The music retailer hopes the idiosyncratic instrument, which uses a metal stylus and exposed circuitry to create tinny notes, will tap into a wave of nostalgia.

"There's always a great response when we sell retro items, " said HMV Entertainment products buyer Fran Jones. "The original version has already been selling pretty well on eBay, and I reckon people of my generation who had one as a kid will want one for themselves, and probably another for their children." The instruments will cost �14.99 ( 21.75).

Stylophones, which were initially marketed as children's toys, were snubbed by the music world until David Bowie used one in 'Space Oddity', ensuring their place in music history. In their heyday, some three million were sold.