Variety magazine calls it “a dream of 2 hours and 39 minutes of heat that is enthusiastic, capricious, lively, and forced.”
That review isn’t enough to seduce you to see Baz Luhrmann’s next biography Elvis — Starring Austin Butler as Presley and Tom Hanks as his controversial manager Colonel Tom Parker — perhaps the dedication of the Irish Elvis Tribute Artist (ETA).
From Ballyfermot in Dublin to Caherconlish in Limerick via Enniscorthy in Wexford, Elvis camouflage reunites with the pelvic piercing, curling lips, and soulful rock’n’roll king. As we expect a surge in bookings.
They talked Irish Independent From the exorbitant cost and weight of jumpsuits to juggling daytime work, meeting Elvis’s family, and playing costumes at funerals.
Ciaran Houlihan (42) is from Rusk, Dublin. He started playing the guitar at the age of 12, but he discovered Presley only in his late teens.
“My dad didn’t really like Elvis because Elvis never wrote his song. He was like my dad’s favorites Jim Reeves and Marty Robbins. I made a cover version of people’s songs, so he was always handing out about him, so I was intrigued and wondered, “Who is this Elvis man?” When I started listening to him, I thought he was great. “
Houlihan started his gig as an ETA in 2007 and won the All Ireland Elvis Tournament the following year.
“I participated in a European tournament and became a European champion in 2012. I’ve been lucky enough to have created so much work since then that I didn’t compete in any more tournaments. Will book me and I will give them a showcase while the tournament is in progress. “
This victory allowed Houlihan to give up his day-to-day work as a credit controller “doing a lot of boring spreadsheets.”
Already this summer, he is playing in the Netherlands and Germany in a suit designed by Elvis tailor B & K Enterprises Costume Gene Dorset. Avid fans love gospel music.I love everyday fans Suspicious Mind..
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You need the best fitness to channel your Elvis pelvis.
“My friend was playing Iron Man and I asked him to try Elvis’ routine. Suspicious Mind And he was absolutely wrecked after that, “says Furihan. “I think it’s just another type of fitness. You need to move the diaphragm so that you can sing, even when you’re doing all the movements. Huffing and puffing on stage will make you fall off. There will be no. “
He describes himself as an “Elvis geek” and is already impressed with Rahman’s attention to detail in the film.
“I’m crazy about suits, and many of the suits Austin Butler wears are perfect. In 1974, Elvis injured his hand and bandaged him when he wore a dragon suit. I saw a picture of a set of Butler wearing a bandaged dragon suit. “
Furihan is now the same age as when Elvis died.
“I think I’m still young. I think Elvis also thought he was young,” says Furihan. “My friend hits me that I have to retire now, but I don’t give up anytime soon. There are a lot of guys on the circuit who are much older than me.”
ETA Kevin Doyle (50) owns Doyle’s Greengrocers in Ballyfermot, Dublin.He is expecting Elvis Shed light on the “dark side” of the singer’s story.
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Greengrocer Kevin Doyle sometimes goes to market from gigs
“Because he was nicknamed, people may not know how hard he worked with Tom Parker and the Colonel,” Doyle says. “He had the show play in Las Vegas three times a day, seven days a week. Obviously, espresso can’t go through it.”
Doyle started playing with a regular cover band. The popularity of the “Midnight of Olympia” gigs in the early 2000s, and their preference for tribute bands, turned him “to Elvis Lane”. He and his band completed “School About Elvis”, a rhythm section, brass lines, vocal harmonies and looks.
“I was fortunate to have a good relationship with the Elvis Fan Club, called the Elvis Social Club, run by John Kavanagh. We had a lot of great events with John.”
Elvis piano player Glenn Hardin attended the Point Depot (now 3 Arena) stage one night. Doyle and his band also performed in Dublin with the famous vocal quartet Jodanaires, who worked with Elvis from 1956 to 1972, but invited him to stay in Las Vegas from Nashville. I declined.
“So they weren’t playing with Elvis, but they were playing with the greengrocers of Barry Farmott,” Doyle says.
No matter how busy the gig is, he never forgets his customers.
“I had a gig in Ballina and Clonmel and had to go straight to the market from there at 5am,” he says. “Move the drums and guitar to one side and put in the spuds and cabbage. It’s just Roddy Doyle. commitment-Wind. “
He believes Elvis has had a great influence on the Irish people and our music from the beginning. “Looking back at the days of show bands, Quiff and Ducktail, they were definitely influenced by Elvis.”
