Looking good in the 80s

Next up during Route 1's Eighties Week, we consider the picture disc -- one of the forgotten hallmarks of the 1980s music scene.
You could hang it on your wall alongside assorted posters and flags (and photos torn out of imported copies of the NME, Sounds and Melody Maker). Then, you could take it off the wall and play it on the stereo. The picture disc marked the ideal marriage of style and substance.
The example shown here is the 1982 release "Ghosts," by Japan, an atmospheric song whose mysterious qualities seemed perfectly captured by the rather murky photo of lead singer David Sylvian. "Ghosts" reached No. 5 on the UK charts and San Francisco's alternative radio stations played it from time to time.
The advent of the digital music age consigned the 45 to the annals of history. Although record companies have created "bonus tracks" for CDs and the video iPod shows promise, nobody has yet recreated a musical item with the same value for collectors.
I might be a nostalgic old fool, but I miss picture discs.
P.S. -- I would like to thank my sister Inger for the use of this record in demonstrating the glamour of the picture disc. Er... Actually, I don't think she knows I have this item from her record collection. I think I might have "borrowed" it. So... Better keep all of this under your hat, OK?