Cliffs Pavilion saw Paul McCartney host surprise gig: photos

They come from the day Paul McCartney brought Southend to a standstill when he came to the Cliffs Pavilion, along with his wife Linda, for a surprise concert.

A group of concert-goers are ecstatic as they get to the front to see Paul (Image: Newsquest)

It was July 1991 and the legendary rocker had announced a series of six impromptu concerts to be played across the globe- and Southend was one of the lucky locations.

Paul thrills fans queuing up below as he makes an appearance on the Cliffs Pavilion balcony (Image: Newsquest)

Tickets for the gig only went on sale five days before the show and, as it was long before the days of the internet, people had to physically queue up for tickets.

Fans line up by the hundreds to secure their tickets for the show, five days before the concert (Image: Newsquest)

These queues, as you can imagine, were gigantic.

The queue of concert-goers waiting to get inside the Cliffs goes on for miles (Image: Newsquest)

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It was all worth it though, as the concert was unforgettable.

McCartney fans camp out in Southend the night before the show (Image: Newsquest)

The first half was an acoustic set where McCartney played hits by Elvis Presley, Bill Withers and various blues legends, as well as the Beatles favourite ‘We Can Work It Out’.

Children show off their tickets as they wait to get in (Image: Newsquest)

The second half, the electric set, saw him belt out his own chart-toppers such as ‘Let It Be’, ‘My Brave Face’, ‘Ebony And Ivory’ and ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’.

Linda joins her husband Paul on stage at the Cliffs (Image: Newsquest)

McCartney had famously played in Southend twice before alongside The Beatles.

Icon - Paul performs on stage (Image: Newsquest)

The group performed two shows at the Odeon Theatre in 1963.