GUILDED CHARM
Reviving spirit of rock king
DANIEL Anderson has come a long way since he leapt onto his family’s pool table, wiggled his hips and belted out a repertoire of Elvis Presley hits when he was eight years old.
The young boy, who was to become known in East London as “Little Elvis” and who delighted the community with his slick Elvis impersonations, is an adult now, but is still inhabiting the spirit of his idol.
Anderson, now a matric pupil at Stirling High School, will be starring in The Wonder of You – the Story of Elvis next month. His jumpsuits may be bigger and his voice deeper, but Anderson hasn’t lost that King of Rock ‘n Roll pelvis twist or his characteristic leg twitch.
His obsession with Elvis was triggered at his granny’s Stutterheim home where he would spend holiday time.
“When I got tired of being outdoors I found a documentary video on Elvis and kept rewatching it.”
It wasn’t long before the young singer’s allegiance swung from Celine Dion to Elvis.
“I could relate to him more and he was such a friendly, lovely caring man who lost his way because of the pressure of his managers,” said Anderson.
When the little boy discovered his uncle’s stash of Elvis records, his repertoire rapidly grew and before long another granny was roped in to sew him a wardrobe of Elvis outfits – including the distinctive white Lycra jumpsuit.
“I would show her the designs and material I wanted and she would make them,” smiled Anderson, whose Elviswear for The Wonder of You has been created by stage seamstress Judy Raffan.
After delighting his family with home shows, the young Sunrise-on-Sea resident thrilled a wider audience at his local community hall where he belted out a string of Elvis hits in a variety of his granny-made costumes.
“My mom would style my hair to be like Elvis’s.”
Anderson, who cites Suspicious Minds as one of his favourite Elvis songs, appeared in a host of tribute shows, earning him many newspaper headlines and the title Little Elvis.
“I sang at the Hudson Park shows organised by the late Peter de la Rey,” said Anderson who had little interest in pursuits other boys his age were involved in.
“He once came home and said he had been chosen for the cricket team,” recalled his father Dean Anderson. “I asked him what position and he said cheerleader.”
Last year he co-wrote The Wonder of You – the Story of Elvis with Kerry Hiles.
“Because so many people remember him as the overweight, sweaty man near the end of his life we wanted to show how special he was as a human being.”
The show was a sell-out.
“People were clamouring for tickets so we have decided to stage it again,” said Anderson, who plans to study film and TV next year but ultimately sees himself as a musical theatre director on the West End or Broadway.
●The Wonder of You – The Story of Elvis fundraising concerts will be staged at the Guild Theatre from May 16 to 18 at 7pm. Tickets cost R100 at Computicket. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za