Presley brings a little more conversation
A GROUP of Elvis Presley nuts are all shook up to be hosting the King of Rock’s former wife Priscilla on the Gold Coast.
Ms Presley is coming to Australia for a speaking tour to mark the 40th anniversary of her famed husband’s death and will be at The Star Gold Coast on November 4.
Entitled Elvis and Me the nights – hosted by TV show host Richard Wilkins – are billed as an intimate interview with the former First Lady of Rock and Roll, who was married to Elvis for six years.
Gold Coasters Craig Duffy, Craig Pesco and Brian Seoud have met Ms Presley and her daughter Lisa Marie multiple times and can’t wait to host her on her first trip to the Glitter Strip.
Mr Duffy said he would be “catching up” with her during a trip to Memphis in two weeks for the official anniversary of Elvis’s death. He said he hoped he’d be able to take her for dinner on the Gold Coast during her visit.
“She’s really lovely, an incredibly nice person,” Mr Duffy said.
“I can see why Elvis fell in love with her. She has a really nice personality, is very well spoken and very attractive.”
Mr Duffy said she had shared many Elvis anecdotes and her talks would be well worth attending.
The Gold Coast trio are such big Elvis fans they founded the international arm of Elvis’s famed Memphis Mafia, calling themselves Memphis Mafia International (MMI). The group is dedicated to celebrating the rock and roll legend’s life and was officially anointed as the overseas offshoot by Elvis’s late right-hand man and tour manager Joe Esposito, who became president before his death last year.
Mr Esposito introduced the trio to Priscilla in Memphis in 2012 and they ended up having breakfast together.
“She said ‘I know all about you guys, you’re friends with Joe, I’ve been hearing about you guys for years but it’s so nice to actually meet you’,” Mr Duffy recalled.
Mr Duffy said she “took a bit of a liking” to Mr Pesco after learning he was a wellknown Freddie Mercury impersonator because Queen was her favourite band.
“When she found out he did that she just thought that was great,” he said.
August 16 this year marks the 40th anniversary of Presley’s death, aged just 42.
The Australian shows promise “open conversation offering audiences an extremely rare opportunity to gain insight into a world only a few have entered” .
Priscilla manages the lucrative Elvis estate and turned their home Graceland into a tourist attraction. Presley’s estate continues to make millions through posthumous tours (where live bands play along to his voice via video screens) and albums reinventing his back catalogue.
Elvis and Me tickets go on sale this Friday for $110 to $230, with The Star offering a VIP dinner option for $400.