Wednesday 29 March 2017

From Dire Straits To Dire Straits

I remember seeing my first CD. It was on a visit to Eindhoven in the Netherlands in the early 1980s. Philips was based nearby and was getting people to try out its revolutionary new product.

The CD in question was by Dire Straits. And the selling point of the new technology was that the disc was indestructible, was easy to store in large quantities, and gave the very best sound reproduction.

Time has proved all of those claims to be far from correct.

I've continued to buy CDs, though. And my favourite place to buy them has been the little Music Memorabilia shop in Alfriston, East Sussex, which has stocked an eccentric collection of great albums covering everything from music hall and comedy to a huge range of pop, blues and jazz.

But not any more. The shelves at Music Memorabilia are slowly emptying as the manufacturers cease to make CDs – and people cease to buy them.

The CD is now truly in dire straits... And I feel as though I've been there at its birth and its death.

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