Vinyl fans prepare for big day

Hundreds of visitors attended the Castle Road Fair and Record Store Day in Castle Road, Southsea, last year.

Record Store Day 2017 is returning this year with more rare and limited edition records and a day of entertainment.

The Village Popup, Pie & Vinyl and Castle Road Area Traders Association is putting on Castle Road Record Story Day.

It will be the tenth anniversary of the day, and will see limited releases of 500 records, collectables and rare edition vinyls for the public to buy on a first come first serve basis.

The day was brought in to give record shops support when they were declining.

Now it is an annual staple for vinyl-record-loving music fanatics. The event is free to attend and starts at 8am.

Live music will begin at 12pm and the road will be closed off for the festivities to begin.

These will include a big stage, live bands and support acts. There will also be street food available.

It takes place on Saturday, April 22 from 8am until 7pm. The day has become known for fans standing in long queues from the day before.

Steve Courtnell, the owner of Pie and Vinyl, said: ‘It’s a really great day, there’s a great atmosphere.

‘It’s not just about the day for us it’s about embracing the love of music with everyone and it keeps the music from dying.

‘People usually begin queuing up the day before at around 3pm, last year we had a couple thousand people attend and the shop is always busy, we are hoping for the same again this year.

‘There’s a range of ages that get involved, it’s young and old people enjoying music together.’

Some of the local bands that will be playing live on the day are, IDLES, Is Bliss, The Magic Gang, Plastic Mermaids, Emily Barker, Highlights of Our Modern World (P&V Records) and Play Dead Collective Street Artist Jam.