For devotees of other legends of pop it is enough to command an exhaustive record collection and to scour obscure websites for kitsch memorabilia. But for a select band of fans who worship the blue suede shoes of the King of Rock‘n‘Roll, collecting just won‘t cut it; they must inhabit the jumpsuit, curl the lip and grow the sideburns - they must become Elvis Presley.
Even before the King‘s sorry demise on 16 August 1977, aged 42, in the bathroom of his Memphis mansion, there were as many as 150 Elvis impersonators, or ETAs (Elvis Tribute Artists), as they demand to be called. Thirty years on, there are more than 30,000 in the US alone. Add to that thousandsstrong detachments in Asia and Europe, and fans optimistically predict that at the current rate, one in 10 people on Earth will be an ETA by 2020.
Swallowed jackhammer
In Britain, Presley-mania thrives at convention centres and themed restaurants but its unlikely centre is the seaside resort of Porthcawl. On an autumn weekend for the past four years, the former miners‘ retreat has been transformed as a glittering army of 60 ETAs strut their stuff at the Porthcawl Elvis Festival, hoping to walk away with a coveted Elvie award.
“One of the strange things about many of them is how muted their personalities are when they‘re not being backed by an Elvis track,Ž London-based photographer Paul Rider notes. Peter Phillips, who organises the Porthcawl Festival, is quick to defend the image of his ETAs. “They come in for a lot of parody,Ž he says. “Some of these guys are quality acts. People who saw the real thing say some of these acts are as good as Elvis.Ž However, not many of them have Elvis‘s pharmaceutical support, so they run out of energy pretty quikkly. Indeed, Time magazine observed in 1956 that the real Elvis moved “as if he had swallowed a jackhammerŽ. But what is it that drives the ETAs seen in these pictures -builders, shop assistants and social workers, as well as a handful of pros - to devote their waking hours to emulating The King? “Elvis is the most iconic entertainer of the last century,Ž says Phillips, “you couldn‘t see an industry of this scale building up around Frank Sinatra or Freddie Mercury.Ž An Elvis fan himself, Phillips got the chance, at a recent publicity event, to dress up as Presley. “It was almost spooky,Ž he recalls. “When you put on that jumpsuit this strange feeling just takes you over. It‘s magic.
