There have been at least two severe earth tremors in the district in 'modern' times. The first occurred on 1st November 1755 and alarmed the inhabitants without causing any fatalities or grave damage. One freak effect was that the pond in Rochford Park overflowed. It was followed by thick fog for eight days. The second occasion was on 22nd April 1884, but there was little damage and no casualties.
	The Beatles played the Odeon Cinema (demolished in 2004 and now part of the University site) on two occasions. The first was 31st May 1963 on a tour with Roy Orbison, Gerry & The Pacemakers and others. They played Some Other Guy, Do You Want To Know A Secret, Love Me Do, From Me To You, Please Please Me, I Saw Her Standing There and Twist and Shout. They returned to headline on 9th December 1963 playing I Saw Her Standing There, From Me To You, All My Loving, You Really Got A Hold On Me, Boy, Till There Was You, She Loves You, Money and Twist and Shout. The Odeon was originally called the Astoria and was opened in 1935. It seated 2,750 people and housed a grand Compton organ, orchestra, stage facilities and no less than 14 dressing rooms. Opening night screened the original (obviously) Brewster’s Millions, starring Jack Buchanan. The Odeon rode through the cinema age until the emergence of modern multi-screens and finally closed it's doors in 1997. There were usually two shows on each date and artists to visit the Odeon include; Laurel and Hardy August 1952 with their act "A Spot of Trouble" The Rolling Stones 3 Oct 1963 on their first UK tour, 24 Feb 1964, 17 Mar 1965 The Everly Brothers 3 Oct 1963 Bo Diddley 3 Oct 1963 Little Richard 3 Oct 1963 Chuck Berry   Carl Perkins   Gene Vincent 12 Nov 1964 The Animals   The Kinks   Tom Jones   The Who 4 Feb 1966 & 5 Feb 1966
	Originally opened in 1901, the Kursaal was the world's first ever theme park, pre-dating Coney Island in America. The Kursaal was used in a number of films and TV shows, among them The Avengers, The Prisoner, Nearest and Dearest, (when it was meant to be Blackpool!) and the films Over the Moon and Twenty-One Days. Bands which played the Kursaal include; Queen 1 Dec 1973 The Sweet   Thin Lizzy 22 Nov 1975 and 17 Dec 1977 AC/DC 19 Mar 1977 Deep Purple   Lynyrd Skynyrd their first UK appearance Status Quo   Supertramp   Black Sabbath 1 Oct 1976
	Southend's original coat of arms had the motto "Forti Nihil Difficile" or "To the Brave Nothing is Difficult". In 1915, the Coat of Arms changed and the new motto became "Per Mare Per Ecclesiam" or "By the Sea, By the Church". The shield is made up of 4 emblems, representing:- Top Prittlewell the potted Lilies - emblem of St. Mary's church. Right Eastwood the grid-iron - emblem of St Laurence. Bottom Southchurch the trefoil - representing the holy trinity. Left Leigh the anchor - emblem of St Clement's church.
	Southend United's highest league position was top of Division 1 for 3 hours on New Years Day 1992 after beating Newcastle United 4-0. Two top ranking players have played for the Blues - Stan Collymore, discovered playing in Palace reserves + sold to Nottingham Forest for about £3m + Ronnie Whelan at the end of his league career. Famous managers have included Ronnie Whelan, Bobby Moore, Dave Webb and Peter Taylor. The club officially sold Roots Hall in early 2003. Legally, they could be asked to move out at any time! Southend United hold the record for missing the most penalties in a row - 7 in 1991.

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Published on: 2005-03-29 (2265 reads)