The Knowhere Guide

Local Heroes in Southend, Essex*

Southend, Essex Famous Residents

Cringing Cult of Celebrity (Famous residents and ex-residents.)

• Lets get some facts cleared up, Phill jupitus lives in leighand has done for years, denise van outen has never lived in southend( only stanford le hope)and now london , domonic littlewood lives in chalkwell , lee evans used to liv in chalkwell in the 1990's and now is in billericay , Paul young(80's pop star) has a posh house in thorpe bay he uses at weekends. Apart from that there is no other celebs about, end off, glad thats all settled i am a celebrity fan and would know of others, ohh and for the oldies. Frankie howard was based in shoebury in the 1940's, Various other celebs have been and gone ( david essex in rayleigh) but thats all there is too know abou celebs in the area. Thank you for your time, mark boardman
• Richard Lewington aka 'RICARDO'! This guy is a photographer, actor, music writer and clubbing legend! Lovely bloke. I went to school with him. He lived in Southend/Thorpe Bay for a bit then I think he lives in Portsmouth now. Bit of a local celeb down there. Found this www.dontstayin.com/members/ricard0
• The man who invented floppy disks lives in southend as does Frankie dettori. The Desmonds ( Decker and TuTu) moved to Hockley recently.
• The Queen, Rasputin, Basil Brush - Spit thedog. hanksy. John Ellison (the singer), Big Bird from sesame street. Lee Evans, Phill Jupitus. Mark Fowler. Dean Gaffny was stoving some bird who lived next door to my mate.
• Oliver Reed lived briefly in southend as a child. Dave Gahan went to the technical college.
• jeremy beadle hangs out in yates
• i was saddened yesterday to read about the death of PETER JOHNSTONE , i worked with peter for many years at matchbox toys , anyone who worked in packing would have known him , he was known to a lot of people as PJ the good old boy , well pete , i hope youve found that ditch and that cheap bottle of whiskey , god bless you , your friend mark (Q,O,B)
• The UK Air Guitar Champion 2004 lives in Benfleet, down the road
• only southend footballers who have just signed using hotels down the eafront using fake names.
• Amanda Tapping (of Stargate SG1 fame) was born in Rochford and bought up in South Benfleet (before moving to Canada aged 3)
• Paul Parris- very sweet, very good friend
• Gary bleedin Wilmot. Wot happened to him?
• al vosper - (of Chris De burgh, Lulu, beveryly Knight etc etc) www.alvosper.com
• phil jupitus...phill collins used live out in a mansion near stock rd industrial estate
• Mark Boardman who has appeared on This morning and others TV shows, radio and local papers is from around here i think,he's a showbiz expert
• my aunt spoke to jessica wallace (kat from eastenders )in leigh so not bad hay
• phil jupitus can be seen wandering about. im sure there are other comics around cos they perform at the cliffs pavillion.
• Someone was asking the nae of the curly-haired chidren's t.v.presenter from the seventies.His name was(and probably still is)Christopher Lillicrap.
• ian tomey the music photographer http://www.iantomey.com
• Mike Edmonds (little ron-chief Ewock-timebandits), good mate of my dad, Sebastian Abineri (bridge too far, Flambards, The BIll, Eastenders) there are loads in sarfend (soz Southend).
• John Fowles was born in Leigh-on-Sea. he was English novelist and essayist, master of layered story-telling, illusionism, and purposefully ambiguous endings. Among Fowles's best-known novels are THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/jfowles.htm Eddie and The Hotrods- http://www.drfeelgood.de/hotrods/hotbeat1.htm Phil Burdett - singer/songwriter- http://www.drfeelgood.de/hotrods/hotbeat1.htm Phil Hilborne - guitarist , novelist, producer, author - http://www.philhilborne.com/
