The Wurlitzer – what would you put on & memories of local jukeboxes.

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supplied by Mike Wright

John Wilde… Ahhh the Wurlitzer!

Jim Breeds… I just put in a florin for 3 plays and nothing happened! What a ripoff!

Alan Esdaile… What records would you put on?

Kev Towner… In The Carlisle I used to put on: Hawkwind-Astronomie Domine, King Crimson-In The Court Of The Crimson King, Jethro Tull – Aqualung, ?-Nantucket Sleigh Ride and Focus-Hocus Pocus. – got a good half an hour out of a quid!!

Jim Breeds… Well now. Using the 1970s Lord Nelson JB as inspiration, Samba Pa Ti, Free Bird, and The Only Living Boy in New York (It’s the B side of Cecilia).

Alan Esdaile… Difficult but based on The Nelson, Black Cat, Pam For, Fiesta etc. White Rabbit Jefferson Airplane, Gotta See Jane RD Taylor, 7 Rooms Of Gloom Four Tops, Get Me To The World On TIme Electric Prunes & Chris Montez The More I See You.

Jim Breeds… Gotta see Jane. Wow, haven’t heard that for years!

Jane Hartley… Gotta see Jane, my song

Pete Fairless… Great song, well done, Alan!

John Storer… Mmmm …. different jukeboxes evoke memories of songs from my past. Ye Olde Pump House: “Get Out Of Denver” – Eddie & The Hot Rods and “Rocky Mountain Way” – Joe Walsh (which I used to tell Eric Cawthraw was one of the worst songs ever written. I now willingly admit I was wrong). Silverhill Tavern: “Watching The Detectives” – Elvis Costello.           The Cutter: “Complete Control” – The Clash. The Millers Arms: “Shame, Shame, Shame” – Shirley & Company. The Oddfellows Arms: “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) – Genesis and “Blinded By The Light” – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band. But my all-time favourite was a record that we used to play over and over just to annoy people. It was in one of the seafront coffee bars (pretty sure it was Dimarco’s) and it was the b-side to Roxy Music’s excellent “Love Is The Drug” … the truly awful instrumental track, “Sultanesque” … 5m 27s to enable us to watch the incredulous faces of other customers as the song droned on … and on … and on … and on, and then we’d play it again … and again … and again

Alan Pepper… Great stuff !!! My 3 on the jukebox :- 1 Two can have a party – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (b side )
2 I can’t help myself – The Four Tops     3 Run baby run – New beats. Thanks !

Eric Cawthraw…Well in the old days, down Divitos St. Leonards – often with you present Alan, it was any Sweet B-side, early Fleetwood Mac, Small Faces, Stones and Who. I was also fond of playing ‘Break’ by Aphrodite’s Child. I do remember upsetting the locals down the Cutter by playing ‘What’s that in the Shadows’ by the Stranglers. All our enterage played it, drove them nuts. I’ll pass on to John Storer to relate the trouble we had playing Roxy Music B-sides!

Alan Esdaile… Brilliant track Break by Aphrodites Child.

Colin Bell… I,d put on ‘Say You Don’t Mind’ Denny Laine, ‘Alone Again Or’ Love, ‘Touch Me’ The Doors and for Andre ‘I’ll Do Anything’ Doris Troy….that would bring back a few memories! And the song I always started with Felice Taylors ‘I Feel Love Coming On’. Happy New Year Everyone!

Leigh Wieland-Boys… Juke Box I used most was in The Continental, Robertson Street, I was obsessed with Brandy by Scott English (which became Mandy by Barry Manilow) I still think it is the best version of the song

Terry Huggins… The Nelson when the late Tony Shipley was landlord had the best jukebox in town. Shipley’s “Get your filthy, addled brain off my bloody jukebox.” remark shouted at extreme volume whenever he caught people sitting on it followed by “You’re about as useful as a cocksucker with lockjaw.” will never be forgotten. The Anchor used to have Verdi’s Requiem Mass (a funeral dirge) on their jukebox. Folk used to habitually put it on just before they left, so it was the most popular record on there and remained on it for years.

