A long-running record fair is set to return to Sheffield this weekend – bringing together record collectors from across the city and country.
Premier Records hosts year-round fairs across England, with record dealers invited to sell a genre-spanning range of items.
Founder Adrian Melling, 65, from Colne in Lancashire, has been running the fairs across the country for more than 30 years, having first began selling records as a teenager.
He told ShefNews of how his events are a meeting place for “like-minded people”, including younger people – a sign of the industry was now “going from strength to strength”.
“Twenty-odd years ago it was looking like it was on its last legs apart from the old school that carried on going,” he said.
“But now all the youngsters are coming as well, so it’s great.”
According to figures from the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association, sales of vinyl records increased 10.5 per cent in 2024 – marking the highest level of sales this century.
Mr Melling said: “We’ve been doing it so many years, we’ve made so many friends with a lot of customers that travel from the surrounding area.
“We’ve known people for so long that we’ve got on first name terms with everybody and now the kind of things that they’re looking for. Likewise, they’ve made acquaintances with other record dealers that they wouldn’t have known if they hadn’t been collecting.”
Alongside having a personal collection containing “thousands” of vinyl records, he added he had also seen “so many” rare records appear at the fairs.
“I’ve seen rare northern soul singles worth thousands of pounds, rare progressive records that are worth thousands,” Mr Melling said.
“There are some ultra rare records, middle ground stuff and bargain boxes.”
The event will take place between 9am and 4pm on Saturday 29 March at The Workstation on Paternoster Row.
Mr Melling will also host The Big Yorkshire Record Fair in Doncaster on 13 April, which he described as an event which people “will travel from all over for”.
It falls the day after national Record Store Day – a celebration in which more than 270 sellers across the UK take part.