Farewell to HMV

[Jared]

Not entirely sure what this would mean to our Irish (and indeed Mexican!) friends, but sadly this news has something of the inevitable about it....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013 ... nistrators

[Seán]

I stopped shopping with them a few years ago. The classical music selection in HMV is very poor indeed, their shops present a dreadfully unpleasant place to look for music. It is sad news for the people who work in HMV though, some 4,500 with about 600 in Ireland, for their sakes I hope that something can be salvaged from this mess.

[Jose Echenique]

I shopped many times in HMV while in London. The first time must have been as far back as 1973 when I was a young teen. So sad to see all the great stores gone one by one.

[Ciaran]

I remember my first visit to HMV in Oxford Street in London in the early 80s. Classical sections in Dublin were tiny and this was vast: I couldn't believe it! In Dublin I had to hunt find any record I wanted, here they were everywhere!

That was then: the last time I visited Oxford Street, HMV was a shade of its former self, and it's been at least five years since HMV in Dublin was worth visiting. Sad, though!

[fergus]

One of the places where I started my CD collection was HMV Grafton St. Those old enough will recall a small but dedicated room upstairs which was closed off from the rest of the floor. It had a passably good sound system in there too. I spent many happy and fruitful hours in there over many a weekend. Then they took away the glass walls and the noise pollution from the rest of the shop determined that the unique atmosphere of that section of the shop immediately disappeared. That was when I stopped going in to HMV. The classical music section was then ultimately relocated to a few stalls and the stock was reduced. Had they left well enough alone would I still be going in there....yes.

[Diapason]

Totally agreed. I stopped shopping at HMV years ago, roughly around the time that glass wall was removed. The classical section in there used to be an absolute oasis (the B&W speakers helped!) and the staff were great too. There were many occasions when I bought the CD the person behind the counter was playing, because their choices were generally excellent. In fact, the long time administrator of the Pipeworks festival used to work behind the counter there, so we're talking serious knowledge, and you could actually ask for a recommendation and respect the opinion offered.

I'm sorry HMV is gone, and I'm sorry people are losing their jobs, but by alienating all but pop listeners and DVD buyers they probably lost a bit of goodwill in recent years. After all, HMV are one of the main reasons why I feel zero guilt buying from amazon. I'm far more disappointed to see Alexis restaurant closing. Now that's a real shame!!

[Ivor]

.. by alienating all but pop listeners and DVD buyers they probably lost a bit of goodwill in recent years.

That's just it. They had become "His Masters Video". Very little stock outside of chart fodder and with constant blaring music a rather unpleasant place to shop. I'm sad to see any retailer go but I'm surprised they lasted so long.

[Ivor]

By the way this isn't an exclusively classical music issue so where a topic might not be genre specific let's post it in a more inclusive forum.


In the spirit, support your local human shop where possible...

[Ciaran]

Moved! It should be under music, but we have to choose there between "Classical" and "Everything else". As you want something "more inclusive" I've put it in the Hi-End Bar.

[JAW]

Agree with all the above. Very sorry for those (probably) losing their jobs, it's not going to be easy for them. TBH I can't remember when I last bought anything there apart from a DVD or a present. They rarely had anything I wanted and browsing wasn't particularly pleasant.
All the more reason to treasure Tower.