Record Store Day has returned for its 18th year today (April 12), with fans queuing from the early hours to get their hands on special edition releases from their local independent record shops.

READ MORE: Record Store Day 2025: Here’s the full list of releases

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This year’s annual event will see some huge names putting out special one-off collectable vinyl and cassettes, with the likes of Oasis, Charli XCX, Fred.. Again, The Cure, Gorillaz, Taylor Swift and many more putting out exclusive releases.

Hundreds of releases from artists including Beabadoobee, Rachel Chinouriri, Confidence Man, English Teacher, Lil Uzi Vert, Megan Thee Stallion, MJ Lenderman and Post Malone, as well as legends like Public Image Ltd, Lou Reed, The Jesus and Mary Chain and more, will be made available – on a first-come-first-served basis – at over 270 independent record shops across the country, as well as thousands more globally.

As ever, the event brought out huge numbers of fans to record stores around the UK early this morning, with well-prepared attendees bringing chairs and umbrellas to brave the wait and the weather. Taking to X/Twitter, Piccadilly Records said they’d already found their first queue member yesterday (April 11), in Evan, from Wigan.

“He’s never queued up before for RSD, arrived at 9am this morning,” they wrote. “23 hours before we actually open at 8am tomorrow. He’s after the Wicked: Soundtrack, I think he’ll get one.”

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Banquet Records also shared clips of their extensive queue, having previously nodded to the sought after Wicked soundtrack in a social media video, warning fans unless they were first or second in the queue, they wouldn’t manage to nab one.

With only 2000 units available worldwide, many fans were disappointed to find them already popping up on eBay at inflated prices. Others were luckier, and shared their hauls on X.

One popular release of the day so far is Taylor Swift’s exclusive 7″ white vinyl of ‘Fortnight’ – which follows last year’s Record Store Day combing with the release of ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, which then saw the highest weekly vinyl sales for 30 years. According to social media, other in demand finds include Charli XCX’s 7″ Black Vinyl of ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish, and Oasis’ ‘Time Flies… 1994 – 2009’ LP.

Ahead of the day, the events own UK ambassador Sam Fender went vinyl shopping in Hackney’s Stranger Than Paradise, picking out five records and sharing he only started going to record stores in its 20s due to its recent resurgence: “It’s the best way of showing support for the artists that you like”.

The boost in popularity saw vinyl and physical record sales hit a 20 year high in 2024, despite the fact “beneath the surface, most UK artists earn far below average salaries”, with many music fans today calling for people to continue supporting their local independent shops.

Elsewhere, last year’s edition of Record Store Day was held on April 20 and saw releases from The 1975, David Bowie, Daft Punk, Talking Heads, Paramore, Blur, Lily Allen, Gorillaz, Elton John, Paramore and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.

And, in other 2025 Record Store Day-related news, a select group of the UK’s vinyl shops are set to be profiled in a new YouTube series. Titled Behind The Counter, the 12-part series is premiering every Tuesday leading up to Record Store Day itself – and each episode will showcase the vibrant culture surrounding a different independent record shop.

Elsewhere, Key Production Group has rolled out a recycling scheme for unplayable vinyl and CDs backed by UK indie record shops. Vinyl records and CDs are made from different types of plastic – vinyl from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and CDs polycarbonate – both of which can take hundreds of years to decompose in landfills.

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