The new Wurlitzer jukebox design is a radical departure from the more traditional 'bubbler' style, but it has been winning plaudits across the hi-fi community for its sleek lines.

Vintage Wurlitzer jukeboxes continue to be popular among collectors and bar owners alike, as do their more modern reproductions, but the new Lyra model has got tongues wagging, thanks to its touchscreen technology, which enables users to download and live stream music online, as well as tune in to digital radio.

Other statistics that make it a powerful machine include its 200W amplifier and 320GB hard drive, allowing it to maintain some 60,000 MP3 files – that's 60,000 different tracks.

If that wasn't enough, the Lyra jukebox has stunning curves and a whole new design. Wurlitzer itself has said that "the wooden veneer finish, smooth lines and sleek look give the Lyra curve appeal.”

Interviewed by What Hi-Fi magazine, Jukeboxes Direct managing director Paddy Murphy said that

"the Lyra is a classic for the 21st century,” adding: £I am confident it will appeal to a younger generation."

The local Delmarva Daily Times newspaper reported last week on real “jukebox hero,” living in the Maryland city of Salisbury, in the USA.

Phil Adkins is a wizard with electronics and vintage jukebox components – so much so that he has lovingly restored some of the rarest and most beautiful Wurlitzer jukeboxes known to collectors across the world.

photo credit: Dave Keeshan

"Since high school, I have been interested in music. Played in school, jazz and rock 'n' roll bands. In 1981, I was living in Delaware, and I had a large downstairs room with a pool and ping ball tables. I decided to get a jukebox to play 45 rpm records from the '50s and put it in that room," he told the paper.

"I still have it, a 1958 Rockola Model 1458. When I bought it, the seller, Rick Darke, also had half a dozen Wurlitzers from the 1940s. My jaw dropped, because among them was the famous 'bubbler' – the Wurlitzer Model 1015.”

This model is perhaps the most famous jukebox that Wurlitzer ever made, with its warm glow and tubes of bubbling liquids the first thing that many think of when they recall the golden age of jukeboxes.

Phil soon got a call from his friend Rick who had a Model 1015 for him that had been found in the basement of an elderly couple's home.

“When I got it, it was a wreck. It was complete, except the plastics were melted. I probably spent four hours just cleaning it up before I started taking it apart,” he recalled.

“I spent more than 200 hours restoring that jukebox.”

He is now the proud owner of five Wurlitzer jukeboxes, two of which date from the 1930s and three from the 1940s.

He proudly revealed that he has been able to restore them all to their original glory, using original parts where possible – and ordering custom-made components from a US company that makes reproduction parts.

photo credit: divinehammer42

A leading collector of vintage jukeboxes in the US city of Pittsburgh expressed his hopes recently that he will be able to continue with his vast trove, after being forced to move due to the construction of a motorway.

Larry Ginsburg has collected jukeboxes of all shapes and sizes, as well as pinball machines, children’s fairground rides and other memorabilia of American pop culture in a massive warehouse in Pittsburgh’s Millvale Industrial Park.

The former brewery was ideal for the collector’s purposes, thanks to its 40,000-square-foot area. As well as the items themselves, it also housed a collection of some million spare parts in order to keep those vintage jukeboxes in perfect working order.

But all that was to change when Larry learnt that his warehouse was in the way of the proposed new Route 28.

"I knew there was no way I could keep all the stuff, let alone move it to another location," he told the local news. "So I went along with the state's decision to auction off the contents of the building last year."

Larry kept many items from his personal haul, but was forced to bid himself for items placed in the auction. Now his reduced collection is being kept in a smaller building, plus "pretty much anywhere I could find a spot."

His deal with the state means that his ground rent is covered for a year – during which he is forbidden from selling items to the public. He is using the time well, making a living from repairing jukeboxes and other machines, while running his other business – hiring out vending machines.

Ultimately, he plans to rent a larger building with a storefront, so that he can display some of his rarer items, such as Wurlitzer jukeboxes and a vintage Pepsi vending machine.

"These things won't be for sale, but I think people would like to be able to come in and see them," he said.

photo credit: M.Markus

Women’s magazine Grazia revealed this week that one of Carnaby Street’s most trendy shops has been trying to tempt customers with a little jukebox magic.

Thursday night saw a special event in the Carnaby fashion zone, with shops offering discounts and special events to get those shoppers cramming through the door.

London’s famous Carnaby Street has been a centre for fashion for almost six decades now, and the night’s events paid tribute to this heritage while luring people into the stores with the best of modern styles.

Miss Sixty created a true 1950s theme, and to ensure that the atmosphere dripped with Fifties rock and roll elegance, the store installed an original Wurlitzer jukebox from the 1950s to play some classic tunes for customers to jive to, while staff served them complimentary 1950s-themed cocktails.

The first fashion boutique to open in Carnaby Street was His Clothes, in 1958 and little did entrepreneur John Stephen know that he would be starting a trend – after all, he only moved to the street because his original store in Beak Street had burnt down!

Nevertheless, he was soon followed by a clutch of trendy clothes shops, with very groovy names such as I Was Lord Kitchener’s Valet, Kleptomania, Mates and Ravel.

By the time the Swinging Sixties came around, Carnaby Street was as much a part of the scene as jukeboxes and frothy coffee. Top designers like Mary Quant, Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin had relocated to the area and the jukebox music blared out of underground bars such as the nearby Roaring Twenties. With the Marquee Club just around the corner, it was inevitable that the street’s shops would soon be patronised by some of the top rock and roll stars of the era, such as The Who and the Rolling Stones.

