In response to Mike Downing’s letter accusing me of performing an “appalling parody of Elvis” (Backing for bringing volume down, Soapbox, June 10), all I can say is that in the 20 years I have been performing my tribute, it has only ever been a respectful and well-meaning show.

I set the world record for performing Elvis songs in 2004, have performed for Royalty on three occasions, worked alongside the original members of Elvis’s backing band several times, and also helped to raise more than £300,000 for charities all over the country.

My tribute song to Elvis, Face The World Again, was number one on the worldwide MP3 charts for three weeks, and only a few weeks ago I put on a sell-out show in Dunnington, which raised several hundred pounds for the village charity.

Added to this are more than 40 hours of worldwide radio and TV appearances (check out www.eddievee.co.uk to see just some of the clips) and I am sure even Mr Downing must conclude that somebody out there likes me!

Eddie Vee, Wenham Road, Woodlands, York.

• Oh come on Mr Downing, where is your sense of humour? There is much to be annoyed about at the moment, what with the credit crunch, loss of jobs, loss of income and our appalling MPs who squander and cheat us out of our hard-earned taxes. People like Eddie Vee bring a smile to my face and brighten up the grey skies of York. In an age where everything has to be project managed, micro-managed, professional, value for money, choreographed within an inch of its life, etc, it is sometimes nice to just have fun for the sheer heck of it.

Eddie Vee is a modern-day freedom fighter for the right to be a complete fruitcake. He, and others like him (Keith Mulhearn, the Roman centurion and his cohort of young recruits springs to mind), belong to the band of the great British eccentric. They are part of York and its wonderful collection of characters, doing what they believe in and doing no harm at all. In fact, Eddie Vee has done more than his share for charity over the years. More to the point, he makes me chuckle.

Me? Well I am recovering from a badly broken leg. My goal is to stand upright and walk without the aid of crutches or a stick. I am hopeful of a good recovery and should I achieve this, I intend to dance like Stavros Flatley just because I can!

In fact I could do this in the streets of York, people could always pay me to get lost and I would donate my “earnings” to a charity helping the disabled.

Rock on Eddie, the streets of York would be a dull place without you!

Jane Goodall, High Street, Thornton-le-Clay.