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LEGENDARY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL star Elvis Presley died 40 years ago today.
Affectionately known as the King, his songs and performance have spawned thousands of tribute acts around the world.
The Elvis fanbase in Ireland remains alive and well, and TheJournal.ie spoke to tribute acts Kevin Doyle and Ciaran Houlihan about the enduring appeal of the iconic superstar.
Kevin Doyle runs a greengrocers in the Dublin suburb of Ballyfermot by day. By night, however, he and a band of fellow musicians play the songs of Elvis to packed crowds across the country.
“It started about 20 years ago,” Doyle said. “The big gig at the time was midnight at the Olympia and we were doing our best to get on there.
“They wanted tributes to particular artists and we already had a few Elvis numbers on our set so we went for it.”
That initially small band has now grown to 15 members, as their show now incorporates a full brass section in order to play all of the King of rock ‘n’ roll’s hits.
“We really wanted that big sound,” he said, adding that the band had even played with Elvis’ own iconic TCB band on occasion.
So how does one go about capturing that famous Elvis sound? “It’s very difficult,” Doyle said.
We’ve all done an awful lot of studying to get as close as we could. We focused on his live recordings, his bootlegs and everything we could… It’s not just about me impersonating Elvis. We have all of our musicians go to school to make sure they sound exactly right.
On numerous occasions, Doyle and his band have played the Olympia, the Point, appeared on RTÉ and played to crowds ranging from thousands to hundreds.
“Our audience can be aged from nine to 90,” he said. “It’s always a surprise when you see young kids singing along to a lot less familiar songs.”
Ciaran Houlihan similarly travels around the country, bringing the different eras of Elvis’ music to the stage with a big band backing him up.
“He really had three different eras,” he said. “My favourite song of his is actually one of the lesser-known ones – Impossible Dream.”
Houlihan goes to great lengths to get the same look as Elvis, and has had jackets made by the King’s own tailor Gene Doucette.
“Once you’re wearing that, it puts you into character straight away,” he said.
His favourite venues to play include the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, Dublin’s Olympia and Belfast’s Opera House.
“They all have different vibes,” he said. “But at every venue we always get such a diverse crowd.
We get whole families coming to shows, from children right up to grandparents. Elvis is going as strong today as he was back in the day.
And what about Elvis’ enduring appeal, 40 years on from his death?
“Through it all, he was just a cool dude,” Houlihan said.
“He was around for a long time, but then again he died quite young [Elvis died aged 42]. He had music that appealed to everyone when he was alive, and it still does.”
Doyle said: “I think it’s the simplicity of the music, and what it was doing at the time. If you look now, there’s nothing pushing the boundaries the way that the likes of Elvis was then.
It’s something that’s now passed down from generation to generation, and we see a lot of younger people coming along to our gigs. It’s not about making Elvis cool again, it’s about keeping him cool.
Kevin Doyle and his band play the Grand Social in Dublin this evening.
Ciaran Houlihan will be playing Knightsbrook Inn, Trim, tonight with the Elvis Spectacular Band.
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You can be sure he’ll be a permanent citizen of this country in no time as per the Kalergi plan. He’d be ejected out of Poland or Hungary after a terrible prison stay but not in weak Western Europe controlled by Sutherland and Soros.
@Ranty McCrank: Where are the open border champions now? He probably is one through his child thanks to meeting an Irish woman…
@Ranty McCrank: this forum explains the tolerance of such activity:
@Ranty McCrank: we’re wussies
@BrianMcB: Explain your open-border point please?
You’re alluding to something vaguely. What is the point you are making?
Are you suggesting we shut down all inward migration?
@Danny Rafferty: how about controlling immigration. Rather than invite all and sundry without restriction why not vet immigrants for illness, criminality and skills and remove them within ,say 10yrs, if they commit a significant crime or is that racist xenophobia?
7 and a half years seems very lenient having regard to the nature and circumstances of this vicious and predatory crime. No contrition, no admission, and he sought to destroy their characters of the victims as part of his vicious defence.
@Fiona deFreyne: joke of a sentence.
Seven and a half years???? That’s just over 3 and a half years per woman he violated, drugged and raped. Enough said really about our justice system.
@WJH: Just want to point out there was no evidence of drugs. I am not denying what they said but there is only the suggestion of drugs. If there was evidence it would have been given. It sounds like they reported it quickly and would have run a blood test.
@WJH: don’t forget the concurrent element of the already laughable sentence…
@Kal Ipers: apparently the rape drug is nearly impossible to detect in tests.
@Kal Ipers: doesn’t matter whether drugs were involved. He was convicted of rape and sexual assault. He is filth, end of story.
@PDiddy: not true. Urban legend
Hopefully he’ll get battered in prison.
@Dj: hopefully but it’s a sad reflection on us as a society when we’re hopeing other criminals deliver justice for us.
He should be fitted for a pair of cement shoes and shown how to swim in them.
Too short, but at least no suspended element. Watch this space for many time wasting, legal aid funded actions brought by this delousional cad.
@Caroline Otoole: The only suspended element of a sentence should involve a tree and a rope.
No comments? Yet? Perhaps this will not be commented on due to his rich South Dublin heritage
@Don Shavago: he’s from Cameroon
@@aidoroch: That sounds a little racist IMHO
@Don Shavago: does it not say in the article he’s originally from Cameroon and then lived in Sligo town? Are you acting thick on purpose or what?
@Don Shavago: what sounds a little racist??? explain me please?? stop using words which you don’t understand
Should be strung up for his actions.
@Ray Farrell: Ah, don’t be racist
@Ray Farrell: …by the nuts. With razor wire.
Just a quick question Tommy. If you think he should be strung up by the nuts with razor wire as punishment, what would you think a suitable punishment for females who commit equally heinous crimes? given they lack nuts.
@Flip off: a solution can be found to that minor mechanical issue
7 years ? Shows how out of touch the judiciary are.
when you have open borders you have to accept the good with the bad this guy should be banned from the country after his release but we know that wont happen, this is a heinous crime against these women
Cultural enrichment.
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