• Does anyone remember a childrens Tv presenter who hosted a show (Oh Gawd can't remember the nemae), in the 1970's? His first namewas Christopher someone and he had a look of david essex (lots of curly hair and big eyes)? Think he lived in Wellington Ave leigh or have I imagined all this?
• PAUL WEBB - BASSIST WITH TALK TALK from hadleigh(http://users.cybercity.dk/~bcc11425/IntSMASHHITS180882.html) Barrington Pheloung - World famous composer (http://www.pheloung.co.uk/) Westcliff On sea Adee Phelan, celeb hairdresser to david Beckham and star of The Salon - http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2002/06/21/story30558.asp Lee Stafford, celeb hairdresser and member of Tv's This Morning (http://www.thismorning.co.uk/final_homepage/feedback/replies/makeover.htm) Leigh On Sea The late and very great Pete Jacobsen world class jazz musician (level 42, barbara Dixon) www.petejacobsen.com Westcliff
• Maria naylor - http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/card/0,,472345,00.html Tina Cousins - http://www.tinacousins.com/ Bindya Solanki who plays Nita, the corner shop worker in Eastenders -http://www.childrens-express.org/dynamic/PUBLIC/i'm_an_actor_121202.htm Jake Shillingford-http://www.the-universal.com/artist.asp?artist=mylifestory Alison Moyet (well only just outside Sarfend Basildon) alisonmoyet.com Violinist John Georgiadis - http://www.musiciansgallery.com/start/strings/violins/georgiadis(john).htm Andrew collins-author-http://www.andrewcollins.net/page/events/alldayer.htm Steve Pegrum-http://www.angelsinexile.i12.com/steve/html/stevebio.htm
• Phil Cornwell - comedien/actor Stella Street etc (http://www.philcornwell.co.uk/) Jane - singer/songwriter (http://www.janemusic.info) Gemma Craven - actress (http://www.geometry.net/detail/celebrities/craven_gemma.html) Robert daws-Robert Daws, familiar to audiences for his performances in Outside Edge, Roger Roger, Jeeves and Wooster, Casualty, Mystery of Men, Take A Girl Like You, Sword of Honour and ITV's new drama series The Royal. http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/roger/) Bassist Dave Bronze (Robin Trower,Eric Clapton ,Dr. Feelgood , Sting , Duane Eddy , Procol Harum , Gary Brooker, Be Sharp , Phil Collins ,Jeff Beck , Stuart Copeland , Bo Diddly , Roger Daltry, David Gilmore, Mike Rutherford , Stevie Winwood , Mickey Jupp , Paul Carrack, Belinda Carlisle , Brian Ferry, Tina Turner, George Harrison, Ray Davis) http://www.roadkill.com/MDB/artist.phtml/6832 David Nixon (magicin, attended Wesltiff high for boys - http://uk.geocities.com/porkitor/magic.htm) Ian gibbons- the Kinks (http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Diner/2674/igibb_b.htm)
• The band called Busted are from southend and look where it got them.lol.
• erm, guy from busted?? Tina Cousins, erm, is that it?
• Oh Lee Evans, Phill Jupitus, Terry Alderton. The Moodey Blues ! Dr Feelgood (ok maybe Canvey). Andrew Collins , Warren Ellis .
• Procol Harum ( A whiter shade of pale); Viv Stanshall went to Southend High, and there are so many other music connections.
• Phil Jupitus lives in Rayleigh and shops around Southend a lot!
• Darren from Big Brother was a bouncer at one of the clubs once I think. Woo! Exciting!
• Phill Jupitus, Procul Harum
• Gemma Craven comes from Westcliff...
• Cliff in AC/DC lived in Westcliff...Electric Avenue I believe...& so did some guy from Love Affair (or perhaps Lovin Spoonful..)
• hey, paul from big bro 2 was in the rayleigh weir pub the other nite!!!
