12 Apr 2026
There are just a few days to go until the biggest weekend of the year for St Albans’ house of vinyl, the independent Empire Records in Heritage Close.
National Record Store Day originated in the United States in 2007 after a group of independent record shop owners came together to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture of their stores.
Now every year hundreds of record shops across the UK participate in the celebrations. A staggering 500 exclusive records are released on Record Store Day and these are only available from these independent stores on Saturday April 18.
Owner Marina De Sclavis said: “We’re very excited to be hosting our 12th Record Store Day this year. We feel we’ve got the best selection we’ve ever had, literally hundreds of exclusive vinyl records!
“It always gives us a warm glow to see the pure joy on people’s faces and the interactions between music lovers throughout the course of the day. There’s a real sense of community, which is what it’s all about in the end.”
Opening in 2013, Empire Records has an authentic retro vibe and stocks a wide range of records and CDs – covering the whole music spectrum from classical and jazz to death metal, rock and more.
