The Return of the King
HMV, the iconic British retailer, has reopened its flagship store on London's Oxford Street (originally dating back to 1921)... it's been a wild ride
Vinyl collectors are adaptable folk. When our local store shuts down, or a record plays the elusive game, we somehow always find a way.
For all our resistance to change and whatnot, resourcefulness is embedded into our DNA.
I didn’t stop shopping at HMV (short for His Master’s Voice) when its flagship store in the heart of London’s West End closed its physical doors in 2019.
Yet, the convenience of ordering through the chain’s well-oiled online platform didn’t make up for its absence.
Some of HMV’s regional branches elsewhere in England remained opened and are, truth be told, pretty decent (I see you, York), but they can’t exactly replicate the aura of mysticism you feel when you walk into that emblematic Oxford Street store.
Maybe it’s that iconic façade (now updated to the 21st century), the countless live shows and album signings throughout the decades, or simply the notion that, if those walls could talk, legions of music fans would gather around and listen.
I suffered a lot when I couldn’t visit this store in person anymore. Situated only a short walk away from work, or a 20-minute tube ride away from home (which, by London standards, means pretty close), its strategic location in the heart of everything meant I could pop in and out as easily as a crazy busy London life allows.
But it wasn’t just the convenience of having it at my fingertips. I suffered because its closure represented a great loss for the vinyl community as a whole in ways that are difficult to quantify.
When the news about its reopening came out, I was ecstatic.
To start with, I wasn’t expecting it. I walk around the area a lot, and I was even becoming immune (rather, desensitised) to its shabby replacement in the form of an unsightly American Candy store.
No offense to my friends across the pond (or to candy, for that matter), but the place looked hideous. Plus, an iconic record store like HMV, ousted by a sugar-fuelled hell of kids and tourists? It just didn’t feel right.
In any event, what I find truly remarkable is that, once again, vinyl is visible, accessible and available to the general public in the most famous shopping street in Europe.
Of course we still had, and will hopefully continue to have, our precious and staunchly resilient independent record stores. Those cute little units with creaky wooden floors, acid jazz basements and an unrivalled sense of community.
We are used to the back streets, though. We should never take them for granted, and we should support them now more than ever, but the back street is, by and large, conquered territory for us.
HMV reopening on Oxford Street means grandma might finally get you the latest Stones record instead of yet another pair of socks this Christmas. It means parents can fall in love with their favourite records (and with each other) again while their kids raid the Disney store just opposite. It means young teens can cross the road from Mickey Mouse to Arctic Monkeys with more confidence, and perhaps even join their parents someday.
It means vinyl is back in the mainstream. Front row and centre in London’s main shopping district.
After all we’ve been through as a community, from job losses to bankruptcies to eviction orders to loss of valuable spaces to being virtually erased from society, this small victory was a long time coming.
Thanks for reading/listening. Happy spinning!
There's a pretty fab HMV store in downtown Liverpool as well.
I'm still struggling to figure out how to approach record stores in the age of online shopping and discogs. The joy of discovery of a hard-to-find album is... a bit artificial, when I know I can buy it online anytime I want to. I try to fake it by imposing a ban on buying anything online beyond the essentials that I have (complete Beatles, Rumours, etc.), but it's an artificial construct and I'm always aware of it.
And I'm always aware that whatever "find" I find in a record store, I can probably order a better pressing of it on discogs, so...
Record stores remain a condundrum for me. Doesn't keep me away from them, though.
What a beautiful new front HMV's got! Thanks for including the "before" pic, too, Andy...for those of us on the American Candy side of the Atlantic who may never have seen it or visited (like moi)!
I'm also glad you mentioned what HMV stands for....The iconic bow-wow's name is Nipper, and his canine visage has been the adornment, particularly for RCA Records (aka RCA Victor/Victrola) for a century, with "His Master's Voice" being the label's motto, of sorts.
In fact, in that arena (future article collab, anyone?!), Nipper joins the Warner Bros. Records "WB" shield and the CBS/Columbia Records "eye" logo, as well as EMI/Capitol's dome as long-time, iconic major-label logos!
Growing up in the late '50s thru the '60s in Houston, TX, my dad always referred to his phonograph as "the Vic." NEVER did I hear the phrase "record player" or "phonograph" or "record changer"! Whether his "vic" was a true Victrola, I don't know/remember, but that was my early language intro to that imposing machine that played licorice pizzas!
And, I'd be remiss in not applauding your bitchin' leather jacket, Andy Ramone!
And, I'm sure I'm not alone, as an American-based subscriber, in happily clamoring for more and anything you've got about British this or UK that when it comes to anything vinyl related!! Bring it on!