The Virtual Fan?

by David Neale

At the time of writing, some thirty Elvis "events" are listed in my Elvis Events web page. These events range from major concerts, a charity concert to raise money for a memorial fund set up in memory of a murdered 10-year old fan, ETA conventions (not my choice!), cruises, art exhibitions, annual Elvis festivals, and so on.

Before I go any further, just allow me to digress here to object publicly about EPE's attitude to using Elvis's name in such events -- many organisers in Canada and the USA are now frightened to mention "Elvis" in the title of events because of problems with ETE. What a ridiculous situation and indicative of EPE's draconian measures in what they regard as "protecting" Elvis's name -- the fans are sensible enough to protect the name, thank you very much EPE! Right, that's got that off my chest, so back to the real purpose of the paper.

Thirty events is, I'm sure, just a smidgen of what is actually going on in the Elvis fan world. The other world hears about Elvis Week and its Candlelight Vigil, of course, but tend not to have any idea of grass-roots Elvis happenings -- the local things that fans who are not in a position to visit Memphis can still manage to enjoy, despite EPE's harassment. Branches of major fan clubs, such as the UK's Official Elvis Presley Fan Club, hold regular meetings and smaller local fan clubs hold similar gatherings, allowing their members to socialise and to enjoy the work of Elvis. So-called Tribute Artists appear all over the place and even manage to attract fans of the real thing (no, I don't understand it either!), and even Elvis still goes on tour with his original band members!

Things were quite different some forty years ago! Elvis was alive and well and there were plenty of fan clubs, but the social side of being an Elvis fan was extremely limited -- often no more than listening to his records together with a few like-minded friends. Elvis himself had stopped touring, so not even his US fans could visit a concert (with the exception of Canada, Elvis never appeared in any other country). What was a fan to do? The Official Elvis Presley Fan Club of Great Britain and The Commonwealth (how about that for a name!) was already extremely active. Its leader, the late Albert Hand, was already publishing "Elvis Monthly" (a magazine that had a lifespan of some forty years, despite dealing with just one man!) and the annual "Elvis Special."

As a fan in the Britain of the 1960s I was delighted to go to the first meetings of the International Elvis Presley Appreciation Society, even venturing abroad for events of the Society in Belgium and Luxembourg! The Fan Club itself had an annual convention and there was also the occasional local gathering of fans, too. The big event of each year, however, was the Fan Club's Christmas Dinner, offering the chance to go to a "posh" hotel in London for a slap-up meal, complete with toast-master and speeches! All very local activities, really, with just a couple of trips across the Channel (a big thing for me at the time, believe me!), to offer any idea of an international aspect to the Elvis scene.

By the mid-1970s, the fine principals of the International Elvis Presley Appreciation Society were forgotten and the Society sadly faded away. European clubs began organising visits to the USA, offering their fans, or at least the more financially comfortable, the opportunity of seeing Elvis live. And in the USA, Elvis was not only performing at extended seasons in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, but was also again travelling around the country, giving many the opportunity to see his show. I remember visiting local club meetings and watching films taken with shaky cameras from the back of showrooms of Elvis in action -- actually no more than a vague blob moving around the screen -- with the only sound being more or less suitable tracks from an LP, played on an> ordinary record player. It was, of course, wonderful!

Elvis's death led an upsurge in interest and a corresponding increase in local meetings and social events. Fans who could not afford to travel to the USA could visit holiday camps in Britain together with hundreds of other Elvis fans for three days, five days, or a whole week of Elvis-related entertainment. Clubs in many countries organised concerts featuring members of Elvis's entourage and the so-called Tribute Artists also started to become more sought after (well, every silver lining has a cloud!). This situation remained fairly stable well into the nineties, but then a new element appeared in the equation, the Internet with its associated email and World Wide Web possibilities.

The Web started to become really popular in about the middle of the nineteen-nineties. Elvis was soon a significant part of it, with hundreds, even thousands of sites dedicated to the man soon appearing. As the popularity of the Web grew and its possibilities began to be better understood and more accessible, another aspect appeared, the online fan club or discussion group: people who would never need to meet in real life, who might never see each other even in a photo, who knew little more about each other, but who had a similar interest in Elvis could "get together" to "talk" about their man, exchanging information, news and opinions: the Virtual Fan had been born. However, the Web also offers the more traditional fan clubs the possibility of more easily reaching potential members through their own sites, or through information sites such as the Elvis Presley International Fan Club Registry.

In addition, clubs and other organisations can now announce their meetings, concerts, conventions, fairs and any other Elvis-associated events through numerous sites, including my own Elvis Events. Even profit-oriented EPE has made use of the possibilities offered by the Internet and the Web in particular. They offer a Graceland webcam and broadcast the Candlelight Vigil each year in real time for online viewing (it would be a considerably more enjoyable experience if a better streaming technology than RealOne were used, but at least they make the effort).

Admittedly, many of the sites devoted to Elvis demonstrate more enthusiasm than technical ability or thought for the user-- pages overloaded with images, unsolicited sound -- and even emails from fans often show a lack of understanding of Internet norms and dangers -- unnecessary HTML mails, doc attachments (dangerous for viruses!), huge unrequested attachments -- but the authors will hopefully learn in time to be more careful and to more considerate of others and to use good Internet practices.

The Elvis fan now disposes over far more information about events locally and around the world than could ever have been provided by a single fan club. The clubs, of course, still have their place: organisation, consolidation, local information and opinion are just some of their responsibilities and these can often be better expressed in printed form, through a newsletter or magazine, in addition to their own sites. But by offering so many possibilities of reaching many, many more fans than was previously imaginable, the Web provides clubs and other event organisers the chance of greater success, which will hopefully lead to more ambitious events for the benefit of Elvis fans around the world.

 

July 2003