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Posted by Elizabeth Challenger. on October 26, 2006, 1:56 pm My late father used to tell me an old Blackburn rhyme – it was really a way, he insisted, of recalling the three main brewers of that East Lancashire Town. Thwaites for mates Now I must confess that I am not a beer drinker – perhaps a small sweet sherry or maybe a Spritzer hits the spot – but I am a Glutton for Dutton – the CD Company that is. It may be that I am alone in scanning the company webpage, eagerly awaiting the next tranche of ‘new releases.’ I must admit that I usually buy them all (most) as they are released. And it is not only the fabulous British music that appeals to me – it is the imaginative London Transport posters that grace their covers. They are the only CDs in my collection that I file by record company and not under composer order. So it was a pleasure to discover that last Monday – the 23rd October - was the day that the next batch of discs hit the streets. The web page promised seven fine discs including a piece I have waited over half a century to hear – Julius Harrison’s’ Bredon Hill. Five of the seven are for me a required purchase – Farnon, Parry et al, Jacob, Alwyn and the Harrison already mentioned. Tuesday night was a good night for a walk down Oxford Street. I had checked the HMV catalogue and saw that they had all five CDs I wanted in stock. I made it to Bond Street station by 5 pm. I decided that a ‘snifter’ at Claridges would have to wait. Straight into HMV and up the escalator. Directly to the browsers: Farnon – nothing; Harrison – nothing; Jacob – nothing. My heart sank. I went to the counter and asked a nice young man if they were in stock. He kind of said that if they were not in the browsers etc…but when I told him that they were available on the catalogue gracefully checked it for me. Yes they were, he said – but they have not hit the shelves yet… But by now I was desperate. I hurried down Oxford Street, Claridges forgotten. After passing about twenty ‘free’ paper boys/girls (they are a frightful nuisance) and three charity muggers (chuggers) I believe they are called– I arrived at the huge Oxford Circus HMV. Now I cannot quite recall, but I think I used to come to this very shop as a teenager to buy the latest Dave Clark Five or Beatles 45. In fact I seem to remember queuing…but perhaps my memory plays tricks. There was certainly no queue in the basement classical section. And notice how classical music is always about as far away from the shop door as it can be put. I walked through the swing doors into a world of Bach and Mozart. Once again to the browsers. Nothing. I asked the middle aged gentleman on the counter. Nothing. When I protested about the releases featuring in their webpage he just said that ‘Sorry – but the manager and the buyer are not around. Try another day.’ I literally crawled out the door. My excitement was waning and the feeling of deep disappointment was sinking in. Then I suddenly remembered Harold Moore’s. They are supposed to be the most important classical record and CD store in ‘The Smoke.’ At least they have a new releases section. I arrived almost breathless at the door and scanned the racks of new CDs. There was a Dutton…but it was only Proctor Gregg’s Violin Sonata. I had bought that back in May. The assistant suggested I try back there in a fortnight! So much for the ‘best.’ The last resort was Virgin. And it is quite definitely a last resort. Recently their Classical section has been down-sized or is it dumbed-down or perhaps it is both? If one were to take out the ‘special offers’ it would be a poor selection indeed – for a major record shop that claims to be ‘specialist.’ I went up the two escalators to the top of the shop – again as far away as possible from the entrance. I did not even look on the browsers. I asked the young man on the counter. No, he had not heard of them. Of course he looked up the computer but Virgin’s search engine (Elvis) seems to be lacking – my desired CDs were not even mentioned. Then I recalled that Virgin does not stock many Duttons – it is probably too small a company for a Megastore to deal with. So that was that. I was disappointed. I had missed my refreshment at Claridges too… I have three thoughts. 1. Why do companies (Dutton) give release dates and then do not deliver the goods to the shops or encourage the shops to put the goods on the shelves? It must be surely wrong to excite interest and then not fulfil expectation. Basic rule of salesmanship. 2. Surely buyers of big shops HMV and Harold Moore’s (Virgin seem to have given up) needs to be pro-active. When a Beatles CD came out there used to be storerooms full of the vinyl waiting countdown to the release day. It seems that the classical world is a little bit lackadaisical in this direction. So I left London and headed back to the wilds of Morecambe Bay. Disappointed. I was so looking forward to my new CDs. It was to have been a good weekend’s listening. ‘A bottle of wine and thou, Harrison…’ Elizabeth Challenger. |
Posted by Baron Bliss on October 27, 2006, 3:48 pm, in reply to "A Glutton For Dutton’s (CDs)" |
Posted by Patrick Waller Shopping in shops is fine for browsing but the last couple of times I browsed in HMV in London, I bought nothing. Most of their special offers I might have fancied I had bought at three times the price years ago and everything else looked very expensive. If you know what you want, the internet is fine and delivery is often amazingly quick. My experience of Dutton and various others has certainly been so.
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