A MUSIC legend who has died at the age of 76 was inspired by top Essex venues and attractions on his rise to fame.

Procol Harum frontman Gary Brooker has died at the age of 76.

Essex historian Marion Pearce says Procol Harum frontman Gary Brooker was inspired by live music venues such as the former Esplanade pub and the Cricketers.

The singer-songwriter, who was brought up in Southend and went to Westcliff High School for Boys, had been receiving treatment for cancer before dying peacefully at home on Saturday.

Procol Harum were best known for their 1967 debut hit A Whiter Shade Of Pale, which topped the singles charts for six weeks.

Ms Pearce said: “Living in Southend and being surrounded by the live music scene at the Esplanade pub and the Cricketers, would have helped him develop as an artist.

“The fact we are a coastal town and the seaside would have also inspired him as he began to go to great places.

“I think he would have seen the live music scene and it would have helped him develop those amazing talents and abilities.

“He also got married to the song he was famed for, A Whiter Shade Of Pale, in St David’s Church in Eastwood in 1968.”

She said she was a fan of his music and Southend has always been well known for artists and performers who are inspired by the city-to-be.

Friends and fellow performers say they were amazed when they met and first saw him rocking out on stage.

John Bobin, 73, from Rayleigh, plays with Da Management and last played with Gary at the Dickens Pub, Southend, in November 2017.

He said: “I first saw him play at Shades, which was a seafront venue in about 1963. I was very, very impressed with him and he was an outstanding vocalist.

“Gary was also a great pianist and performer as a whole.

He was just magic and had a very distinctive voice too.

“I was very impressed each time I saw him and he would remember me when we met at gigs or events. He was a really nice guy and a real gent too.”

He had moved to Southend as a child and was born in London and later he was educated at Westcliff High School for Boys.

After leaving school, he went on to Southend Municipal College to study zoology and botany before deciding to become a professional musician.