A collector of vintage jukeboxes in Eden, North Carolina turned salesman this month, when he fulfilled a dream and opened an antique store.

Ashley’s Antiques is the dream of Billy Vestal, who began collecting Wurlitzer jukeboxes and other classic brands from the jukebox golden age in the late 1980s, he told the local News & Record newspaper.

Billy became hooked on the amazing music machines in his youth, feeding nickels into the Seeburg 100-W jukebox at the local swimming pool. Now he owns a jukebox just like it, along with more than 30 others that he has amassed over the past couple of decades.

His oldest model was manufactured in 1939 and his most collectible jukeboxes — all two dozen of them — are dated from the late 1930s to the end of the 1950s. however he also owns jukeboxes dating right up until the end of the 1970s.

Billy plans to keep his favourite models at home, with many of them in the process of being lovingly restored, but he has transported some fantastic jukeboxes to his new store, which opened at the beginning of the month.

Although the shop itself will sell all manner of antiques, such as furniture, glassware, lamps and lighting, kitchen utensils and clocks, the jukeboxes will retain pride of place.

Billy promised the paper that at Ashley’s Antiques “there always will be a jukebox in the corner and music in the air” and no coins will even be required, as all the jukeboxes will be set to free play.

photo credit: drtel

Top financial website This Is Money is always on the lookout for unusual ways to make a few bob, and what could be a quirkier – if profitable – investment than a Wurlitzer jukebox.

There are still hordes of vinyl lovers out there, for whom the digital whirr of a modern MP3 jukebox just won’t do. And vintage jukeboxes can be a “rock solid investment,” it said.

The golden age of the Wurlitzer jukebox, the 1940s and 1950s, saw some classic models manufactured, many of which are still around today – and which can nowadays fetch between £3,000 and £15,000. For later models, a jukebox in good condition can be sold for around £500.

For investors, This Is Money pointed out that classic jukeboxes will always be increasing in value due to their rarity and the nostalgia factor – but they need to be kept in good condition.

Collector and trader Rob Edwards told the website: “There was a time when you could visit a cafe or bar and there would always be a machine in the corner, but most of these are long gone. Fans not only pick up a fabulous music player but a piece of history as well.”

He advised anyone thinking of starting a collection to look for the cheaper models, such as reproduction Deutsche Wurlitzer from the 1990s, which is available for around £3,000. At the cheaper end of the market, a 1984 “Diana” Wurlitzer can be had for just £800.

The Islington Tribune recently unearthed one of the UK’s truly great collectors – a local man who has one of the country’s largest private collections of jukeboxes.

Living in a small Georgian terrace near Angel station, David Webb keeps his lovingly tended collection of more than 30 jukeboxes from across the years. The local paper paid him a visit to discuss his collection, and his ongoing passion for the romantic music machines.

Mr Webb began collecting the jukeboxes some 15 years ago, after a lifetime’s love of rock and roll. Now they virtually crowd he and his wife out of their own living room. Some of the machines are almost 80 years old, and they bear amazing names, such as the Mother of Plastic, The Trashcan, The Tona-Lier and The Teardrop.

His love of jukeboxes was an accidental infatuation. As a buyer and seller of antiques, one day he was left with a 1956 Wurlitzer 2000 after a client failed to collect it. He became intrigued and decided to keep it.

Mr Webb pointed out to the paper that although people mostly associate the jukebox with dancing, they were also linked to the Mafia, because they were the perfect form of cheap entertainment for speakeasies during Prohibition.

After it ended, their popularity continued to soar, and a respectable company such as Wurlitzer was able to grow and grow. By 1940, Wurlitzer jukeboxes were so popular that its factory had “trees going in one end and boxes coming out the other,” he said.

“They made everything on site, down to the nuts and bolts. That expertise was valuable for the war effort,” Mr Webb added, explaining that jukebox factories were eventually turned over to help make artillery pieces and shells.

The good news for enthusiasts is that Mr Webb’s collection can be seen by appointment, by calling 020 7713 7668.

photo credit: kamerakamote

A retro-style jukebox bearing the classic stylings of Jack Daniel’s bourbon has gone on sale in the USA, bound for homes seeking a little old-fashioned magic.

The distinctive jukebox is made by Rock-Ola manufacturing, and was previously only available through speciality sales outlets.

With a design based on the classic Wurlitzer Jukebox style, it features bubble tubes down the sides and door frontage, contrasting with the rotating Jack Daniel's pilaster and the dark, rich wood veneers. The famous Jack Daniel's label is stencilled all over the jukebox and the Tennessee distillery's "Old No. 7" trademark etched into the music machine’s front-panel glass.

When it comes to music power, the jukebox doesn’t skimp either, with a new 1600W Peavey solid-state amplifier, five speakers and the capacity to add another external speaker set, providing single-zone stereophonic or dual-zone monaural sound. The jukebox also comes with a remote control.

The Jack Daniels model is the latest in a line of “nostalgic” jukeboxes designed by Rock-Ola to cash in on a demand among American households for the sights and sounds of a classic age of US icons – the last special model features the stylings and log of famed motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson.

Such models all follow the instantly recognisable style pioneered by Wurlitzer in the late 1930s, when the company took on the services of designer Paul Fuller. Fuller came up with the notion of using bubble tubes and moving coloured lights and art deco fittings to create a truly beautiful machine which remains firmly in the public imagination and has yet to be bettered.