HMV is to return to its former flagship store on London’s Oxford Street after a four-year absence. It is expected to reopen towards the end of this year, in time for Christmas. The store was empty for an extended period after the music and entertainment company vacated the site in 2019, before most recently becoming home to one of the many American candy stores that popped up on Oxford Street during the pandemic. The store was HMV’s very first, and was opened in 1921 by Sir Edward Elgar, the British composer. Since then it has played host to a number of British bands, including a rooftop gig by Blur in 1995 and the Spice Girls’ Christmas lights switch-on the following year. In 2000, Sir George Martin, the Beatles producer, unveiled a blue plaque at the store to mark its place in the band’s rise to fame. In 1962, the Beatles’ newly appointed manager Brian Epstein made a copy of their demo tape on the premises, impressing the in-store engineer sufficiently to prompt a call to one of EMI’s music producers working in the upstairs offices. However, the famous HMV sign, featuring Nipper the dog staring into a phonograph with the words “His Master’s Voice”, has been replaced by a Candy World sign. The music store’s sign – which was erected in 2013 but was a replica of the 1950s logo – was removed when the sweet store moved in and HMV’s latest sign will be installed instead when it returns. Cllr Geoff Barraclough, from Westminster city council, which oversees London’s leading high street, said: “It’s fantastic to see this iconic brand back on Oxford Street, where it stood as a driver of music and pop culture in the capital for so long. It’s also particularly pleasing it is replacing one of the many US candy stores which sprang up during the pandemic. “The return of this famous name is proof that there is a buzz back in the West End. Established retailers want a presence on the UK’s premier shopping street and as a council we want to see the nation’s high street reinvigorated and home to brands like HMV.” The store was one of 27 HMV outlets to close in February 2019 when the music and entertainment retailer was rescued from collapse by a Canadian music entrepreneur, Doug Putman. The group now has 120 outlets across the UK, including its offshoot Fopp. Putman said the Oxford Street reopening would be “the launchpad for an exciting new era for HMV”, which would also include new stores in Europe. The site is expected to stock pop culture merchandise, vinyl, film, TV and music technology, and host signings by famous names and stage performances from up-and-coming acts. Putman said: “The expansion of our fan-focused pop culture offer is really working for us and the reopening of our flagship represents the culmination of a good few years of hard work.”