On Saturday 25th October 2025, SUEPA is holding a very special event to honour and celebrate a true Shrimper legend.

With 634 Southend United ‘caps’ (275 as a player, 359 as our manager) to his name, and two successive promotions to the second tier of the EFL in both roles, Steve Tilson’s status as a true Shrimper legend is without question.

So, we thought this was worth celebrating, and with a twist to our usual ‘evening with’ events, we will be running this in a ‘This Is Your Life’ style along the lines of the old TV series of the same name that ran for some 50 years.

In support of Tilly, many of his family will be present (we are working closely with his wife Michelle in putting this together), together with a number of his former teammates, and also players he used to manage. Take it as a given that Brushy will be there.

Our usual popular format applies – it will be held at the Essex County Bowls Club in Westcliff (with ample free parking), ticket prices are held at just £20 (and we include a half-time pizza snack for that), and once again we are delighted that the charismatic, smooth and very funny Mr Glenn Pennyfather will be the host. Oh, and Kev Maher, who recently topped Tilly’s ‘Shrimper caps’ total, has again kindly agreed to open proceedings.

Doors open at 7.00 pm, we start at 7.30 pm, and intend to finish by around 10 pm – though an extension for the well-stocked and keenly priced bar means that all will have plenty of time afterwards for chats with friends and the former players who will be there.

Oh, and don’t forget to wear your favourite Southend United shirt – all that do will be invited to be part of a group picture with Tilly and all of the other former players. We like doing that.

All profits from the evening will be allocated to the ‘SUEPA Fund’ which has as its principle aim the build up of monies to, we hope, one day help fund the set up and running of a Southend United club museum at Roots Hall. We will also make a donation of £500 to Prostate Cancer Research.

We are extremely grateful for the support given to this event by BTMK Solicitors Ltd, which has meant that all of our expenses in setting up the event have been met.

So, secure your tickets HERE or by scanning the QR Code to the right for what we think will be a fantastic evening of fun and memories. The venue capacity is limited to 150, so do act quickly to avoid disappointment.

Now, all we need is to get Glenn to practice his ‘This Is Your Life Eamonn Andrews’ accent (you’ll need to have been a TV watcher before 1988 to understand that) and we’ll be sorted …