Steve's "Knocked-Off" Speakers

The story of Steve almost purchasing a set of stolen speakers is a popular anecdote from the Xfm radio show. Most of Steve's anecdotes are popular and this is one of the earliest mentioned.

Origin

This story is set during Steve's adult life, but his age isn't specified. He said it wasn't that long ago(the story was originally told in December 2001) and that he wasn't living in London very long. Steve also doesn't state whether or not he knew Ricky at the time. The story was one of the earliest Steve told, and his telling of anecdotes became very popular.

What Happened

While working for the BBC, Steve was returning home in the evening, and pulled over to a gas station. Whilst filling up Steve was approached by two men who arrived in a white van. The men asked Steve if he wanted to purchase some speakers, to which he replied "yes I do". Steve went behind the petrol station with the men, where he inquired as to whether or not the speakers were "knocked off". The men said that they worked for Dixon's, and if they are making a delivery and no one is present to except it, they are allowed to sell it to someone else on the way back to the warehouse. Steve wasn't quite convinced. To show Steve that they were genuine and the speakers did work, they hooked them up to the car and played some Hip Hop through them. Steve was still unsure, and asked again if the speakers were stolen. One of the men reassured Steve and gave him the phone number of his source who worked in Dixon's, as well as a reference code to quote to him. When Steve contacted the man, he abruptly said the deal was alright before Steve even quoted the number. Steve didn't have the cash to purchase the speakers on his person so he needed to go to the bank. Before he could leave, however, he needed to pay for his petrol. The cashier was suspicious, and asked what Steve was doing behind the petrol station with the men(having seen them on the security camera), Steve simply said they were friends. Steve then drove to the bank, with the speakers and one of the men in the BBC hire car, with the other man following behind in the van. Steve then began thinking. He wondered how he would get the speakers home as he needs to drop the car off at the BBC. The man then said he would deliver the speakers for another twenty pounds. Steve then decided against the purchase. He pulled over to the side of the road and called the deal off. The men began swearing and questioning Steve, saying the speakers were a brilliant deal and calling him a "tosser". Steve removed the speakers and put them back in the van, and was amazed when the men began desperately bargaining and reducing the price to around forty pounds. Steve drove off, and saw the men angrily punching the dash board.

Response

Ricky obviously found this anecdote highly amusing. He sarcastically reassured Steve saying that what the men did was Dixon's policy and the man on the phone was "Mr. Dixon". He also referred to the fact that Steve is not the type of man to engage in this type of sale, sarcastically referring to him as "Street-wise"