Saturday Deluxe / 11 February 2017

The future looks bleak for HMV in 363 Oxford Street

HMV news

Sad news for SDE readers and music fans in Canada, because it has recently been announced that the HMV stores over there are all set to close by the end of April 2017.

The brand is said to be $39m in debt and HUK 10 Ltd who own it (a subsidiary of the Hilco who bought the ailing retailer back in 2011) are refusing to provide any more funds to keep the business afloat. There are 102 HMV stores in Canada and the company employs about 1,340 people.

In a related story, Retail Gazette recently reported that HMV in the UK is to close its iconic 363 Oxford Street store, four years after moving down the road from the larger 150 Oxford Street location. The landlords have apparently “commenced negotiations to surrender the lease through property agent Savills”. HMV have been located in Oxford Street for the last 96 years! Truly the end of an era, should the landlords get their way.

George Michael

It’s all but certain that the George Michael Listen Without Prejudice reissue – already delayed from November – will not be released in March as planned.

With George still not even buried, one can imagine that promoting a reissue is the last thing on the management and the estate’s mind right now. US Amazon is already showing an amended date of 19 May for the 2CD edition, although the deluxe box and all the formats in the UK still optimistically list 3 March as the date of release. Indeed there’s speculation that the whole reissue campaign – let’s not forget there is also the tie-in documentary – will get pushed back until early Autumn. I’m sure initially, Sony would have hoped to have this out in 2015 for the 25th anniversary, but for the saddest of reasons it’s looking much more like a 27th anniversary set.

Read the SDE tribute to George Michael

David Bowie No Plan EP pricing

Quite a few grumbles from fans this week at the pricing of the limited edition white vinyl edition of David Bowie‘s No Plan EP.

The official David Bowie store wants £37 for the ‘made-to-order’ four-track 12-inch, which – not wanting to state the obvious – is extremely expensive, even if the record does come with a die-cut sleeve and a lithograph. Once you add shipping (to the UK) you’re looking at a cool £42.

If you can forgo the white vinyl and the lithograph, the black vinyl edition of this No Plan EP (which still has a laser-etched B-side) can be ordered via Amazon UK for just £13 – a significant saving, I think you’ll agree. In fact, if you reside in France and you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can buy this black 12-inch for just €8.79, which is about £7.50!

Read more about the No Plan EP.