Names on the buses

722 David Jacobs

Connections with Brighton and Hove : David Jacobs, solicitor to the stars, had more than 5,000 clients including some of the best names in the business. Over the years he acted for The Beatles, Judy Garland, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Marlene Dietrich and Shirley Bassey. Jacobs, not to be confused with the disc jockey of the same name, had a house in Princes Crescent, Hove. He had 20 tailored suits, hand-made shoes, a two-tone Bentley and a table permanently booked at the caprice. In his most famous case, he helped Liberace win a libel action against the Daily Mirror and its columnist, Cassandra for implying the pianist was homosexual, then a criminal offence. Jacobs also took up the case of James Hanratty whom many people felt had been wrongly convicted, and later hanged, for the A6 murder. When Ringo Starr and his new wife needed a honeymoon home after their wedding in the 1960, Jacobs lent them his luxury mansion in Hove. Outwardly Jacobs, a homosexual himself, seemed suave and sophisticated. But he had money problems and may have been blackmailed. Sadly he hanged himself in the garage of his Hove home in 1969 and it was headline news around the world. He was only 56.

722 Scania Omnicity - carried name since delivery in June 2009 on Metro 5. Metro 5 branding removed October 2013. Repainted into Route 2 livery March 2014. Route 2 branding removed May 2017. Bus sold in March 2018.