• Dave James, author of West Australian historical book 'Climb When Ready', is a friend of a friend of a friend of Peter K Sharpen (descendant of W T Stead) who once lived in Southend (and now lives in West Aussie) - although Dave's barely known by anybody in Western Australia, let alone remembered by the friend of a friend of a friend of Pete's from Southend!
• HELEN MIRREN LIVED IN LEIGH AND LEE EVANS
• Helen Mirren went to my school
• Lee Evans
• Famous residents? Don't make me laugh. Why would anyone with talent want to live in Southend? Lee Evans? I rest my case.
• Used to work at Rif Rafs in Leigh-on-Sea, Tina Cousins was a regular!
• Beadle (scary man with hat and beard) verbal Busker Penny picker Bin Walker few tramps
• Lee Evans (Cool Bloke), He stopped his car in the middle of the road just to chat with some fans. Top Fella!
• Gerald Usher - excellent musician and teacher who has inspired generations of locals to get obscenely pissed.
• Can I just say that I think that Gerry Harnden is the most worthless, bigoted sack of shit that ever blighted this planet. Nuff said.
• There’s a well known music journalist and author, Mark Cunningham who lives in the Southend area. He’s done quite a few TV appearances too and first became known as a record producer and session musician which I think he still does.
• Phil Jupatus, Lee Evans, Carl Weathers from the Rocky movies.
• Well, My freind Chris Gentry used to live here. Bloke from Menswear (iif you remember them, the ones that did erm.... that song that I can't remember). This is the bloke that claimed to have always been into the blues and mod scenen but photographic evidence has it that he was a guns & Roses and Skidrow fan! Oh well chris.
• Further to the reference that someone's mum is best friends with ex-Mayor, Nora Goodman. Can I just say that ex-Mayor Nora Goodman IS my Mum?!!
• lee evans is the only cool resident we got
• Digby Fairweather....the hottest trumpet in-or-out of town. Mike Edmonds....Film star ! DJ ! The greatest little one...
• LEE EVANS!! Always used to see him out jogging, served him once in Yates's. He ordered a Cajun Chicken bagette and his wife had a club sandwich....nice bloke.
• Gerry Harnden, the famed author of the column "Our Man About The Town, Gerry Harnden, Writes..." for the Leigh Times. Interestingly enough, Gerry is also a Secondary School teacher and author of a dozen or so German reading books.
• My Uncle (who, unlike me, still lives in Southend) was once a roadie for Dr. Feelgood.
• My Mums best friend is Nora Goodman she was Mayor a year ago Does that count!
• Jake Shillingford is king, and he made a mean ice cream :-)
• Apparently Denise Van Outan has a flat here.
• Phil Collins' brother (a cartoonist I think) lives near (or on?) The Highlands Boulevard Estate in Leigh-on-Sea. Helen Miren is our famous local lass. David Nixen (the famous magician - now deceased) went to Westcliff High School for Boys and lived there for ages. Roman Jugg - the bassist from The Damned - lives in Leigh-on-Sea (Beach Avenue I think), he's famous. The bloke who wrote "Knights in White Satin" comes from Shoebury (what was the band?). Lee Evans lives in Southend somewhere (dunno why...)
• Menswear! Yuk!
• Martin Day from Essex FM. (tosser!)
• Jake Shillingford -My Life Story (Don't say who?)
• Martin Day: essex fm Dj who lives round the corner from me
• lee evans! stand-up, actor (the fifth element with bruce willis and gary oldman, mouse hunt with nathan lane) and a very nice bloke. i say this cos i met him less than three hours ago.
• The Kursall Flyers (God Bless 'Em).
• Peter Green - founder member of Fleetwood Mac went slighly loony in Southend
• Lead singer of the Bonzo Dog Doo dah Band (who he?), Viv Stanshall.
• Gary Wilmot (of Showstoppers "fame")
• Helen Mirren (technically from Leigh, but never mind)
• Johnny Dean and Chris Gentry of top indie beat combo Menswe@r