Kev Towner… “The Cutter” – Echo & The Bunnymen?

Jim Breeds… I get exactly what John Storer means. The Nellie JB I’ve already covered in the previous commemt, but also: The Forte coffee shop on the seafront – I was a regular there and must have heard many songs on its JB but whenever I hear Neil Young’s Heart of Gold it reminds me of breaded fish & chips with peas and one of those tall glasses of coffee that came in the metal frame; Jenny Lind was where I first heard Seven Seas of Rye and also first heard Roxy Music’s Virginia Plain but mainly for the landlord, Ron French being obsessed with the Russ Conway single he permanently kept in the JB – I can’t remember which one now but Ron used to say “Listen to that! Perfection! His fingers never leave the keyboard! Here’s 10p, put it on again lads”. We used to debate how Russ could eat his lunch if his fingers never left the keyboard. Also – You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet takes me back to the Oddfellows. Hanging Around – The Stranglers was a regular in The Anchor I think. Certainly brings that pub to mind when I hear it. Possibly because a bunch of us gathered there one night before going along to the pier to see the band.

Andre Martin… Excellent choice incudes – Doris Troy…………………..

John Storer… Jim, I remember Bachman-Turner Overdrive on the Odds jukebox. It also had a Jim Capaldi single on it, but we always used to play the B-side, “Whale Meat Again”. The Odds really was a top pub … the public bar had a great jukebox, great pinball machine and bar billiards! Another pub with a good jukebox was The Harrow

Terry Huggins… In the eighties I visited the Hope pub at Guestling (think it’s closed now) and to my astonishment amid records by Jim Reeves, Des O’Conner, Max Bygraves and the like there was Frijjid Pink’s House of the Rising Sun, Pink Floyd’s Brick in the Wall, Neil Young’s Hey Hey My My (into the blue & into the black), Lynyrd Skynnyrd’s Freebird and even Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love, which must have been an import. Currently it should be possible to have a jukebox which could theoretically play any song that’s available on the internet. I imagine such a jukebox would be extremely expensive to licence due to royalties etc.

Pete Fairless… Yes, you can, Terry: http://www.vjukebox.com

Terry Huggins… For some time it’s been possible to have a jukebox without physical records. I’ve seen jukeboxes that claim this, but their memory of downloaded songs is limited and is wiped periodically. I’ve been told that this is a legal requirement.

 

3 thoughts on “The Wurlitzer – what would you put on & memories of local jukeboxes.”

  1. Great stuff !!!
    My 3 on the jukebox :-
    1 Two can have a party –
    Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (b side )
    2 I can’t help myself –
    The Four Tops
    3 Run baby run –
    New beats
    Thanks !

    Reply
  2. Mmmm …. different jukeboxes evoke memories of songs from my past

    Ye Olde Pump House: “Get Out Of Denver” – Eddie & The Hot Rods and “Rocky Mountain Way” – Joe Walsh (which I used to tell Eric Cawthraw was one of the worst songs ever written. I now willingly admit I was wrong)

    Silverhill Tavern: “Watching The Detectives” – Elvis Costello

    The Cutter: “Complete Control” – The Clash

    The Millers Arms: “Shame, Shame, Shame” – Shirley & Company

    The Oddfellows Arms: “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) – Genesis and “Blinded By The Light” – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band

    But my all-time favourite was a record that we used to play over and over just to annoy people. It was in one of the seafront coffee bars (pretty sure it was Dimarco’s) and it was the b-side to Roxy Music’s excellent “Love Is The Drug” … the truly awful instrumental track, “Sultanesque” … 5m 27s to enable us to watch the incredulous faces of other customers as the song droned on … and on … and on … and on, and then we’d play it again … and again … and again

    Reply
  3. Jim, I remember Bachman-Turner Overdrive on the Odds jukebox. It also had a Jim Capaldi single on it, but we always used to play the B-side, “Whale Meat Again”. The Odds really was a top pub … the public bar had a great jukebox, great pinball machine and bar billiards! Another pub with a good jukebox was The Harrow

    Reply

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