David Bowie rules the Record Store Day singles and album chart

On Saturday 16 April, vinyl enthusiasts turned out in their thousands to support Record Store Day 2016, a celebration of local indie record shops.

With 500 limited releases by all manner of artists from megastars to cult heroes, plus live performances and special parties to mark the occasion, the ninth Record Store Day was an unmissable event for any devotee of that hallowed black plastic.

Over 230 independent shops participated in this year’s event and diehard music lovers queued from the early hours in all weathers to get their hands on limited edition vinyl releases from the likes of Madonna, Bowie, T-Rex and even Doctor Who!

Record Store Day 2016 highlighted that the appetite for music by David Bowie shows little sign of slowing since the star's death from cancer in January. Of the 500 limited editions available, David Bowie topped both the Record Store Day singles and album chart with his 7” picture disc TVC 15 and The Man Who Sold the World LP, which featured the original German cover artwork. 

Kim Bayley, CEO of the Entertainment Retailers Association who coordinates Record Store Day in the UK with a board of indie retailers, said of the newcomers: "Record Store Day continues to encourage new entrants to the market with a further 17 independent record shops having opened in UK in the past 12 months. It’s fantastic to see Record Store Day celebrated with the hundreds of parties, performances and one-off events across the UK, with both customers old and new. Here’s to our tenth anniversary next year!"

Jon Tolley of Banquet Records in Kingston said: “There’s the people grabbing the classic re-issues from yesteryear, but there’s also countless numbers of younger people picking up music from today’s artists. For some it’s their first time in a record shop, for some it might even be their first time picking up a physical release. It’s a unique atmosphere for customers and staff alike, and there’s a real buzz unlike any other time of the year”.

Record Store Day is all about dedication, and despite the rain (and in some locations snow), the record for the earliest queue-goer was broken by a die-hard Madonna enthusiast named ‘Fat Reg’. Reg took to Square Records in Wimborne from 8.30am Friday morning to get his hands on the reissue of the Japanese release Like A Virgin & Other Big Hits.

See the full Top 20 biggest selling Record Store Day albums

And while you're here, here's the most popular Record Store Day single releases:

 Both charts ©2016 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.