Hardware
A Look Back At The 1978 Regent Street Sony Showroom In London
For a brief period of time from the early 70’s to 1982, Sony had several showrooms throughout Europe similar in fashion to the SonyStyle stores of today. One of my favorite showrooms has to be the Regent Street location in London, UK. It’s a total time warp to look at these photos (click to enlarge) and see how 1970’s style influenced the store design. Brown, beige and orange gradients are found everywhere, and there is certainly no absence of wood grain. In the picture above, you can spot a PS-X9, a dismantled KV Trinitron and SL Beta recorder, world receivers next to the back wall, HMP and HMK compact systems to the left and a nice young woman handling all inquiries.
In the picture below, the EX-1 and EX-2K futuristic compact systems are facing accessories, cases, and Columbia records (Sony and Columbia signed together in February 1968); a nude TC-388-4 sits in the center display of the photograph. Anyone remember flared trousers?
