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Vinyl junkies took their addiction to a whole new level after hundreds of music lovers camped overnight in Manchester’s Northern Quarter to be first through the doors at Piccadilly Records.
The wax hungry faithful began queuing outside the Northern Quarter Haunt from 11pm last night – determined to snap up the rare Record Store Day releases – a fervour which grows every year.
When the music mecca opened its doors at 8am today an estimated 800 people were waiting, with a queue stretching down Oldham Street, along Thomas Street and back up Tib Street growing all the time.
Following instructions set down by the ever helpful Piccadilly Records team – fans came armed with lists of the highly collectable albums to hand over the counter on a first come first served basis.
The event, which has been running for five years in the US and now in its fourth year in the UK, will also see an in store DJ sets from Neil Diablo , B-Music, Mr Scruff and The Charlatans’ front man Tim Burgess.
Mal Evans, a 32-year-old mechanic from Stockport in Cheshire, had been stood in the queue since 5.50am. He emerged from the shop five hours later with haul of albums including a record by Californian rappers The Pharcyde.
He said: “I must admit the queue was very daunting when I arrived – it kept running through my mind that all the records I was after would be gone when I saw the hundreds of people in line.
“This is my first Record Store Day as a customer and the atmosphere amongst people queuing has been really great, despite the rain.
“I got most of the records I wanted so it was definitely worth the wait.”
But some people were turned away disappointed when the prime limited edition releases they hoped to buy had sold out when they reached the counter. Others were snapping up rare copies of records by artists ranging from The Arctic Monkeys and Noel Gallagher to The Supremes and Shuggie Otis.
Fellow music fan Jamie Hargreaves, 27, who lives in Manchester city centre, began queuing at 7am and reached the shop’s entrance three-and-a-half hours later.
She said: “By the time I arrived this morning the queue was already round the corner. I’m came because I used to work in a record store and the day is really special to me.
“In today’s society everybody wants things straight away – you can buy music online with one click.
“But here people have to make the effort to get involved and come and buy something. “I’ll probably spend about £100 when I get inside the shop.”