Location Westcliff-on-Sea Opened 1964 | Capacity 1,630 Renovated 1992, 2010 | |
 | ||
Address Station Rd
Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS0 7RA
England Owner Southend Borough Council
(operated by HQ Theatres & Hospitality) | ||
Cliffs Pavilion is a theatre at Station Road in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, a suburb of Southend-on-Sea. It seats 1,630 and offers an assortment of variety acts.
Work began on the original Cliffs Pavilion during the 1930s. It was intended to be a 500-seat theatre incorporating the art deco style of the times. With the outbreak of World War II, however, the building work halted. The site remained boarded-up until 1959, when the original building was leveled. It was then moved to one side and slightly closer to the edge of the cliff to form the basis of the present Cliffs Pavilion, which opened in 1964.
On 19 July 1991, Paul McCartney performed one of his six "secret" shows at the Pavilion during his 1991 Unplugged Summer Tour.
From July 1991 to December 1992, the building was closed to be redeveloped and enlarged, with the funding of Southend Borough Council and designed by Tim Foster Architects. The stairs were rebuilt, a new Foyer Bar added and a balcony added to the auditorium. Since re-opening, annual audience figures increased from about 200,000 to about 340,000.
On 31 August 1995, Oasis played a concert, which was released on a VHS/DVD, titled Live by the Sea.
In May 2008, 1970s icon Gloria Gaynor performed her greatest hits, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of "I Will Survive". The Drifters also performed their classics, on the same night, serving as Gloria's opening act.
Also in 2008, four-time Grammy award-winning R&B/Soul quartet Boyz II Men performed in front of a capacity crowd singing songs such as the classic "End of the Road" to the adoring crowd.
In June 2009, Blur performed as part of a warm-up show for the Glastonbury Festival.
One Direction also played as part of the warm-up for their Up All Night Tour in 2011.