We've had a look at the outside of HMV store in the 1970s in our post Streets of London 1976-1978, now it's time to go inside in the 1960s. Scroll through this Flickr collection of the interior of the Oxford Street store in Sixties London.
More photos of the Streets of London in the 1976 Click Here
50 comments:
Incredible. Didn't realise it had been there so long. And it's seen off the huge Virgin Megastore and Tower Records in Picadilly Circus in recent years too.
The current HMV on Oxford St is a different building. This is the original one near Bond St tube, now a branch of Footlocker.
Oh those were the days . Love it all , the layout , the fixtures , the graphics and of course the music . Thanks for sharing .
'Which way to the experimental/avant garde section?' I still have a soft spot for radiograms. Mp3's? Pah!
Beatles nerd that I am, the Magical Mystery Tour album didn't come out here until 1976, it was an American thing. Wonder if this last photo is a bit later. Unless it's an import? Don't recognise any of the other sleeves...
Lovely stuff, though and made me feel a bit wistful.
Chamber Music. Vocal Pops. Instrumental. Love it.
@Sleazy Martinez - I'd drop 'Beatles' from your opening line there man...;
Magical Mystery Tour is an LP and a double EP by the English rock group The Beatles, produced by George Martin, both including the six-song soundtrack to the 1967 film of the same name. The record format released in the United Kingdom on 8 December 1967, was a six-track double EP on the Parlophone label, whilst in the United States the record, released 11 days earlier, on 27 November 1967, was an eleven-track LP created by Capitol Records, adding the band's 1967 single releases.
Yum.... all that vinyl..
I see "Revolver", "With The Beatles", "Fresh Cream" and "Canned Heat" albums... must be your eyes @Sleazy Martinez
The classical department photo has a clearly visible EMI Karajan Rosenkavalier set (recorded 1956) and a Dennis Brain Mozart Horn Concertos (also EMI - recorded 1953), so I suspect that one may be form earlier than the 60s...
Randomly placed cabinets FTW
My friend John sent me this link. Thanks, John. thanks for putting these amazing photos up for all to see. As a New Yorker growing up in the 60s, I have memories of going to Alexander's and Korvette's for records in midtown Manhattan. Never occurred to me to take any pictures of those places, never imagined they wouldn't be there someday! If anyone does have photos of those record departments - what chance is there of THAT? - I'd love to see them. From the The Vinyl Record Architect.
Some records I've spotted that haven't been mentioned already...
The Beatles: Beatles for Sale
Cilla Black: Cilla Sings a Rainbow
The Byrds: Mr. Tambourine Man
Ray Charles: Yes Indeed!
Ray Charles: Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
Bert Kaempfert and his Orchestra: Strangers in the Night
Nelson Riddle: Lolita (Film Soundtrack)
Magical Mystery Tour EP released 1967. LP released 1976. That's the LP.
Sleazy M is correct; the Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour" LP wasn't released in the UK until 1976. However, if you examine the photo closely, you can see a sticker on the top right hand corner of the cover (as well as the price sticker). I suspect this is a "specially imported by EMI records" sticker, implying that this is indeed a late 60s US pressing of the album (it was heavily imported into the UK). Other nearby LPs include "Cilla sings a rainbow", the Archies' "Sugar Sugar" and a later-period Dave Clark 5 album, all released in the late 1960s. Also, note the "price code" headers at the top of the racks. I'm not sure when these were introduced (or withdrawn), but that's another pointer.
Anyway, beautiful, beautiful pictures. Thank you so much for sharing!
Bloody Beatles bores! Nice pics!
Bill Holland writes...
I worked in this HMV store from 1962-1966.
Great memories. Brian Epstein secured the Beatles contract via passing a demo to Jim Foy,an EMI sound engineer, who was based in a studio within the HMV store.
Anyone else out there who worked in the store?
I wager the photo of the two ladies in woollen frocks thumbing through the standing rack is from the fifties.
Look how much more civilized, even quiet, it seems compared to now!
Beautiful Pictures!! Picture 11 - 'Record of the Week' - Elaine Stritch in Noel Cowards - Sail Away 1961/62
Wish we had big old record shops now.... lovely stuff...
I worked in the stockroom in this store from 1980-81.
It sucked.
How did that end up as the cramped, claustrophobic store it ended up as in the 80s, before they moved across the road, then closed down?
I remember being there in the 60's...probably buying Small Faces records...
The staircase was fabulous - like being in a palace..!
