Search for closest thing to Elvis

By David Willis
BBC News, Memphis, Tennessee

Thirty years after the death of the King of rock 'n' roll, an estimated 70,000 fans converged on Memphis to mark the occasion.

Paul Larcombe, a builder from Crewe, would love to be crowned King

A series of events took place - including a candlelit vigil and a tribute concert - but arguably the highlight of the week was the final of the first officially-endorsed Elvis tribute artist contest.

"Don't ask me to sing," said British contestant Paul Larcombe when we met in the lobby of an hotel in downtown Memphis before the final.

"I only got two hours sleep last night and I need to rest my voice."

It was a different Paul from the one I'd encountered earlier. The real Paul has spiky blonde hair, pale skin and was wearing jeans. This Paul was tanned, jump-suited and had coal black hair.

He had bought the wig, he explained, for £650 ($1,300) because he "didn't want to be laughed at by the big boys".

The big boys were his nine rival finalists in the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist competition - the first such contest to be endorsed by the Presley estate.

'Dirty word'

Paul - a former builder from Crewe, in England - now earns his living imitating the King. He came to Memphis after winning the Blackpool heat of the contest and couldn't believe his good fortune to have made it to the final 10.

"Winning this would mean everything to me," he had said as tourists stopped to admire him and take pictures.

"It could lead to some great job opportunities - and of course my prices would go up accordingly!"

David Pasco admits he looks a little different from his idol

There are tens, possibly hundreds of thousands of Elvis impersonators around the world. Some, like David Pasco from Salem, Ohio, got started by singing karaoke and were urged by their friends to buy a suit and do some shows.

David - in his own words - is a "short, fat, round Elvis, but I just love to sing".

Others scrutinise Presley's films in order to copy not only the voice but the body language, costumes and facial expressions.

'There's only one'

Benjamin Klein, 26, from Washington state reckoned he'd watched more than 50,000 hours of Elvis songs and films.

"There's much more to it than the voice," he said. "You've got to look as well as sound the part."

They call themselves ETAs - Elvis Tribute Artists - and they compete not against each other but with each other.

"There's only one Elvis," explained lookalike Tony Grova from Ringwood, New Jersey. "You could put all of us together and between us we wouldn't have as much talent as Elvis had in his little finger."

Paul Larcombe was up against Elvises from Canada, Norway and of course the United States in his quest to land the Ultimate Elvis title.

Victory almosty certainly means heading to Las Vegas - the Mecca for Elvis look-alikes.