Kate Nash has urged young girls to embrace record shops as a way of “discovering their identity”.

The singer is an ambassador for Saturday’s 10th annual Record Store Day and unearthed her love of punk as a teenager browsing vinyl in charity shops and at Spitalfields Market in central London.

She became involved with the event after being angered by a box of music marked “female” at a record store.

Kate Nash
Kate Nash (Ian West/PA)

“It really p****** me off, it’s ridiculous,” Kate told the Press Association, adding: “Female is not a genre, you can’t have soul, garage, punk, then just female or women.

“Women in music are always defined by our sex and having to explain it and why we’re in music.

“It’s f****** ridiculous, and girls should go into those spaces and own that and know they deserve to be there.

“It’s a way of discovering their identity and music, and give you a sense of power.”

Record store
(John Stillwell)

As a teenager, Kate said she had initially been “intimidated” when visiting record shops before deciding to “get out there”.

She added: “I used to go in and talk to all the old punk dudes.

“I knew I liked punk music but I didn’t know where to start, this guy was so excited that I wanted to discover it and got these old books out and told me about all these old bands that I’d never heard of.”

Kate Nash
Kate Nash (Ian West/PA)

Vinyl has been part of a much-publicised revival in recent years with sales reaching 3.4 million units in 2016, representing 14% of the physical albums market.

Kate, who recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to help fund a new album, believes the resurgence of the format is down to people enjoying owning something tangible and authentic.

“As much as I can listen to a fiery, crystal-clear, high-quality record, there’s something about putting on a vinyl that is irreplaceable,” she said.

Vinyl
Vinyl records (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Record Store Day launched in the UK in 2008, a year after it had premiered in the US.

The UK event sees more than 200 independent record shops celebrate their culture by selling special vinyl releases and hosting artist performances across the country.

This year’s event sees a special edition of Sir Elton John’s live album 17-11-70, featuring six previously unreleased tracks, as well as two limited-edition David Bowie albums and several Prince singles, almost a year to the day after the US star’s death.