IT'S got a centuries old reputation as the finest military band on the planet to live up to.

So the Grenadier Guards Band is always going to deliver a strong performance in public.

The band is likely to play with particular oomph, however, when it comes to Southend for a concert in aid of a cause close to its and everyone’s heart.

All proceeds from the charity performance at the Cliffs Pavilion on Saturday will be donated to Help for Heroes, the organisation that supports military personnel wounded in current conflicts.

The band, which normally charges thousands of pounds for a single performance, is donating its services free of charge.

The event generated a strong commitment from the band and everyone else involved, right from the start.

Colin Ivory from Leigh is the man who originally came up with the idea of a concert, and then made it happen.

Colin says: “I’ve never organised an event before in my life, but I knew that I had to see this through.”

The idea took off a year ago when Colin was at home watching a TV documentary about making and fitting prosthetic limbs for servicemen who had returned from Iraq or Afghanistan with shattered bodies.

“My wife and I just felt driven. We had to do something to help,” Colin says. “I’d met a Grenadier Guards bandsman through my church, which gave me the idea of bringing the band down to Southend.

“The idea fired people’s imagination and the project just acquired a momentum of its own, especially when the band agreed to play for expenses only.

“It’s exceptionally generous of them to play for free, especially on a Saturday night. Normally they cost a fortune.”

However, upfront expenses had to be provided by the steering committee.

They include the cost of transport, and of feeding a hearty lunch to 45 strapping band players. The money was raised through sponsored events and coffee mornings.

“It’s been quite a tough year, particularly since we’ve all got jobs,” says Colin. “But we have a strong belief in the charity we are helping out.”

Choice of music is being left to the band.

Colin says: “There’s going to be lots of stuff that will stir the emotions, particularly when people think of the sacrifices made by our people in combat zones. ”

Founded in 1685, the Grenadier Guards Band is the oldest in the British Army. It is familiar the world over from occasions such as the Trooping of the Colour, the Changing of the Guards, the Festival of Remembrance, and the Lord Mayor’s Show.

Help for Heroes was founded three years ago, with the aim of improving medical aid and trauma services to members of the military. Its sponsors include Prince William and Prince Harry, and Jeremy Clarkson. It has already raised more that £40million through donations. It receives on average £47,000 a day.

Colin says: “The Help for Heroes charity has grown at an amazing speed and this concert is the same. It has picked up a momentum of its own.”

The Cliffs Pavilion concert will be attended by the Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Lord Petre, local MPs, the mayor of Southend, a group of Chelsea Pensioners, and wounded servicemen of the 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment who have benefited from the work of Help for Heroes.

Grenadier Guards Band Concert Cliffs Pavilion, Station Road, Westcliff.

£15.50-£19.50 Saturday, Sept 25 7.30pm 01702 351135