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Elvis Presley

I had an email read out on Sky News this morning on the subject of 'Where I Was When I Heard Of The King's Death'.

There were several 'The news shook me to my very core' type messages, then mine-

I was in bed with my then boyfriend, the Elvis-mad Rob who as usual didn't want to get up.
I heard the 6:30am news and said, 'Get up! Elvis is dead!'
He didn't believe me until he heard it himself.
Then he sprang out of bed and ran round the room naked shouting 'What! What! He can't be!' for about ten minutes and was late for work.

This was followed by one from a bloke who'd had a cat named Elvis and whose mum had to reassure him that she was telling him of THE Elvis's death, not his precious pussy's. That was all right then- back to bed.
 
All this reminds me of an episode from the (IMHO) classic US comedy series 'Sledgehammer!', in which Elvis impersonators are being bumped off by someone wielding a golden microphone. This is also where my sig orginates ;)
 
Elvis refuelled here...

As posted in Ananova

Elvis fans to mark the spot where he landed in the UK

Thousands of Elvis fans are expected to flock to the west coast of Scotland to pay tribute to the King at the only spot in Britain where he ever set foot.

The then 25-year-old Sergeant Elvis Presley made his only appearance in the UK when he stepped off a US military plane at Prestwick Airport in North Ayrshire, on March 2, 1960.

Elvis was heading back to the States after serving with the US Army in Germany.

The one-hour refuelling stopover was supposed to be top secret, but news leaked out and about 1,000 screaming fans turned up to greet the King.

A tribute concert to Elvis is scheduled to take place at the airport at 9pm tonight to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his death.

Some 20 musicians will perform Elvis's best-known hits and re-enact key moments from his life in a three-hour extravaganza, also featuring guest celebrity lookalikes.

Prestwick airport's bar is now named Graceland in Elvis's memory.

Organiser and Elvis impersonator Jesse Garron, 56, said he expected up to 5,000 people to turn up for the event in the Aviator Suite.

He said: "Scotland can be proud of the fact that Prestwick Airport is the only place in Britain where he ever set foot. I'm sure it was a magical event for everyone who was there."

Story filed: 14:17 Friday 16th August 2002

Worth it if only for the sheer ridiculousness of that last line.

:rolleyes:
 
Elvis Bust Weeps in Holland

http://www.rense.com/general28/weeps.htm

Elvis Bust 'Weeps' In Dutch Town

8-16-2



DEURNE, Netherlands (Reuters) - A plaster bust of Elvis Presley wept "miracle" tears Friday on the 25th anniversary of his death, its Dutch owner said. _ The 50-year-old professional Elvis impersonator in the small town of Deurne in the southern Netherlands also said the ghost of the "King of Rock n' Roll" appeared in his house last week. _ Wearing a tasseled black leather jacket, a wig and sunglasses, Toon Nieuwenhuisen said the bust, which he keeps in a spare room he has converted into a shrine to Elvis, started weeping just shortly after breakfast Friday. _ The room is plastered in photographs of Elvis and has candles flickering beside the white statue, which has a rhinestone collar. Beside it are a pair of white slip-on leather shoes that Nieuwenhuisen said were once worn by his idol. _ "Everybody is thinking about Elvis today. He's been dead for 25 years. This is my special room," he said, pointing out a trickle of moisture running from the eye-socket of the bust he has owned for 15 years. _ "The tears you can see started at 10 o'clock. When you taste it, it's salty. It's a miracle," he said. _ Nieuwenhuisen, a spiritual medium who says he speaks regularly to Elvis, said he believes the statue was weeping tears of gratitude for the adoring fans around the world. _ The bust started shedding tears five years ago and has cried several times since then. Hundreds of curious visitors have come to see the shrine, Nieuwenhuisen said.
 
Elvis-weeping

You ever heard of the ,RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR? they have these things(monitors conected -on-line with the main generator)all over the place that just, i guess monitor changes in emotions of the masses. For instance,after 9/11 the generator showed peaks almost off the board, the day befor it happenned!Maybe all the emotions for sooo..many people over Elvis causes all kinds of strange things to happen.
 
Not only are his ancestors Scottish on both sides but they also hail from Ayrshire. Presley is derived from Priest-Lee or Preistlie and probably has its origins in the secular life in Ayrshire. Priest will refer to a dwelling or abbey/church of Monks or priests. Lee refers to a Wooded clearing (if you can picture such a thing).

So, it makes the accidental visit to prestwick all the more fascinating.

When he took a look at the tiny airport, he said,

"Where the hell is this place"

It was the exact home of his ancestors!

(A plane crashed in the 60s in Preswick and scattered millions of cargo-diamonds across the land. Most were not recovered)

Heh.....:D
 
Re: Britain doesn't escape Elvis Plague...

Carnacki said:
I need to find a smiley with a raised lip and a quiff. [/B]
@
:hmph:
 
Re: Re: Britain doesn't escape Elvis Plague...

