BBC News | ENTERTAINMENT | The non-compact disc turns 50

The Columbia executives had witnessed the launch of a product which would change the face of the record industry.

Vinyl, made of a plastic material replaced the older 78 records, which were made of shellac, a mixture of powdered slate and a resinous gum.

The difference was enormous. On 78s, you listened to music in four minute segments, with vinyl, it was possible to listen through a whole movement in music; this increased the playing time as well as the quality, eliminating the background hissing noise associated with 78s.

Long playing discs and singles (45s) quickly replaced the older 78 records and dominated the music market until 1983, when the CD or Compact Disc arrived.

CDs have now almost displaced the vinyl record. In Britain less than 1% of albums and 5% of singles sold are in vinyl format.

But there are many who prefer the warmer sound of vinyl, particularly of music originally recorded on the material and subsequently cleaned up for CD recordings, such as early Beatles albums.

Die-hard vinyl fans

Club dance DJs prefer vinyl as it enables them to mix and manipulate records in a way impossible with CDs.

Responding to demand London's famous Abbey Road studios made their first vinyl recording in 18 years - a series of sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach.

And some people just prefer records, because they are bigger than CDs and the record sleeves have artwork which looks better than on a small scale.

So whilst technology will force vinyl to keep its place in history rather than make a comeback, hard-core vinyl enthusiasts will ensure it won't disappear altogether.