Jukebox Jimmy.

Whenever I’m in Bethnal Green, I call in at Pellicci’s cafe. I have done for about 30 years. Ideally at around 12.45 on a Friday to share a table with a local character known as Jukebox Jimmy and his friend, Mel the cabbie. Jimmy and I struck up an instant rapport because we were both obsessed with 50s and 60s pop music. We’d test each other on who sang what and when, but my knowledge paled in comparison with Jimmy’s. I arrived yesterday looking forward to seeing him, only to discover that he’d died suddenly just after Christmas. We weren’t close friends but I was genuinely upset. As a tribute, I’ve lifted this track from Jimmy’s lovingly curated YouTube channel. Please check that channel out. It’ll never compare to sitting with Jimmy in Pellicci’s. But sadly, from now on, it’s the nearest I’m going to get.