HMV

Oh, how I’ve missed you. Long gone from the U.S., I make a point of visiting HMV whenever I come across one in Europe. While they can be overpriced, I fondly remember lunchtime visits to their 5^th Avenue shop in NYC, where they’d often have concerts scheduled & I’d see bands like The Chieftains or The Wolfe Tones play free sets to promote a new release.
Now of course, there’s a Starbucks or some such in its place, so I go to Amazon or Best Buy, which while arguably cheaper, doesn’t bring the pleasure or immediacy of a visit to HMV or Tower. Granted, It’s still a bit frustrating to go & not find something you’ve got your heart set on, but there’s rarely a time when you’ll leave empty-​handed.

lf today’s experience was anything to go by, it might explain why the place went bust under it’s previous ownership. Made to stand waiting at the till whilst two female staff members had a chat.

This HMV flagship store is situated in the heart of the Liverpool ONE development. It is a large glass walled building which is bright, shiny and modern looking. Inside the store is equally impressive. It is clean, well organised and spacious.
I’ve always been a huge fan of HMV as they have a huge variety of items and at good prices. They stock Cd’s, DVDs, vinyl, posters, calendars, books, magazines, games, electronics, t-​shirts and gifts. They have a huge range of artists, genres and interests.
The staff work hard to keep the store tidy and clean. They are very helpful. A couple of times I have asked if an item was in stock and they have been happy to order it specially for me at no extra cost. There are often special offers like 2 DVDs for £10.
I’ve always been a huge fan of HMV and after the old church street store closed and moved to a smaller inferior store I almost gave up. But this store has renewed my faith in HMV.

It was about time I got round to reviewing this place really, the mecca of music and film wholesalers in Liverpool. This is the new and not that much improved store in Liverpool1.
Two floors DVDs, CDs and games has everything you could possbily want as long as it’s not too obscure or demanding! That’s a little unfair as HMV seem to know what the people of Liverpool want and have their finger on the pulse of peoples interests as they stock a wide variety of genres by artists and bands from all decades.
I’m not sure that the film section is quite as well atocked as it once was but then that goes for most DVD stockists but it is bob on for new game releases and as long as your not shopping at Christmas the staff are sound too!

Good old HMV. I have fond memories of starting my DVD collection here. They used to have offer of 2 for £20 which at the time was an absolute bargain!!! Unfortunately with time HMV is dying a slow death, although the end is not near it is not too far in the distant future. Ever since the broadband internet arrived in most homes this place was the way forward. I honestly cannot remember for the life of me the last time I bought a musical CD from here.
My visits are solely confined these days to picking up bargain dvd’s or games. The fact of the matter is that establishments like these are struggling against the likes of ebay and other online stores which for an online searcher provide better value for money and a wider range.
That fact however does not stop me searching the HMV floors looking for some musical inspirations. Aaaaaaaah I remember now I bought a very old Moroccan classical chill out album which was an aabsolute find. I had heard it in a store while shopping and made some inquiries, turned up here and low and behold chance of luck and they had it in the sale!!! This is the beauty of HMV the library is still diverse and large. It might be dying a slow death but I for one love HMV and will nurse them until the last breath by continuing my custom with them.

HMV in Liverpool has been moved around so many times in recent history that I can’t keep track, every time I returned to the mother country in the last few years it was in a different place. During the development of Liverpool One the gargantuan branch on Church Street was gutted and about a third of the stock was squeezed into a smaller premises on Bold Street (which was sad as they seemingly got rid of the rack of
they used to have). There wasn’t much choice at the new but they promised us that the new HMV built into the new shopping megalopolis would be even better than the last. All singing, all dancing, maybe even with an entire
section!
Alas it was not to be. There is nothing particularly wrong with this
branch of HMV (other than the queuing situation at Christmas, which is hell) it has all the usual bits and pieces you would expect — racks of 2 for £10 DVDs, Displays of Take That albums, Family Guy T-​shirts — it just doesn’t feel like enough. This is supposed to be a flagship? Where are the flags? Where is the ship? Where is damn
section?
On the plus side there are a great selection of books — most are your standard rock biographies but they do have the occasional gem (a copy of Nick Cave’s new novel ‘The Death of Bunny Munro’ for example) and ‘download stands’ where you can purchase music and put it directly onto you mp3 player or a memory stick, which I suppose is the first step before they start injecting it directly into your face.

No wonder the HMV on Bold Street is always empty. Aside from looking uninspired in terms of lay-​out and window displays, it couldn’t begin to compete with the company’s new flagship store.
A mammoth building with an enormous photo of The Beatles in one window, this HMV is spread over two floors and has special areas devoted to games, iPods and live music. I’ve yet to see anyone perform on the stage but according to friends, they regularly have pop and rock bands popping in for signing sessions and short sets. As for the music, there’s literally thousands of new CDs covering everything from hip hop and R&B to jazz, classical music and opera. I spent a good 20 minutes browsing through the store and have to admit their indie, country, blues and world music sections are much bigger and better than any other HMV I’ve visted. Their DVD section is pretty good too with lots of world cinema and kitchen-​sink dramas nestled in with the rom-​coms and blockbusters.
At £9.99 each, I’d have been tempted to buy Bats For Lashes’s Fur and Gold and Holly Miranda’s The Magicians Library — if I didn’t already have them.

The new flagship store in the recently finished L1 shopping area (I’m loathe to call it a shopping centre as it really is so much more than that) is really something special.
Two huge floors of everything the music, film and game world has to offer is supplimented by an in-​store stage that regularly attracts some of the best up and coming bands to play whilst you shop and a huge game cube where you can take a pew whilst taking on all comers on the best games around.
Though you definitely know you are in a HMV– all the hallmarks are there, the monochrome alphabetised shelves, the matt black walls, the black and pink T shirt wearing indier-​than-​thou staff– but everything just feels… better. Like a HMV you’d visit if you’d just stepped out of a future bound DeLoreon with a white haired loony who insists on calling you Marty.