For the Essex 80s Soul boys and girls there were new bands emerging every week – some enjoyed a single dance floor classic single before disappearing into obscurity, However, others become legendary though the constant release of ‘classic track’ after ‘classic track’ and on Thursday 31 July 2025 for the first time ever, one definitely ‘legendary band’ comes to the Cliffs Pavilion.
From Atlanta Georgia USA , the legendary SOS Band celebrate the 45th anniversary of their debut USA release Take Your Time, Do It Right. In the United States it reached the number-one spot on the Billboard R&B singles chart and number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-1980. On the Billboard dance chart, it went to number one for four non-consecutive weeks.
45 years on and the group enjoy legendary status amongst UK soul fans with their subsequent hit singles Just be Good To Me, Just the Way You Like It, Weekend Girl, High Hopes, Borrowed Love and the number 1 hit single The Finest.
UK visits by the band have been few and far between however, Essex has always played the perfect host to visiting USA Heritage Soul arts and this will be a very special occasion!
Special guests on the night will be the UK’s very own Loose Ends playing a full band show. In 2025 the band celebrate the 40th anniversary of their biggest release Hanging on a String, which reached No 13 in the British chart. Hanging on a String also reached No 1 on the US Billboard R&B chart, making Loose Ends the first African-British band to top that chart. Subsequent singles such as Magic Touch, Stay a Little While Child, the massive number 1 single in the USA Slowdown and Gonna Make You Mine established Loose Ends as ‘The UK Soul band’ – taken to the heart by all the suburban soul boys and girls around the UK. Indeed it could be said that the band paved the way for artistes such as Soul II Soul, Gabrielle and others to follow in the next decade.
This show at the Cliffs Pavilion is a rare opportunity to see the band perform as a full live outfit. Even at the peak of their fame in the mid 80s performing with a full band was difficult due to logistics and finances. However, anyone who saw the band supporting USA outfit Change recently will attain to the power of a Loose Ends full band performance.
