IT’S 60 years since The Beatles released their debut single, Love Me Do, in October 1962.

Here we look back at when the band came to South Essex and the people who continue to enjoy their iconic music.

The Beatles visited south Essex to play at the old Odeon Cinema offSouthend High Street in May 1963 when Sally Ross,then 11, from Westcliff, met the ‘fab four’.

The Beatles performed at the Odeon Cinema on one other occasion, on December 9, 1963, which wasThe Beatles’ second and final concert appearance in Southend.

Music legend Mickie Davison interviewed The Beatles when they played in Southend and former Echo reporter John Giles, who sadly passed away in January 2016, played a big part in the Beatles' visit in- 1963.

He acted as a decoy to get the band safely into the Odeon cinema, without being mobbed, injured or even killed in a stampede.

John and three other men were dressed in Beatles costumes, and settled in the back of a limo. On cue, the limo began to proceed down Southend High Street, which was still open to traffic in those days. The diversion worked like a dream and while large sections of the crowds swarmed into the High Street, the real Beatles, who had been hidden in a storage shed, were smuggled into the Odeon through a back door.

Years later, after the Beatles had split up, Paul McCartney returned to Southend to perform with his wife at the Cliffs Pavilion. John was one of four journalists selected to interview him, and he was said to clearly remember hiding in the shed!

This weekend Rayleigh Brass will feature a range of Beatles classics from 1960 to 1970.

Kevin Hall, who plays brass trombone, said: “There are two significant anniversaries this year, Paul McCartney’s 80th birthday and this month the 60th anniversary of The Beatles’ debut first single Love Me Do,” said Kevin.

“The gig is really a celebration of the music which is really modern classical music. We may hum along to it but when you try to play it and break it down you find that it is structurally very complex.”

Rayleigh Brass will perform on Saturday October 8 at Holy Trinity Church, Rayleigh, SS6 8BB. It starts at 7pm with doors opening at 6.30pm. Tickets cost £9 at full price, £7 concessions and accompanied under 15s go free. Tickets are sold on the door. Visit www.rayleighbrass.co.uk.