One of the great things about being a teenager in the late 1950s was being entertained by that wonderful invention the jukebox. In those days jukeboxes were everywhere and became synonymous with coffee bars. During that period coffee bars took over from the humble British cafe. Teenagers swapped gossip over a milkshake as the first of the rock 'n rollers belted out their hits from the jukebox in the corner. I suppose looking back those teenagers were the forerunners of what we would now call the 'cafe society'.
The most famous coffee bar of the time was the 2i's (pictured above) situated in the basement at 59 Old Compton Street, Soho, London, between 1956 and 1970. The 2i's was owned by Paul Lincoln, an Australian wrestler and wrestling promoter. The coffee bar had live music and several stars were discovered or performed there, including Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard, Hank Marvin, Joe Brown, Eden Kane, Johnny Kidd, Jet Harris and many more. Today it is the Boulevard Bar and Dining Room, the famous basement being used as a lobby area. In 2006 a Green Plaque was unveiled at the site of the 2i's coffee bar to commemorate its existence. The plaque was inscribed as follows 'BIRTHPLACE OF BRITISH ROCK 'N ROLL AND THE POPULAR MUSIC INDUSTRY'.
