HMV Oxford St

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Harry here, It was wonderful to see the original HMV shop (Which has been closed for a while) reopened.

[mariana44]

I assume you mean the small one, next to Bond Street Station, as I am sure that was the original one.

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Yes, that's the one Marian, although the shop is actually in Oxford Street . The other store was next to Tottenham Court Road.

[karl]

Is the large store still open though?

[mariana44]

I know them both really well, but the smaller one, next to Bond Street station is my favourite, as I used to go in there so often, either in my lunch hour--quite a rush from the city to the West End--and I often popped in after work, as it was on my way home--this was when I lived in London.

[mariana44]

I know them both really well, but the smaller one, next to Bond Street station is my favourite, as I used to go in there so often, either in my lunch hour--quite a rush from the city to the West End--and I often popped in after work, as it was on my way home--this was when I lived in London.

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Yes, the bigger one near Tottenham Court Road is still open Karl. It somehow, for some reason never appealed as much as the One near Bond Street.

[karl]

I haven't been in the London HMV's for years, last few times I was in the London area I was nowhere near them anyway.

[mariana44]

I agree Lena & Harry--it was much bigger, which should have been good---but somehow it was just TOO big and impersonal.

[paul jh]

I prefer the larger one at 150 Oxford Street. I love the basement, with classical on one side and all the other great music we like on the other. They used to have the best singles selection on the main floor. And they always had great music playing sometimes with a live DJ. It is my favourite record store in the world.

The other one near Bond Street is nice and has the historical walk on the main level. I like it too, but found it cramped, especially with vocals and jazz. It is not actually the original HMV store. The original was across the street; it's now a clothing store or some other kind of shop.

I hadn't heard that the store had reopened. That is great news. Thanks Harry for the report.

[mariana44]

How long ago was the original HMV across the road Paul--I can only remember it being next to Bond Stret Station--and I am going back over 50 years.

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Marian, I think Paul probably remembers like we do, that the HMV shop was on the opposite side of the road for a time, which is now a Disney shop. I think it was while work and renovation was being carried out to extend the shop.

[paul jh]

When I read Harry's post, I thought HMV was moving back to their most recent location on Oxford Street near Bond Street (which had closed last year). But they did move back to the original historic location as Harry wrote. Here is the article from the Telegraph, which explains the situation (and why I was confused!). This is the store you visited so many times when you worked in London. I shopped there too, but remember the newer one with the HMV museum; and the larger store at 150 Oxford (my fave).


The chairman of HMV has confirmed that the music store will return to its original flagship store after the brand went into administration in January.

Music retailer HMV will be returning to the flagship store it occupied more than 90 years ago in October, its chairman has confirmed.

The first HMV was opened in 1921 by Sir Edward Elgar on 363 Oxford Street and remained there until 2000, when the brand moved to a site further down London's most famous shopping street. The new HMV store will replace a branch of the footwear chain Footlocker, and the music retailer's current Oxford Street location will be occupied by Sports Direct.

[mariana44]

Thanks Paul---that was always the trouble with Oxford Street-apart from the big stores ---Selfridges etc, the other shops seemed to change so many times--although it is ages since I was last there.

[jon]

Hmm, I live in London and I didn't know this! So it seems the big store at 150 Oxford Street is closing and there will be one store only near Bond Street. Paul, I don't know if you've been to Oxford Street recently but the 150 store was a shadow of its former self following HMV's financial problems: the old classical section downstairs had closed and been moved to where the jazz section used to be, and the rest of the collection (easy listening etc) was heavily truncated, with large gaps in the shelving: quite depressing actually. But hopefully with the new store things will start looking up again.