Dan's dad
HMV is the last of the music retail giants: knock it now, but you'll grieve when it's gone. Where else will you browse through the racks? On Amazon? On Spotify? Make at least one third of your purchases at an HMV store (especially this weekend, it's double points ;) - we need temples like this.
I agree, but it might help their cause somewhat if they stopped charging £15.99 for new releases.
Wonderful Photos, I think they cover quite a few years though. from my memory approx 1961-1967/8 perhaps. The arrangement of the main vinyl racks was different earlier on, and fewer of them I think. Approx 1964/5 they were running down the length of the shop, away from the stairs, and closer together. There was also one along the street wall end that doesn't show in these.
Great pictures. There's a plaque on this building giving quite a lot of information about the store, including "opened by Sir Edward Elgar in July 1921"! More information at http://www.londonremembers.com/memorial/535
wow! it looks like a proper record shop!
SIAMO NEL 1976! Intravedo l'album dei Beatles MAGICAL MISTERY TOUR, pubblicato in UK (con quella copertina, dopo la prima metà dei '70. Quindi non siamo assolutamente negli anni sessanta, ad ogni modo le foto sono stupende!
Bill Holland writes...
I worked in this HMV store from 1962-1966.
Great memories. Brian Epstein secured the Beatles contract via passing a demo to Jim Foy,an EMI sound engineer, who was based in a studio within the HMV store.
Anyone else out there who worked in the store?
24 August 2011 17:58
Jaqueline Oxbury
@ Bill Holland
Names I remember from HMV 363 Oxford Street around 1964-65 are Bob James & 3 other blokes Gary, Tony & John who worked downstairs in this HMV. They used to play records for us. I went down here most lunchtimes with Sue Birkett & listened to records in the booths with the glass doors.
Now I miss my LPs. Wish stores like that could survive in this economy. Those were the days.
So, where is 'B' for Beastie Boys and have you got any Prodigy or Fatboy Slim?
Brilliant photos...thanks for posting. I remember walking up that staircase to get to the Reggae section upstairs. At that time (mid 70s) HMV had a good Reggae section. I remember buying Big Youth's 'Chi Chi Run' album there but not having enough money to buy Prince Buster's 'Message Dub' at the same time.
Dave, are the turntables all along the counter in the 11th image what I think they are? If so, soundmans wet dream!
They certainly look like Garrard 4HFs Phil. There are at least six of them in that row!
@"Anonymous said...
I agree, but it might help their cause somewhat if they stopped charging £15.99 for new releases."
i dont know where you've been shopping, but all the new releases are really reasonable. i only see them at that kind of price if they're a deluxe reissue. i like to go there and buy for the service and the knowledge of the staff. ask amazon or spotify to find that album with the pink cover that had that single that went "nanana na nanana na" on, it just cant be done. more people need to remember that the people who work there do it because they love what they're doing and i have a lot of respect for that.
these images are a pleasure to look at. i wish we could see more!
Just breathtaking to see these - where did you find them? You can usually just see one or two vintage pics from a certain area, usually with a big Getty Images Copyright stamped across them, but this is brilliant. In Saffron Walden and Cambridge back then the record shops were much smaller but it was still like stepping back into my teens again. There's such variety and detail here - thanks a million.
Worked at the new building opposite Bond St Station, in Classical, from 2007 to 2009. Kinda sad comparing the splendour of the old store to the state of the new one, which they eventually sold earlier this year...
Nothing but vinyl. Nice.
Fantastic! I remember that spiral staircase! I see some women looking at 78s in one pic so wouldn't that be from the 50s?
wow. just came across your blog via a FB post by MOJO magazine... super fun. all the best from canada!!!
this is amazing. We talk as if in-store theatre was a relatively new concept.....except it's not. Experiences a-plenty in the HMV of the 1960s - great post!
Oh to slip back in time for an afternoon with a few quid in my pocket.
how i wish it was a bit like this these days
Photo of chart singles dept (or "Vocal Pops", if you'd rather) looks to have been taken just before Xmas 1965. Text indistinct on wall chart, but word lengths look right for No.1 to be "Day Tripper" / "We can work it out" and No.2 "The carnival is over", which the former knocked off the No.1 spot on 16 Dec 1965.
That's simply awesome, especially the absolutely tasty accommodation of these shops, or haven't they been more likely palaces? Unfortunately I was too young to buy records there at that time.
Thanks for sharing these fantastic photographs!
Best Regards
Falk
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Bob Boast was the manager of the store and a friend of Brian's whwich is how those first recordings came about (Robert)
anyone remember Bob Boast and what happened to him.
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