Farewell, old friend! The great HMV megastore on Oxford Street between Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Circus—where I spent a small musical fortune in 1988, the 1990s and early 2000s—is shuttered, its HMV logo a sad skeleton. What a merry rush it was to tear through its many levels and massive selection (LPs, CDs, books, magazines, movies, classical). In its place is a soulless, depressing discount-like branch near Bond Street. Nice legacy street signage, but I almost wept when I went inside. I later told Andrea not to bother suffering the tragedy herself .
Fortunately, Berwick Street in Soho still maintains its used record store avenue cool, thanks to Sister Ray and Reckless.
At the top of Berwick on Great Marlborough Street is Harold Moores Records, still flying the flag for classical.
On Denmark Street, the former Helter Skelter Books is now Regent Sounds, trading on its musical heritage when the address was home to Regent Sounds Studio in the 1960s, where The Kinks, The Rolling Stones and The Dave Clark Five recorded.
Across Charing Cross Road in Soho Square waits Kirsty MacColl's bench.
Now, we're in Camden Town, where Sounds That Swing, season after season, keeps the flame burning for rockabilly, '60s garage and British rock 'n' roll. Teenaged clerk knew enough to describe an obscure instrumental playing in the store as having a "Joe Meek sound".
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