Radio One's crowd-pulling roadshow is not coming to Southend this year, it was revealed today.

Thousands of fans look set to be disappointed after the station announced it was pulling the plug on the seaside venue.

It is likely Essex is going to be left out of the five week roadshow tour completely, as Clacton has also been shunned.

The official launch is not for a few weeks but a Radio One spokeswoman said both Southend and Clacton were not on the roadshow list.

She added that other one-off dance roadshows were planned for June but details of those had not been finalised. The two towns may still be included in those events.

News of the failure to secure the roadshow is a huge blow to Southend as thousands of fans flock to the event every year.

The Radio One spokeswoman did not know specifically why Southend and Clacton had missed out.

She said: "We are limited because of time and the amount of places we can go to.

"It is absolutely incredible how draining it can be on the crew."

The roadshow returned to Southend after a 16-year lull in 1992.

It was held in the Seaway car park and around 20,000 people welcomed DJ Mark Goodier, who now presents the Top 40 every Sunday, and chart topping bands including Kingmaker and techno music legend Carl Cox.

In 1996 it was held at Priory Park where newcomers, the Spice Girls, performed their number one hit Wannabe.

Last year, Radio One star Chris Moyles took the roadshow to Western Esplanade, Southend, and thousands of fans watched the show from along the seafront.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.