Faggus said:

Y'know, thats the best Elvis impression I have ever seen (well, he would be yellow skinned and almost spherical by now).

:rofl:
 
Festival marriage for Elvis fan

Porthcawl is next best thing to Las Vegas for the engaged couple
An Elvis Presley tribute act plans to marry his fiancée in a Las Vegas-style wedding during Porthcawl's annual Elvis festival.
Dave Smith, 20, from Aberdare, south Wales, has been banned by his future wife from wearing his usual Elvis suit during the ceremony.

Instead he will wear a black tuxedo to marry Ceri Richards, 24, who he met at one of his gigs.

Hundreds of Elvis fans are expected in Porthcawl for the third Elvis festival.

Mr Smith and Ms Richards will be serenaded by fellow Elvis tribute act, Colbert Hamilton, who is known as the black Elvis.

He will perform the Hawaiian Wedding Song during the service on Saturday.

I'd have loved to have got married in Las Vegas but it was not possible so Porthcawl is the next best thing

Ceri Richards

The best man is also an Elvis tribute act and an Elvis tribute act believed to be the world's oldest will read the vows.

Mr Smith, who won the Best Welsh Elvis in 2005, has been a tribute act since he was 16 and it was at one of his shows that he fell in love with his bride-to-be.

"I was performing up at Aberdare and that's where I met Ceri," he said.

"She's a big Elvis fan"

Ms Richards, who is also from Aberdare, said: "I'd have loved to have got married in Las Vegas but it was not possible so Porthcawl is the next best thing.

"The ceremony starts at 11am in the Grand Pavilion and we have got about 100 to 150 guests coming.

"The registrar is coming over from Bridgend and then we are going to be serenaded."

But despite her love for the king of rock and roll, Ms Richards is making sure her groom is not sporting his Elvis costumes when they tie the knot.

"I put my foot down about that," she said.

'Best Elvis'

The couple and their guests will celebrate their wedding with a reception held in the town after the ceremony.

Peter Phillips who organises the Elvis festival in the town said that he expected the wedding to be a success.

"I can't believe that we have an Elvis getting married this year - it's normally an Elvis who carries out the wedding," he said.

"We have had weddings every year - the first year the mayor renewed his vows Elvis style and a couple from Cardiff got married last year. It's one of the highlights of the festival.

"Dave is a really good Elvis, he won the Best Welsh Elvis last year and he's going to be performing in the hall of fame show on Friday night before the wedding.

"It's going to be a good day," he added.

The Porthcawl Elvis Festival runs from 29 September to 1 October.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wale ... 389140.stm
 
Back in the day, when BBC Radio Five played music, and Rob Brydon was on it, his Welsh music and chat show Rave interviewed Elvis every week...And Charlie Hodge who "did scarves for T`King".

So he`s in Cardiff, then.
 
Elvis is everywhere. T'other day on Sky News, there was an item about a parachuting Elvis impersonator who landed badly and broke his, yes, pelvis. :shock:

A slow news day, no doubt. :lol:
 
Back in the days when I was a compulsive collector of Beatles memorabillia (while I'm still a huge fan, and will pick up the odd item here and there, I've become much more selective about my purchases), I used to be on several mailing lists and would receive piles of catalogs from businesses and private collectors. I received one such catalog that offered items actually used by various famous musicians - bits of bedding slept on by this or that Beatle, Jimi Hendrix's guitar picks, etc., and all supposedly genuine as attested to by the (wholly worthless) COF (Certificate Of Authenticity) offered by the seller(s).

Amongst the various bits of rock ephemera, and buried (no pun intended) on the next-to-last-page, was offered a fifth or sixth generation copy of a video supposedly shot by the Memphis, TN coroner who'd conducted - you guessed it - the King's autopsy. It was billed as "the ultimate piece of Elvis memorabillia" and a must-have item for "any true fan of the King of Rock 'n' Roll".

I've no idea if this was the real deal or not, but -

Ewwww.
 
I distinctly remember seeing a tabloid newspaper on sale around 1979 or 1980. There was a headline about a live Elvis encounter somewhere - as far as I recall, this was the first I had ever heard of such a thing - and under that a sub-headline: "The Sightings Begin...".

I remember laughing about this - how could anyone possibly know that this was the beginning of a trend...unless it was a deliberately manufactured one?

Which begs the question - what could Rupert Murdoch's motivation be for creating such a trend? Trying to position himself w/r/t to Elvis as St. Paul was to Jesus??
 
I heard on the radio today that a Welsh Elvis impersonator has been getting death threats from "dedicated" fans because he's bald. Can't find anything about it online, though.
 
Bald Elvis tribute act gets death threats

Wednesday, December 6, 2006

th_92769_bald_175x125_122_566lo.jpg


The world's only bald, Welsh-speaking, Elvis tribute act has been left all shook up after receiving death threats.