Buskers, Street Entertainers

• chinese muscle man who walks round rayleigh in a vest
• Penny picker always worked on the flower stall in the high street. Many a happy day chucking pennies at him!!
• Penny Picker STEVE! hahaha. Also, even though it IS noted, the big issue guy still makes me giggle, even though I feel bad because it's about poor people, but if he could say the word correctly then it might not bother me as much!
• under the train bit in the high street. loada shit though.
• Sahil, he doesn't busk himself, although he does have a penchant for dancing with the buskers.
• Owl Man. Bagpipe man - seen on his motorbike. Disababled Verbal Poetry Women. Hanksy. Jesus - seen walking on water - Beedle.. Paul Carrol. Thebloke who looks like Trigger from only fools and horses who runs Carmel Records
• BLACK DAVE THE NOSE BAG FIEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Ian Huntley himself 'Liam Cousins' hangs at south east essex college. penny picker steve is a legend. everyone knows him in southend
• Hi all, 1 person said that they were getting annoyed with all the oasis and verve buskers in southend... well i am the the bongo player who busks dwn the town and we dont actually play the verve my brother nick (the good singer) might now and then but its mostly jimi hendrix, pink floyd, led zepplin etc etc there is a lil oasis but only on requests which is always at night on the weekends from bout 12-3am well you have heard it from a real busker lol, every1 take it easy and try and check me out sometime im sure i could make you dance lol, by the way the buskers dwn town are... James Goulding more beatles type music (lead singer of bad-ego, Nick Farmer singer and guitar mostly every sort of music (very good singer) and luke he does more hendrix pink floyd etc one of his fav is stairway to heaven (led zepplin) i mostly busk with him as we have the best jams together and he is rythm guitar of bad-ego im the bongo player and there is another and we call him G (a big german guy bout 6ft 5... our band is 1 of the best in southend also signed check the website out www.badego.co.uk bye for now hope to c you dwn twn lol Bongo Matt.
• theres this gyppo bitch who plays this shitty little tin whistle, get a life or a job
• get rid of the lousy guitar players and singers under the rail bridge in the highstreet, they are an embarrisment to human life
• ahhhhh! NO, NOT SALVO THE CLOWN!!! he's an evil lil bastard!! and calls themself Salvo!? that means Death in Latin!! DEATH THE CLOWN!!?? who would let their kid get a balloon dog of DEATH the clown??!!........ahem.
• Under the bridge down town usually has some good uns although that fat girls always with them. The bloke selling the Echo round boots is quite a kool bloke as well by the way.
• STEVE, HE DANCES FOR FOOD
• Bunny - the godfather of the alternative scene
• That Jeremy Beadle bloke cos he really stinks!
• mad poem woman in electric wheel chair, she hangs outside the post office in town
• What happened to the bloke with the owl?
• Our local MPs. Tory boy David Amess (southend west). After the last election the prat drove through the whole town with a megaphone saying 'this is david amess thanking you for electing me again'. This is also the plank that was caught by the Brass Eye 'cake' drugs spoof and asked questions about it in parliament (seems these comments have been removed from Hansard AFAIKT). He was MP for Basildon (his win in 1992 kind of pointed to a narrow tory victory). He legged it over to southend for the 97 election when it was obvious he was going to loose there. Teddy Taylor (southend east - the scummy part of town). Now strangely silent. During the 90s when the tories were in power with a very slim majority, TT was always to be seen on the news beating the govt over europe (he is anti-EU). Lost the party whip at one stage I believe (or was close to it) after not following voting with party whip on europe. I remember reading in 'Punch' many years ago: "Teddy Taylor would swim through shark infested waters to get near a microphone"
• Al Vosper (from Beveryly knight, Lulu, Chris de burgh) http://www.alvosper.com Wendy roberts - session vocalist - http://www.janemusic.info/rcms/image/showImage/15 The late Michael Bettell - drummer with ANTI NOWHERE LEAGUE http://www.michaelbettell.com
• http://www.amazingdarts.com/bobfish.html BOB Fish lead singer of DARTS
• Terry Ball - u know him! he wears green wellies and a big camel-coat in all weathers. what a sad little man... shoot him and his family, and friends... and their friends too!
• Bunny - The GODFATHER club-meister of RAGE in elmer approach
• Hop skip and jump was a strange character who came from Shoebury and renamesd because he would hop skip and jump instead of walking.I once saw him hop,skipping and jumping down Thorpe bay broadway at about ten in the morning wearing only an old,and far from clean,pair of Y-fronts.
• Who is that old woman who sells poetry in Southend High Street? Very scary when drunk!
• That homeless guy with the dog! He's cool. And that flute guy that appeared when some guy died. He played a happy song :)
• Street entertainers eh?...got to be 'Penny Picking Steve'...or that weird clown dude under the bridge in town on a saturday...Ever wondered just how much money steve has in that bucket?...me too....
• when i leave southend i will remember, the poetry wheelchair woman, the blind man with the owls, and that bizarre fat man known as "karoke man" who plugs his stereo into a power point and mimes to a compilation tape. Oh, and what happened to that guy who stood on his head, in a bucket on the high street in between savers and gap (tesco at the time)?
• Always some busker guy under the bridge in the middle of the highstreet, oh and a scary clown outside Claires who is NOT funni.
