A new record shop has opened in North Staffordshire - with queues out of the door on opening day. 

Mike Stanier, from Burslem, began collecting music on vinyl around 15 years ago and has been hosting a series of record fairs in Kidsgrove Town Hall in recent years, which have regularly attracted hundreds into the town.  

He opened Blue Collar Record Shop on Congleton Road, Butt Lane, on Record Store Day. The store has been two years in the making with Mike building stock up behind the scenes for the shop. 

Mike said: "Records have always been a passion of mine. I've always liked artwork on records, so to actually discover records was just life-changing for me. 

"For the past two years I've just been building stock up behind the scenes, the house was getting full and it got to the point where it was a little bit too full - so I knew it was time to take the leap and actually open a shop rather than the record fairs. 

"I was 21 when I first started buying records and from the age of around 16-17, I knew records were about and people listening to them in HMV with their headphones on. 

"I find it much better visually to see it on a 12-inch record rather than a cassette or CD because the artwork is bigger so that is where the love came from." 

"I suppose there aren't many people who can actually say they enjoy their work but I'm fortunate enough where every day I come into work and I'm happy."

Mike estimates he has thousands of records in his collection so far with a good number of rare vinyls of all genres on sale in the shop. 

The shop is open Wednesday-Saturday 10am-4pm.

Mike added: "A couple of years ago I would have loved to have gone to Hanley town centre or Newcastle town centre but the way the high street is going now, passing trade has died a little bit. I've always had in my mind that wherever the record shop is, people will travel to it."

It was Kidsgrove resident, Dave Waterhouse, who originally saw the unit was available and he contacted Mike urging him to open a record shop there. The next day Mike was viewing the shop and Blue Collar Record Shop was born. 

Dave has been involved in the community in Kidsgrove for years, putting on events and theatre productions in the town as well as raising money for charity. He said: "I came down to the shop on opening day and I couldn't get in, they were queuing outside - it was really great to see. 

"People are still coming in on a Wednesday, on a Thursday, in the week as well as the weekends, so I take my hat off to him. 

"When you see and speak to the people at the town hall record fairs, around 80% are from outside Kidsgrove so they are coming from all over. 

"So to see the interest in the area and from outside is great.

"I attend some of the record fairs Mick runs at Kidsgrove Town Hall and there are literally three to five hundred people every single morning descending on the town hall, and there are thousands of records on display."

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