Revellers enjoy Record Store Day street fair in Southsea

Revellers enjoyed live music from local and national bands at Pie & Vinyl’s street fair in Castle Road, Southsea and the chance to buy from a selection of special vinyl releases made exclusively for the day.

Each year independent record shops across the UK come together to celebrate their unique culture, and lovers of vinyl queue up to get their hands on the limited edition releases of their choice.

Owner of Pie & Vinyl Steve Courtnell said: ‘This year there were about 500 releases especially for the day. They’re all collectable and there’s a limited amount of them.

‘We try to make the most out of the annual event. The road gets closed and we have six bands playing on a stage, and they do it for free. There’s food and drink, things to buy – it’s really great for all the independent record shops.’

The 38-year-old added: ‘Pie & Vinyl have been open for five years and each year we’ve celebrated, but I’d say this is our best street fair yet.

‘It’s about getting people to understand vinyl is a very high quality format in terms of listening.

‘The physical aspect of buying music and having that experience isn’t dead – you can do more than press return on a keyboard, and have the artwork and tangibility of a record.

‘Our first customer queued from 10.30am on Friday morning.’

The business had specially-made pies on offer to tie in with those playing and music released. The bands and artists that graced the stage were Idles, Is Bliss, Emily Barker, The Magic Gang, Blaenavon and Plastic Mermaids.

Ian McGilvey, 50, visited Pie & Vinyl from Clanfield. He said: ‘I came here especially for Record Store Day. I own a record player and love vinyl. It’s a great celebration and I’ve bought a special release today – The Queen Symphony.

‘I’ve probably got about 200 vinyl records at home, if you can set your system up well it’s a really excellent medium and it’s everlasting. I’ve got old records from 30 years ago that sound fantastic.

‘Pie & Vinyl is a great shop. It’s been very busy and it’s wonderful that we can make a community event with such a great feel out of a celebration of vinyl.’