K200 300421 - Ramsgate
Bought for £120 by Pete Heath out of the London Evening Standard small ads back in 1981. It had been stored under a tarpaulin in a garage in East London. It was totally seized up when purchased, and Pete knew nothing about jukebox repairs. On moving house shortly afterwards, the removal guys checked it out, said they had a piano trolley and all would be well. As they were lowering it down a shallow ramp from the front door down a couple of steps the guy at the front end said "I can't hold it", and let go!! It slid down the step and tipped over onto its back into a small front garden. It still bears the scars from that mishap!!
The insurance company paid to have it refurbished by a chap called Mike Flynn, who was a little local legend in the jukebox world at that time.
After moving to the Kent coast, the juke featured in an episode of TV series Heartbeat, filmed in 1991 in what is a sailors rest above the harbour in Whitby. It had been converted into a greasy spoon cafe for this particular scene.
It has worked "mostly" faultlessly over the years. The amp was rebuilt a few years ago by Phil Cheeseman from Whitstable. It has been serviced by Rob Edwards, the jukebox legend from Thornton Heath, and is still going strong today.