
She said: "It was designed to stop people thinking you can only buy new records or buy records online and to also get people to engage in conversation with other people about music.
"So often, I'll play a record in here and people will ask me about it, which then sees another person say that if they like that, then they might want to try another artist as well, so it gets a little community going."
Ms Howell also said that part of Record Store Day UK's appeal was the special releases available only on that day, with a release by Record Store Day ambassador Taylor Swift among the most popular.
She said: "There's that release on offer, as well as a double Rolling Stones glow-in-the-dark release, and Stone Broken, a local band who have done well.
"You name it, we've probably got it, from Davie Bowie to Stevie Nicks, Rory Gallagher and Phil Lynott and some artists you'd never expect to hear on vinyl like Mel C."
Ms Howell described herself as a vinyl junkie and said she was excited to welcome people back in on the day after having to do a limited day in 2021 due to Covid restrictions.
She said: "It was very difficult last year as we had to split it into three days and we couldn't have as many people in as we normally would have, plus there was confusion about when the different releases went out.
"While we still have the screens here and we have hand sanitiser as required, we're open for business and looking forward to welcoming people in.
"I would encourage people to come in and enjoy the environment and chat with collectors and fans of vinyl, because you never know what you might find."
