Members of the library at the Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, have access to over 18,000 items of recorded sound. Here is the page from the page from the gramophone collection catalogue showing the date of acquisition of the first compact disc in December 18, 1985. This was a recording of Delius’s “The Song of the High Hills” by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, issued in 1984 by Unicorn-Kanchana (DKP (CD) 9029). Image by CD at 40.
CD had to hold its own against other audio formats that were popular at the time of its release, including vinyl and cassette. Hear people’s reflections on the differences between the formats and the way CD a space for itself:
