Joshua Third and the Sons of Southend

A fair amount of great British bands come from the suburbs of the great British Isles, and Joshua Third’s band the Horrors are a part of this time honored tradition. Hailing from the rolling fields and suburban estates of the county of Essex, they formed around the now defunct Junkclub in Southend-on-Sea. But, you know what, they’re not the only band to hail from this Essex coastal town, famous for having the longest pleasure pier in the world. It has a long, varied and rich musical history too, and a very vibrant and thriving electronic music scene to boot.

So, let’s have a look at the roll call of bands the music world would be poorer without who hail from this seaside resort. It’s given us haunting, baroque 60s psychedelia in the form of Procol Harum, pop tinged 70s country with the Kursaal Flyers, art rock with These New Puritans, indie rock with Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. and Dan Le Sac’s spoken words would be just that without the accompanying bouncy beats of one David Peter Meads aka Scroobius Pip.

So, next time (perhaps this summer?) when you’re sitting on the pier, eating an ice-cream, looking out at the Thames Estuary, remember the wealth of music culture this little town has unleashed upon the world. And, in celebration of this, the Horrors’ “Mirror’s Image” video is above and post-punkers These New Puritans high energy “Elvis” is below.