363 OXFORD STREET
THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS MUSIC STORE

JULY 1921-APRIL 2000
[Image of RCA Victor dog]
HMV
SITE OF THE ORIGINAL HMV STORE

OPENED BY SIR EDWARD ELGAR IN JULY 1921, THE HMV STORE SHAPED THE WAY PEOPLE BOUGHT MUSIC FOR NEARLY A CENTURY

IN 1962 IT PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE CAREER OF THE BEATLES. A 78RPM DEMO DISC OF THE BAND WAS CUT IN THE STORE’S RECORDING STUDIO, THIS LED TO THE BEATLES LONG-TERM RECORDING CONTRACT WITH EMI

PLAQUE UNVEILED
BY SIR GEORGE MARTIN CBE
26 APRIL 2000

The Oxford Street store is the first store of the Gramophone Company (the company that owns the record label His Master’s Voice - HMV). The store opened on the site of a former men’s clothing store. As the sign indicates, composer Edward Elgar, who recorded at the company’s studios Click for sign's details, was present at the opening ceremony.

As the sign indicates, the store also played a part in the career of the "Beatles" when a demo record made in the store formed the basis of their recording contract with EMI (the name of the Gramophone Company after its merger with the Columbia Graphophone Company)

Sir George Martin (1926-2016), who inaugurated the sign, was an integral part of the Beatles, and he was the one who produced most of their records.

The store was photographed on the same day by the same photographer Click for a larger image