HMV promises to reach for stars as curtain goes up in Oxford St

THE boss of HMV pledged to bring back the excitement of live music performances to Oxford Street as he reopened the retailer's famed flagship after a four-year closure.

- Jonathan Prynn

Owner Doug Putman, alongside the band Madness, let shoppers back in to the five-storey building at its historic 363 Oxford Street site at 11.15am on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

The return of the store, with a huge image of its mascot, Nipper the dog, on the frontage, will be seen as one of the most encouraging signs yet of the revival of Oxford Street after years blighted by closures and an influx of tacky candy stores.

Putman, a Canadian businessman, bought the chain out of administration in 2019 after years of heavy losses.