• He stands outside WH Smiths. Music playing, microphone in hand, miming the words to the song!!!!!
• under the bridge
• oh my god, buskers suck! We've got loads of new buskers and hobos (tramps) hanging bout Southend now cuz they got news that Southend was a good place to go, so they all come down from London to plague us! Sickening really...
• sh!t man i cant get over how many homeless ppl there r!
• Aside from the clown by River island , we've not had any decent ones in a while (Those Patagonians have moved on)
• Daisy the local mc on his mini beat box!!!!!!!
• under the rail bridge is a must. occasionally u get sum people up by the square bench places with the plants along the high street doing chalk drawings.
• there is the fitest busker called nick who play down southend near clares accesaries he is a great singer aswell i think buskers are great shame the good ones are not getting noticed
• nah.... in southend theres that wicked geezer thats got a barn owl thats older than he is n he's pushin on a bit y'know?
• Under the railweay bridge in the High St is usually good for a laugh
• UNDER THE BRIDGE
• SORRY GUYS YOUR CRAP YOU MAINLY ALL LIAM GALLAGHER WANNABES AND LETS FACE HE CANT SING OR MUCH ELSE REALLY. GET YOUR OWN STYLE
• UNder the bridge, down the arches
• under the bridge(not chillis or ass saints)
• Have to add to this list the old man with the owl who walks round the high street pretending to be blind when really all he wants to do is get hold of some little children, given that he is a known paedophile!!!
• November 2001 - The young dude who plays (mostly) under the railway bridge - wears a brace & has to be the most vocally talented I've heard in 18 years of walking down the high street. No, I don't know him, but i'd give him a record contract tomorrow. Whoever you are geezer, you're a star!
• Christiana the crusty eco warrior plays delights such as greensleeves on her recorder. She has a dog on a string. There aways seems to be some other geezer pounding passionately on his guitar when I walk under the bridge. Eurgh lets not forgt Salvo the clown. Clowns are evil, Salvo is not exception.
• under railway bridge
• FLEX, CONE-HEAD OF WESTCLIFF MUSCLE VEST CLAD COME SUMMER OR WINTER, FLEXING HIS PECKS, KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR HIS HOT SISTER (WHAT A BABE)
• SINGING PSYCHO, SHIRTLESS IN MID-WINTER, OFTEN SEEN BIKING NO HANDED DOWN THE A13 IN EITHER DIRECTION, BANDANA AND WALKMAN CLAD, WAILING LIKE A BANSHEE.
• any wher down town!
• the verbal busker is a phony!
• The bloke with his Bontempi keyboard who busks under Southend central train bridge. He just plays pre-set tunes and the mugs of Southend give him cash for it, Suckers...
• THAT BLOODY CLOWN!!!! Stands in the middle of the bloody high-street inflicting misery and psychological torture on us all.
• The high street. Or canvey , considering everyone there is some sort of picky busker.
• Yes, unfortunately Southend does have buskers. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against them being a musician myself but...... How many times do people want to hear the same verve and oasis songs. I, personaly wish I'd never heard them. We do get the occassional drummers there which I enjoy but more often than not it's those same songs again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again, well, you get the point.
• THE VERBAL BUSKER! £1 for sheet of poetry! All the proceeds go on fags for herself. She is a disgrace! Read on of the poems without buying and prepare to be abused!! Father Jack- Small old man, always drunk walks round shouting and swearing at anything, including blind dogs!! Bomber Man- Walks up and down the town all day at speeds that defy belief! Only stops when he spots the police. Never wears a shirt even in sub-zero temperatures. He is a nutter but also a hero. LADYBOY. -Used to work on market down the town selling fruit and veg. Her crys of 'Stawberrys' could be heard far and wide. Sadly hasn't been seen for over a year now!
• Right underneath the train station in the centre of town, and near some phone shop.
• those mexican type geezers
• James the busker rocks. He seems to be the busker of the moment under the railway bridge. As he's always there!
• always someone with Bongos hanging around the Railway bridge at 1-2am
• ha ha i saw someone wrote about an old guy playing flute. that's miles he's in is late twenties and he cant play a single tune. it doesn't matter to him 'cause "it's my art man...!" he's not half as bad on the flute as he is on the guitar though hahahah
• A bloke I know only as daddy long legs appears under the railway bridge every so often. There was also stu the oasis bloke, but he disappeared (?)
• The crazy jazz guys - one on guitar one on sax. They're ace. The only good buskers I've seen in Southend at any rate, save for the mad banjo puppets guy under the railway bridge (you have to see it).
• There is this odl guy who plays the recorder under the railway bridge, I haven't figured out yet if he is actually playing a tune or it's jsut made up. But it's a laugh all the same!
• Underneath the railway bridge in the High Street is the place the hear some marginally talented guitarists. However, for a real laugh, further up the High Street you get to see "Los Pedros del Andes" (or something - how many of these groups are there?), "very tall black man in a space suit pretending to be a robot to Wham! and Spandau Ballet!" (don't ask), and the incredibly loud, but slightly insane "Jesus Freaks" telling you that your life is empty so there!

The Knowhere Guide started out as a list of places to skateboard in the UK. It is a compilation of (unedited) information and views supplied by users like yourself. It is not a conventional tourist guide!

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Credits

Last updated: 2007-09-19