HMV Oxford Street flagship store reopens four years after closing

HMV's flagship record store is to reopen on Oxford Street later following a four-year hiatus.

The century-old music chain closed its main London branch in 2019 after going into administration. It was then taken over by Sunrise Records.

The company said its return was due to a "dramatic turnaround", with HMV returning to profit in 2022.

Artists as varied as Edward Elgar, Dolly Parton and Goldie Lookin Chain have appeared there since its opening.

Pop band Madness will open the doors to the public at 11:30 GMT.

The store at No 363 Oxford Street opened for the first time in 1921.

Over the years, it has burned to the ground and been rebuilt; it became an air raid shelter in World War Two and in 1962 became the location for the Beatles recording said to launch their career - an acetate disc of Hello Little Girl and Till There was You.

Doug Putman, who now owns the company, believes the reopening of the flagship store will lead to HMV "once again becoming a mainstay on the UK high street".

"It's been a long time coming," he told BBC Radio London. "The team has spent a lot of time on this... countless hours.

"In 2019 I wasn't able to take on the store when I took on the chain, so this is our first time coming back at Oxford Street since I've owned it.

"I walked here as a customer in 2015 when I first visited London and I just kept thinking 'man, I don't know who owns this, but this is pretty amazing'.

"And now to be here and to be a part of it is just unbelievable."

He said the store has a floor dedicated to a live stage, with individual floors for vinyl, pop culture and DVDs.

Geoff Barraclough, Westminster City Council's cabinet member for planning, said he is excited to welcome the store back to its "historic home", replacing one of the street's "largest American candy stores".

"Its return along with numerous other brands is testimony that the buzz is back on nation's most-loved high street," he added.