Huge queues as record enthusiasts wait all day and all night for Record Store Day 2026 - in pictures

Record enthusiasts queue to get their hands on fantastic vinal records

Enthusiastic vinyl record fans queues all night - and in some cases all day too - to get their hands on popular records for this year’s Record Store Day which is an annual, worldwide celebration of independent record stores.

In scenes repeated around the county, more than 100 people waited outside Heathen Chemistry Records in Fareham before its 8am opening today (Saturday, April 18), with some of the most popular records sold being limited-edition vinyls by Taylor Swift, Wicked, Olivia Dean, George Harrison, Motörhead, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Davie Bowie and Madness.

The first person in the queue was David Stubbs 60 who arrived at 4.30am yesterday (Friday) morning, waiting for more than 24 hours to grab his wish-list of six records, including The Cult and Xmal Deutschland - spending over £600 on 15 albums.

He has tuned his attic into a music room to hold his collection of around 2,000 records.

He said, “It was a lot of fun with everyone involved and sleeping is always a challenge on the streets, but it was a very sociable experience with great friends. I’ve been here 28 hours in total, and it was a bit of a challenge, all part of the experience.

Other record fans who queued were Katie Archer, 21, and Damon Giles, 45, who slept in a tent overnight hoping to get a copy of Pavement and Talking Heads.

In Gosport there were also early morning queues outside Slice of Vinyl in Stoke Road which stretched more than 75 metres long with people waiting to get into the shop - with the first person in the queue arriving at 5.45am the day before.

Steve Maidment had a 26 hour wait, with his efforts raising money for George’s Rockstars, a children’s music therapy charity.

The shop’s owner Kieron Howes said that he was delighted with the support shown to the shop - with many people coming into Gosport from outside of the town just for Record Store Day.

He said: “It is defiantly a cultural event, because you get people in the queue who only see each other once a year. It is nice to see them come together.

He said that Record Store Day “raises awareness that you have a record shop in your home town”

And in Portsmouth’s Pie & Vinyl in Castle Road the picture was also the same with founder and owner Steve Courtnell saying his loyal customers queuing up for hours to get one of the limited editions records on offer.

“We are feeling the love and we are feeling the support and it helps us to stay open”, he said.

(More pictures to be added as we get them)