The king and us

WHAT is the collective noun for a group of Elvises (or should that be Elvi)? A pelvis of Elvises? A quiff? And is there a specific name for Yorkshire Elvises? I only ask in case I ever find myself in the same situation again.

There we were: me, photographer Frank and five Presleys, aged from 11 to 56. Bright sunshine bounced off a thousand jump suit sequins, and the air was thick with the king's English: "uh-huh-huh", "thangyouvurymuch".

It took a while to get all the wigs and flares in place. Understandably, two of the throng had arrived at the rendezvous, outside Fibbers in York, in civvies, their garish stage costumes discreetly tucked away in bags. Fibbers' sudden demise had caught us out, but the staff did unbolt the doors and let one get changed inside.

As for Elvis Peter, from Leeds, our thanks go to furniture store Hudson's Trading Post. When we popped in unannounced asking to turn their office into a changing room for an Elvis impersonator, they did not call the police, but unhesitatingly offered their hospitality.

The Presley posse had gathered in York to celebrate and commemorate their idol, who died 25 years ago today. A nicer bunch you'd struggle to meet this side of Memphis. Between them, they've raised thousands of pounds for charities.

We sought refreshments at the Spurriergate Centre, and our stroll there drew many a shopper's smile. "You can't be the real thing, you've just gone past Burger King!" shouted one wag.

Elvis Gary dived into the Ann Summers shop on High Ousegate. "Got any underwear you can throw at us?" he asked. "No!" was the dispiriting reply.

Over a cuppa, the Elvises were soon chatting away about their favourite Presley songs and stories. Only one disagreement emerged. Who was better: the Fifties or the Seventies Elvis?

Of our group, only Elvis Charlie represented the earlier era. This was not unusual, he said.

"There's too many doing Seventies Elvis. I went to a Bill Haley, Buddy Holly and Elvis Fifties event.

"Nobody did Bill Haley, six did Buddy Holly, 49 of us turned up to do Elvis and only two of us did Fifties Elvis - and it was a Fifties show.

"The rest of them turned up in jump suits: 45 sang the Wonder Of bloody You."

Despite their shared love of both Elvis and Yorkshire, they all have very different stories, which we present here, from the eldest Presley to the youngest.

Peter Henderson, 56, a Leeds City Council planner, loved Elvis from childhood. But he's only been doing the impersonation since 1999, after Elvis songs proved massively popular during his regular charity concerts.

Peter is divorced and has two grown up children. The youngest, Caroline, presented him with a grandaughter nine months ago.

So does this grandad Elvis still do all the moves? Indubitably. He comes on stage to the Also Sprach Zarathustra fanfare and gives it his all.

"After that first concert I spent an hour every day for 13 weeks looking at a video of Elvis and imitating how he moved," he explained. Wasn't that tiring? "You can imagine..."

Peter's favourite song to perform: the American Trilogy.

We all know Eddie Vee, aged (after a pause for thought) 40. The York media favourite's latest telly appearance is on ITV's Family Values at 10.30 tonight.

Self-styled as the "Yorkshire Elvis", Eddie is sure the King would have taken to God's own county.

"He would have loved Yorkshire pudding. But he would probably have eaten them whole with jam and peanut butter on."

Charlie Sloan, 36, a job centre receptionist from Bradford, caught the rock'n'roll bug from his mum and dad. He began the Elvis act young.

"I used to do it at school for a laugh," he said. "I went to a very strict Catholic school. They didn't agree with my being into rock'n'roll.

"I remember one of the school photographs, the headmaster made me comb my hair straight. He wouldn't let me be in the photograph with my quiff. So I refused to buy the picture."

He once auditioned for the Barrymore TV show as Elvis. "They wanted me to do Freddie Mercury instead. I told them I couldn't do it. Thinking about it afterwards, I should have lied and said yes."

His favourite song to perform: I Need Your Love Tonight.

Gary Fox, 34, from Sheffield, says his act is a tribute to the King, rather than an impersonation. But Gary's singing voice is remarkably close to his hero's.

"People don't believe it's me," he said. "This guy, about 80 years old, came up to me after a gig and said 'we've been all over and you're the best we've ever seen'. He had tears in his eyes."

Gary believes it is the emotion in Elvis's performances that puts him above the rest, a sound rooted in Presley's melancholy. He empathises.

"When I go out there, I put my whole heart into it. All my problems, my stresses, find a release in the singing."

Six years ago, Gary injured his back while working on the M25. It left him "basically disabled" until recent surgery put him back on his feet.

Now he is determined to make up for lost time, and his ultimate aim is a record deal. Among his favourite performance songs are American Trilogy and Polk Salad Annie.

Jessica Meehan, 11, from Bradford, says it was her uncle Darren who put her on to Elvis, although her dad Gary is a mean rock'n'roll dancer.

Modern acts like her home city's Gareth Gates do not hold a candle to the king. "I like Elvis better."

Last year, she won 7,000 pesetas in a holiday karaoke competition in Gran Canaria, singing Return To Sender (although Jailhouse Rock, Wooden Heart and All Shook Up are her favourites).

Her bedroom is covered in Elvis posters and she practises in front of her mirro on her very own karaoke machine. She'd love to put on her own Elvis show one day.

"I know birthday wishes don't come true, but I wished on my birthday that Elvis would come alive," she said.

"Nobody can forget him. Because he's the king, he's the best."

Updated: 10:22 Friday, August 16, 2002