Compact Discs

Compact discs, or CDs, are digital sound carriers. They were developed in the late 1970s in order to overcome deficiencies with LPs, which had been the primary product of record companies since the early 1950s. In 1978, Philips launched the Video Disc, which took advantage of laser technology by reading information from a disc without any physical contact: since vinyl degrades with each play from a stylus, this immediately offered a way to extend the life of the product, and the first demonstration of the compacct disc took place in March 1979.

In addition to the advantage of contactless play, CDs also offered constant pitch (as opposed to warped and off-centre vinyl pressings frequently encountered in mass-produced titles); an extended playing time (80 minutes, long enough to contain Beethoven's Choral Symphony); and a silent background instead of the hiss and rumble of many LPs. Gramophone magazine, normally a champion of improved technology, cautiously welcomed this development in sound as "somewhat Elysian: however, the full commercial availability of CDs following a joint production deal between Philips and Sony in April 1982 led to a boom in sales, despite their initial high prices. The first popular music CD to be pressed was ABBA's The Visitors, and Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits became the first CD to sell over a million copies.

The technical director of the audio division at Philips, Lou Otten, claimed, "From now on, the conventional record player is obsolete." Certainly, sales fell of vinyl albums and many predicted the format's demise: conversely, many are now making the same assertion for CDs, due to the success and ease of digital downloads.

Links to Peel
It is well-known that Peel distrusted the 'magical' qualities of CDs and constantly strove to seek out vinyl pressings of albums for his collection in their stead. He made no bones about his prejudices in this area: "'During the week I wrote a fierce piece, a hysterical piece you might even say, an attack on the compact disc: you know, the usual prejudiced, unreasonable Luddite stuff. It was printed in a London paper, and I never got to see a copy of it, but there is a copy in the Radio 1 lift, so when this programme is over, I shall have to spend five minutes or so riding down in the lift, reading it to make sure they've got it all down right. I mention this because this is only the second compact disc to get into tonight's programme...compact discs tend to get heard last in the scheme of things at Peel Acres.'" He bought a CD player in 1984 but took two years to get it to work and didn't go to great lengths to extend his personal collection: "'I've only got three compact discs: New Order, Joy Division and, rather surprisingly, the soundtrack for 'Amadeus', but there you are.'" Moreover, it took him six years from the invention of the format to get round to playing a CD on BFBS, and that only because the tracks he wanted to play were exclusive. When the Legendary Stardust Cowboy recorded a track titled 'I Hate CDs', Peel inevitably concurred. >>WORK ONGOING This intransigence was not shared by his colleagues Tommy Vance and Bob Harris, who took advantage of the digital sound to promote their respective shows as being "mainly on compact disc", a claim Peel was uncomfortable with.