Elvis Touch News
Prestwick Airport Birthday Bash, 11th January 2003
In celebration of Elvis's 68th Birthday, the Elvis Touch organised the Annual Birthday Dance to celebrate Elvis's 68th Birthday at the Aviator Suite in Prestwick Airport.
Sadly, the new owners of Prestwick Airport do not seem to appreciate or recognise the significance of Prestwick Airport to Elvis fans worldwide. The first thing we noticed on arriving at Prestwick was that the Graceland Bar is now closed and boarded up, and all the Elvis memorabilia and plaques have gone. Very sad. Hope the "powers that be" see sense and continue to keep Elvis's name alive at Prestwick.
Anyway, back to the Dance - It was a sell-out as always, not an empty seat to be seen, with 180 fans attending from all over Scotland.
The dancing started right from the very first record and continued until the end of the night (1 am). Paul & Harry did a fantastic job of DJ-ing and playing all the songs we wanted to hear! Thanks also to Danny for the great wee Elvis shop, which most of us couldn't resist.
The infamous Dirty Dancing Competition got underway part way through the evening. Everybody who took part deserved a prize, but the winners (same as last year) were Angela & Greg Cassidy. Anne Allan & Paul White of the Elvis Touch were the runners-up. The "Dirty Dancing" song was - what else - Let Yourself Go! And they did.
Everybody forgot to bring Elvis tapes, so the singers at the back of the bus back to Glasgow were much appreciated!
Elvis's 68th Birthday in Glasgow
Elvis, That's The Way It is (Special Edition) was shown "for one night only" in the Glasgow Film Theatre to a near-capacity and very enthusiastic audience (especially our Janet!!!) Five members of The Elvis Touch were there. Lillian, Janet, Gerry McL, Tommy S and Harry. A few drinks and lots of Elvis chat later, home to watch On Tour, the 68 Special and Ed Sullivan Rock'n'Roll Show Elvis Special on TV. Happy Birthday Elvis.
Elvis No 1 Star of the last Half Century
25 years after his death, Elvis Presley is still the King. In an exclusive poll, Glasgow Evening Times readers and listeners to Clyde 1 and 2 have overwhelmingly voted Elvis their top artist of the last half century. He won by a large number of votes, far ahead of the Beatles in a distant second place.
No 1 - ELVIS, No 2 - The Beatles, No 3 - Cliff Richard (!), No 4 - The Rolling Stones, No 5 - U2, No 6 - Simple Minds, No 7 - Kylie (!!!), No 8 - Bruce Springsteen, No 9 - Queen, No 10 - Elton John. Michael Jackson made No 11, Bowie made No 24 and Robbie Williams No 22.
Elvis Touch Halloween Party
Friday 25 October, probably the best Halloween Party in the history of the Elvis Touch. The Queens Club was packed to capacity, despite the terrible weather outside, and almost everybody made a big effort to dress up. The winner of the best outfit was Anne Allan, dressed as an Indian squaw, "Cheyenne (pronounced Shy Anne)". Harry Carrigan made the best entrance dressed as Michelin Man. Some of us dooked for apples, and the dance went on until well after 2. Click here for photos
A Weekend of Elvis
Just had a great, Elvis-filled weekend here in Scotland. Friday night (4th October) the Elvis Touch welcomed a large group of fans from Ireland, over here for the 25th Anniversary event in Edinburgh, with an Elvis Dance in the Ibrox TA Club, Glasgow. Fantastic turn-out, place was packed, and it was still rockin' at 2.30 am!
Saturday 5th October - the Memphis Mafia Club (OEPFC, Edinburgh Branch) held a big 25th Anniversary event at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. Over 250 fans turned up, great to hear it was so busy that people were turned away at the door! Julian Grant did a great job as DJ and host of the event, and it was good to see Todd Slaughter make one of his rare Scottish appearances! Haste ye back, Todd, and hope to see you in Glasgow sometime!
ELV1S No 1 CD
It's official - already it's No 1 in the album charts! For those of us in the UK who haven't bought it yet, your local Woolworths is giving away a free keyring with every purchase of the CD. Gold coloured metal, with E,L,V and S in diamante lettering, the 1 in black and a gold coloured background to complement the CD cover. It's a lovely wee item, even better when it's free! Presumably these will only be available "while stocks last".
Memphis, 25th Anniversary Tour, August 2002
And what a fantastic holiday we had, one of the best ever! Many fans from all over Scotland travelled either with the Official Fan Club or independently. There were many highlights and special moments - in no special order - the Pool Party at 1034 Audubon Drive, Elvis The Concert, getting wet at the Candlelight Vigil and Libertyland, grooving to the TCB Band on Graceland lawn at 5 am (The Today Show), Mobile Graceland (great exhibits!), meeting so many old friends and making lots of new ones, experiencing that Southern hospitality in Tupelo and Memphis everywhere we went....
Not Number One Any More...
..... but wasn't it a brilliant 4 weeks to be an Elvis fan! Thanks a lot BMG for "doing the dirty" on Elvis in favour of one of your other artists by deleting ALLC while it was still outselling just about everything else, and denying him possibly another week at No 1 which he so deserved.
Looking ahead to the 25th Anniversary - a massive press and media campaign is promised, bigger than anything which has gone before. Here's hoping for another No 1 (or two).
Here in Glasgow we celebrated Elvis getting to No 1 with an evening at the movies on Sunday 23 June, watching "That's The Way It is - Special Edition" at the Grosvenor Cinema in Glasgow. This was a special showing as part of the West End Festival. The cinema was 75% full and the atmosphere was fantastic! Applause after (and during) every song and a great ovation at the end, and the highlight was Jane shouting out "Elvis" when he sang "….just call my name"! Great turn-out by members of the Elvis Touch. Those who attended were myself (Lillian), Janet, Jane, wee Shauny, Gerry, Tommy H, Alexis, Tommy S, Harry, Jan and Alex. Apologies if I've missed anybody out.
If you don't have your rubber Elvis for the car yet, they are on special in HMV for the bargain price of £3.99, reduced from £5.99!
Elvis Presley Trauma Center
We have reached our target of $1000 for the Elvis Presley Trauma Center in Memphis. They should now have our cheque over in Memphis, TN. Many many thanks to everybody who contributed.
Remembering Isobelle Jarvis
Our friend, Isobelle Jarvis, passed away on 2 April 2002 after a short illness at the age of 63. She was, first and foremost, a lovely person and a good friend to all who knew her. We will all miss her very much. The Elvis Touch would like to pass our sincere condolences to her family ~ Amanda, Hazel, Elaine, David, Louise and Ian. We won't forget you, "Memphis Belle". (The Elvis Touch, April 2002)