The Second World War also brought the European continent into contact with American culture. American companies were also able to follow in the wake of the American soldiers, which introduced us to products such as Coca-Cola and the jukebox. It was only after the Second World War that jukeboxes really broke through in Europe, with American jukeboxes dominating the European competitors almost everywhere. Almost everywhere, because in France the import of American jukeboxes was banned until 1958 and a local manufacturer, Electro-Kicker, managed to break through with the Jupiter jukeboxes.
The origin of Electro-Kicker Jupiter jukeboxes
In 1956 the French-Swiss company Electro-Kicker started producing jukeboxes. These jukeboxes were sold under the name Jupiter and soon managed to conquer a large part of the French jukebox market. While France came into contact with American culture through the Second World War, the import of American jukeboxes was prohibited for a long period, until 1958. Two years before the lifting of the ban, the Jupiter jukebox, produced in France, was launched. These two years were enough for the company to make a good start on the market.
The first Jupiter jukebox; the Jupiter 100
The first Jupiter jukebox was the Jupiter 100. This jukebox was very similar to both the Seeburg M100A and the Wurlitzer 1800. The top of the jukebox, with the selection mechanism, looked like a direct copy of the Seeburg mechanism. Here, too, use was made of records stacked vertically next to each other in a record rack, which were taken from the rack by a moving trolley to be played. Even the curvature of the glass for this mechanism seemed to have been taken directly from Seeburg. The underside, however, showed a grille that had the same V-shape as the grille that Wurlitzer had used in the 1800’s. The vertical narrow pillars that were placed slightly inwards were also visible on the Jupiter 100. Only one thing seemed to have been designed by Jupiter itself; the rack with title cards. As if the devil was playing with it, a minor modification to the Jupiter 100 was chosen in 1957, with the title ticket rack now resembling a copy of AMI, with the same alternation between white and red buttons per selection choice. The rest of the jukebox now had more of its own look.
The Jupiter 104 and the design of Jupiter
For model year 1958 it was decided to continue the model Jupiter 100 from 1957. 1959 was however shown a new model, with the Jupiter Super 104. This jukebox looked a bit like a Seeburg, but had more of a own face than the Jupiter 100. With 104 selections, this Jupiter also offered more choice for the consumer who wanted to hear a picture. Apart from the Jupiter 104 are the stars and the tapered illuminated columns that were used, all in all this jukebox gave a more angular impression, which also belonged to the time. The 104 continued to be produced in 1960, but for this year the pillars disappeared to make the model look a bit more sleek and modern. 1960 was also the year Jupiter started exporting; Bergmann in Hamburg, Germany, decided to market the Jupiter jukeboxes in Germany from 1960 to 1974. Up to and including 1962, the model 104 would continue, but with minor external changes. Where the brand had always offered one model up to now, an extra model was now added to the line; the B60 from 1961. This small Jupiter jukebox had only a very limited number of selections, with a total of 60 possibilities. Yet this was exactly what the brand wanted; at that time there were also catering establishments where people did not want to invest in a large record collection and where they did not have enough space for a large jukebox.
The B60 and B80
The B60 was a very angular jukebox, which was not very attractive in appearance. Where the other Jupiter jukeboxes got an increasingly better design, or at least more and more got their own appearance, the B60 was designed in such a way that it looked like a home-made project. In 1962 the model was therefore discontinued and the B80 was launched on the market. It had a sleeker and more modern design. From this jukebox, the following models would no longer be open, but half open or closed. There was still something unusual going on with the design of these closed jukeboxes; where Jupiter first followed the other brands in the field of design, it was now in some cases even a leader. The Jupiter D96 and the Jupiter Console must be disregarded here; these models again had a very strong resemblance to the Seeburg LPC which was the best-selling jukebox at the time. During two short periods in the 1960s and 1970s, the company even managed to sell a few jukeboxes in the US; the market where the jukeboxes came from!
Bankruptcy
However, reduced sales of jukeboxes made it very difficult for all manufacturers to survive and Jupiter did not escape that either. In 1974 it was declared bankrupt. A short rescue attempt could keep the company going until 1978, but after that it was over for the Jupiter jukeboxes from Baume-les-Dames in France.
The prices for the purchase of a Jupiter jukebox
Jupiter jukeboxes are rarely offered for sale. This has to do with two properties of these special jukeboxes; On the one hand, these jukeboxes were not in demand at all with the advent of collecting jukeboxes, so they were often used as a source of parts for the few who did have one. On the other hand, these jukeboxes were of much less quality than the American jukeboxes. The lower quality combined with the former low popularity of these jukeboxes has meant that there are fewer of them and that these jukeboxes are sold for a lower price. A closed Jupiter jukebox cost a few hundred euros around 2015. The Jupiter 100, which nevertheless had an appealing design, is more difficult to find. Yet this one can also be found for prices around 1000 to 1500 euros in 2015 in a good, playing condition. However, it is wise to buy parts for these jukeboxes as soon as they come on the market. These parts are not expensive, but are often difficult to find and a Jupiter jukebox remains a repair-sensitive jukebox, even if it were fully restored. So always buy a playing Jupiter to avoid misery!