Bolton music fans will be able to snap up rare vinyls at half price on Record Store Day, which falls today, Saturday. 

X-Records on Bridge Street is just one of more than 260 shops in the UK taking part in the annual celebration. 

Many shops will be selling exclusive vinyl releases that are made specifically for the day this weekend.

Steven Meekings, who has been running X-Records since 1985, said: “Generally, it’s the busiest day of our year and people will queue round the block and we even have people pitching up the night before in sleeping bags.”

The Bolton News: Steven Meekings of X RecordsSteven Meekings of X Records (Image: Newsquest)

Record Store Day is celebrated all around the world and was first inagurated in 2007.

Since then it has become a well loved time of year for music fans of all descriptions and has proved popular with all ages groups.

The annual celebration has been credited with helping to lead the resurgent popularity of vinyl records in recent years. 

In Bolton, X-Records' celebrations will be more low key than in previous years, although Steven is still expecting a large number of customers on the day. 

Like most taking part in the event, he is optimistic about the future for record stores.

The X Records boss said: “You’ve got to go with how things evolve and that’s how we’ve done it.

“Things keep going in full circle. I mean, we’ve got loads of younger kids coming in now but they’re buying Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. That music will never go away, it’s classic.

“We still sell CDs and DVDs and Blu-Rays, and we’ve found that the less outlets there are for that kind of thing the better it’s become for us. 

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“Once we were competing against 100 shops, we’re probably competing against ten shops now. We’ve not got the same sort of customer base, it’s reduced but it’s still significant.

“I think people who stream wouldn’t have bought anyway, so it’s not a lost sale to me.” 

X Records will be joining a variety of retailers at the popular Bolton Record Fair, which is returning to Market Place on the day.