RECORD Store Day struck the right notes in Swindon with hundreds of people buying new releases and rare re-issues.

The annual event celebrates the heritage of independent music shops. In Faringdon Road, about 40 people queued outside Red House Records, based in Holmes Music, hours before the event opened to make sure they were among the first to get their hands on limited edition vinyls released specifically for Record Store Day.

The first of those waiting were outside the shop at 5.30am to buy ska band Madness’ special offering for the event.

Organiser Paul Holmes, who runs the business, said: “The people who came for the Madness release were very dedicated. The event has gone really well.

“When we opened our doors you couldn’t see the floor because we were so busy.

“The popular offerings have come from Noel Gallagher, the Sex Pistols, The 1975 and the Foo Fighters as well as Madness.

“I’m a big fan of vinyl and it is great to see its popularity in Swindon.”

This was the second year that the shop has taken part in Record Store Day and Paul said the interest in the event significantly increased this time around.

As well as buying vinyl, shoppers enjoyed performances by local musicians including A Way with Words, Lisa Doscher, Theo Altieri, Henry Bateman and Hip Route.

Paul was delighted by how successful the festivities at the shop were.

He said: “It is such a great experience seeing everybody so excited about the special releases. It`s a great event for the music industry as it gets people back into real shops where you can browse and talk about their favourite music with like-minded people.

“I named the shop in tribute to one of Swindon`s past shops from the heyday of record shops, Red Carpet Records. I got to know the owner quite well, he introduced me to several new bands and we shared a similar taste in music.”

On Thursday, a preview event took place at Darkroom Espresso Coffee, with some of the Record Store Day releases being given a spin.

Paul said: “It was a really nice evening, we had about 30 people there just appreciating the music, along with some of our favourite recent releases.”

Record Store Day began in America in 2007, and has been running in the UK for eight years.