ONE of the region's last famous independent record shops closed at the weekend.

Playback, in Middlesbrough, a haven for classical, folk and country and western music lovers, ceased trading after 16 years.

Owners, Tony Hodgson and Jeff Lillie were inundated with bottles of wine and other gifts from customers.

Mr Hodgson said that the shop was the first in the area to specialise in CDs rather than vinyl records. The store soon became well-known among country and western as well as folk enthusiasts. However it was as a classical music store that it made its name.

"It was a knowledge of classical music that marked us out," said Mr Hodgson. "You could ask for a copy of Vivaldi's Four Seasons and we would know which of the 450-odd versions of that you wanted. We often gave advice to people or could offer something they couldn't find elsewhere.

"Our problems started when supermarkets started selling CDs cheaply. We always invested money made from big-selling pop acts into specialised classical and other music. But when we stopped selling the big pop acts, we couldn't compete.

"The other major problem was bootlegs. Police seized 3,000 pirate copies in Teesside last week at a single house, which tells its own story.

"It's very sad, but it has been very gratifying to receive all these presents and lovely comments from our customers. Some have been quite upset saying, 'what are we going to do without you'."