Alan Jordan, owner of one of Newcastle’s largest independent record stores, Reflex, was stunned at the success for this year’s Record Store Day. He said, “this is our biggest Record Store Day to date.”
Record Store Day 2025 welcomed thousands of vinyl lovers throughout the city of Newcastle.
Record Store Day’s 18th annual event was held on last Saturday with Newcastle being home to five participating independent record stores.
Record collectors began queueing outside of Newcastle’s independent record stores, as early as 8:00pm the night before the event.
Fans were excited to try and get their hands on the 433 different, exclusive records available from major artists such as Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams, and Sam Fender.
On Nun Street, Reflex had queues stretching as far as Grey’s Monument before the store opened at 8:00am.
Leah, 22, arrived at Reflex at 1:15am after 30 minutes of sleep and said, “there were already 15 people in line”.
She said, “there are so many more people queueing up this year,” but successfully left with all the records on her Record Store Day wish list, including popular titles such as Taylor Swift and Charli XCX.
Matt, 27, has been attending Record Store Day since 2016 and was also hoping to buy Charli XCX’s limited records. He arrived at 5:30am and said he had, “never seen [Record Store Day] this busy before”.
When asked what Record Store Day means to him, Matt replied, “it’s important now more than ever to support small, independent businesses”. He said, “it’s also a fun opportunity to meet people with the same interests as you.”
After 30 minutes of Reflex being open, owner Alan Jordan told the queue that the rare Wicked soundtrack record had already sold out.
2025 was a special Record Store Day for Newcastle in particular as local rockstar Sam Fender was this year’s ambassador for the event.
Alan Jordan said he is “buzzing” to have Sam Fender as this year’s ambassador for Record Store Day.
He said Sam has always “stayed true to his roots,” which is “exactly what independent record stores are all about – community, authenticity, and passion for music.”
Record Store Day has always been an important event for indie record stores, helping them stay afloat during the rise of digital music and the current expensive cost of living.
Last year, Record Store Day was expected to deliver a £9.7 million boost to independent record stores.
ERA (Entertainment and Retail Association) CEO Kim Bayley said, “without Record Store Day, many [independent record stores] would find it difficult to stay in business.”
Record Store Day also contributes to the resurgence in popularity for vinyl records worldwide.
Other contributing factors to vinyl records’ increase in popularity include nostalgia, aesthetics, collectability, and digital burnout.
Data from the Official Charts Company showed that last year 306,791 vinyl records were sold during the week of Record Store Day.
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2024 saw vinyl unit sales 17th consecutive year for growth, which aligns with the launch of Record Store Day in 2007.
Though official nationwide statistics are not released yet, it is expected that Record Store Day 2025 will continue this streak.