MUSIC retailer guitarguitar are marking their anniversary by turning the volume up to 15 and celebrating a 15 per cent rise in customer numbers.

Founded by Graham Bell and Christopher McBay in Corstorphine, outside Edinburgh in 2004, guitarguitar has defied high street trends, branching out with stores in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Camden, Epsom and Newcastle.

This year they’ve already seen an average 15 per cent increase in footfall across their stores in the current quarter.

And the owners put their continued success on a challenging retail environment down to one simple fact - making music makes people happy.

This weekend, the retailer will kickstart their 15th birthday celebrations by attaching a giant volume dial to the front of their Glasgow store that, when cranked up to 15, dispenses gifts from goody bags to guitars.

(Gav Lawrie and Anna Gembal, guitarguitar)

The giant dial - a nod to the infamous “these go up to 11” scene from legendary music movie Spinal Tap – officially launches 15 weeks of in-store pop-ups and promotions across their six UK stores.

Customers have a chance of winning stellar prizes, including a home recording studio, a signed Noel Gallagher guitar, and a gift card worth £1500.

Each store stocks over 1000 guitars, staffed by passionate experts in guitars, musical instruments and audio tech who go the extra mile for each customer, they are much more than just a faceless warehouse.

Since opening in 2004, guitarguitar now employ more than 150 people across the UK and have welcomed many A-list musicians into their stores, including Slash (Guns ‘n’ Roses, Velvet Revolver), Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden), and Black Francis (Pixies), among many others.

Graham Bell, Co-Founder of guitarguitar, said: “We live in a high-paced world, with constant stimulation, surrounded by stresses and strains. People turn to music to escape that. Music makes people’s lives better.

"We see that from the experiences people have in our stores and take a great deal of satisfaction from being a part of the musical journeys our customers embark upon.

“Instead of going one louder than Spinal Tap, we’re cranking our celebrations to 15, shouting loud and proud about our milestone birthday."

After spending the weekend outside the store, the volume knob will move inside in guitarguitar’s flagship Glasgow store from Saturday 1st – Sunday 2nd June as part of the store’s UK-wide birthday party, before appearing in their other stores across the next three months.