Geraint Benney said he had been receiving the threats from extreme Elvis fans who claim he is showing disrespect to "The King".

Benney, 34, from Aberdare, in south Wales, said one fan had even threatened to shoot him.

He said: "Some people think my act is disrespectful because I am bald, but being bald makes me stand out.

"If Elvis were alive today I am sure he would have a good old laugh.

"It's a great pity his fans cannot see that."

Benney, whose stage name is Elvis Preseli, added: "Anyway, he might even be bald himself now because he would be 71."

He said he had no plans to give up his show, which involves him cooking burgers on stage.

The show charts the music scene since Elvis' death and begins with Benney climbing out of a gold coffin. He doesn't actually sing any Elvis songs, only songs by other artists which have come out since his death.

Benney's manager, Andrew Chainey, said the threats had been coming in since Benney performed at the Elvis Festival in Porthcawl, south Wales.

"I think a lot of people are jealous he's doing so well. We've had a lot of good feedback because it's a fresh idea."

Mr Chainey said the show would go on with a performance in the Czech Republic on New Year's Eve.

He said they had reported the threats to the police. Nobody at South Wales Police was available to comment.

©2006 Associated Newspapers Limited
 
What is it with Elvis impersonators? They usually go for the last image Elvis would want to see - an overweight, unhealthy, sweating, drug-addicted clowns in white jumpsuits.
Now a good impersonator would be one who could really look convincing as him just before entering the army.

As far as the death threats, it's unsurprising really. Some folk really do take their obsessions too far.
 
It's a good thing Shakin' Stevens has all his hair, that's all I can say...
 
Stormy, I've often wondered that myself. Maybe the later Elvis is easier to caricature; you can rely on the wig, glasses and jumpsuit to make the point for you.
 
I suppose it could just be that more Elvis impersonaters happen to be overweight, middle-aged men, and there's not much chance of looking like the younger version....
 
Actually, if you put the right 50s-era Elvis gear on my 29 y.o. stepson, he'd make a credible Young Elvis. :lol: Don't think he can sing a note though.

Strange coinkydink: said stepson was born in August 1977, within a day or two of Elvis' death...
 
Timble2 said:
I suppose it could just be that more Elvis impersonaters happen to be overweight, middle-aged men, and there's not much chance of looking like the younger version....

Maybe it's just because jumpsuit Elvis was the most recent version. What image does the name Elvis Presley put in your mind?
 
gncxx said:
Timble2 said:
Maybe it's just because jumpsuit Elvis was the most recent version. What image does the name Elvis Presley put in your mind?

The Jailhouse Rock version in the stylised dance sequence, and also in his miltary uniform.

No idea why (though Jailhouse Rock is the only Elvis film I've ever seen more than clips of)....can take Elvis or leave him, mainly leave him, heresy though that may be...
 
I'm not going to post a link as it's all over the 'net, and this thread will soon be merged with all our other Elvis threads anyway. :lol:

I don't think this anniversary is being recognised with as much fervour as the 25th was, or am I wrong?

Anyway, we all know he's not dead really. ;)
 
Elvis who?

Is that that bird off of Big Brother? The one that now edits the Guardian?

Massive centre spreads! Hangs around with that little Geordie boy off of that Island thing? Whats his name? You know. Never grew up. No, not Peter Pan! The other one.
 
It was great career move though, I suspect his records wouldn't sell half as well if he'd hung around to become an embarrassment.

And think of the career opportunities he's provided for Elvis impersonators and Costume Hire Companies.

If he'd lived he'd be 72 (indeed if he faked his death his is 72) so would Elvis the Pelvis be needing a Hip replacement?
 
escargot1 said:
I'm not going to post a link as it's all over the 'net, and this thread will soon be merged with all our other Elvis threads anyway. :lol:

I don't think this anniversary is being recognised with as much fervour as the 25th was, or am I wrong?

No, you're not. To many, many people Elvis is only some ironic pop culture reference from the past and I daresay that many people are now, in some weird post-modern dichotomy, more familiar with the concept of Elvis impersonators than Elvis himself. With each passing year this will become more and more compounded.
 
Isnt he a myth anyway??

I mean, no real person could have a name like Elvis?
 
Kondoru said:
Isnt he a myth anyway??
No, Mythter Elvyth Prethley.

Thorry.

jefflovestone said:
To many, many people Elvis is only some ironic pop culture reference from the past and I daresay that many people are now, in some weird post-modern dichotomy, more familiar with the concept of Elvis impersonators than Elvis himself. With each passing year this will become more and more compounded.
I think you're right. There's a few who have become icons with their actual body of work becoming less and less emphasised (Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, etc) but among them Elvis is pretty unique in having so many people not only obsessed with him, but that impersonate him, in many cases eerily well (and in many others entertainingly hopeless :).)

He's almost his own bardic tradition, his memory handed down by word of mouth.
 
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