CoLimerick’s Caherconlish Tim Ryan (59) is a block layer. At the age of eight, he learned his first ballad, the Elvis song. Just for the old days..
“I was fascinated by the record of my father Elvis from an early age.” He recalls attending a concert by ETA called Frank Chisam in Fermanagh in the early 1980s.
“The compliment began shortly after Elvis died,” he says. “They now believe that there are about 200,000 Elvis camouflages around the world.”
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Tim Ryan played at the funeral. Photo: Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images
Ryan began his own actions in 2000.
“I have natural black hair and I just brush it. I get costumes from my Thai companions. He makes them for many ETAs. Starting at around € 1,000 per suit, Aloha costumes go up to 3,000 euros. “
This is a replica of the jeweled white jumpsuit worn by Elvis at the 1973 “Aloha from Hawaii” concert.
If you don’t have a band, ETA also needs to buy a professional backing track to sing along.
“There are companies in the US that do them, and for about 12 songs you’ll pay about $ 200. Gig prices start at € 250, but it depends on the location. When I go to Belfast, That’s £ 400.
“Before Covid, there were about four gigs a month on weekends. Elvis has always been popular in Ireland. He can trace his ancestors back to Hacketstown, County Carlow.”
Ryan plays at all kinds of events. “Do you believe even at the funeral? I was asked to wear a costume at the funeral. I do something like the gospel. amazing grace, When looking up for a shining day When If you never meet again.. “
He won the contest at the Porthcawl Elvis Festival in Wales, but that wasn’t the highlight of his career.
“I sang 15 years ago at the Red Cow Hotel in Dublin in front of Elvis tour manager Joe Especito,” says Ryan. “I got a standing ovation from him, and I was excited about it.”
Dan Kirwan, 47, is a full-time Elvis tribute artist from Enniscorthy, Wexford. “The only professional Elvis tribute artist in a wheelchair,” he started out as a DJ. His ETA career was “accidental” when his Elvis performance became popular on karaoke nights.
“At the Elvis Festival in Memphis in 2005, I met Elvis’ family and shared with them the idea of complimenting them. They said,” Good luck. ” Elvis wasn’t in a wheelchair, so I didn’t want to ridicule, insult his memory, or offend his family. But they were great, “says Kirwan.
He was born in spina bifida and started his career in 2006. Four years later, he was in the top 10 of the Elvis tournament in Memphis and was given a backtrack recorded by his original band. He is still “living a good life” and recently headlined Ireland’s largest comprehensive festival, Ablefest.
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Daniel Kirwan in his home in Graceland, Enniscorthy, Wexford.Photo: Paul Sharp
“I do the usual things like festivals, weddings, birthdays, pubs, hotels, etc.,” he says. “It’s good for true Elvis fans to book opportunities. If you’re just in a pub, you don’t know what kind of reaction you get. Some are Elvis fans, others aren’t. There is also. “
Kirwan also gets jumpsuits from B & K Enterprise Costumes.
“Embroidery designs are the cheaper end of the market, but they are all more expensive than they are now with import taxes. Wearing jumpsuits eliminates all your worries. Entertaining people first I’m coming to, “he says.
Rob Kingsley, 52, is a full-time ETA from Edinburgh, a mother from Bangor, County Down. His third Ireland tour is in the fall. Former soldiers still feel that it is “surreal” to impersonate Elvis.
“I went to Cyprus one night and got up with too much Guinness to sing karaoke, as we all do,” says Kingsley. “The man there asked me to come back and become Elvis five weeks later.”
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Rob Kingsley has played as Elvis all over the world
He won the European Elvis Championship in 2008 and is now active “twice around the world”, playing in Australia, Singapore, Thailand and throughout Europe.
“Touring as Elvis is much easier than the tour I was doing in the army,” he says.
Kingsley is “Half Scotland, Half Irish”, but was amazed at the unusual Elvis song that the Irish audience seemed to like. “Usually it is Suspicious MindBut in Ireland it is Sweet caroline.. His heaviest outfit weighs 28 pounds. “You’re talking about two stones,” he says. “It’s called a stone flame suit.”
Kingsley is grateful for the LED stage lights, which are less demanding than the Parkan lights of the past. “When you look at the old footage of the band in the 1970s, they are all very sweaty.”
He looks forward to seeing the biography, Elvis.. “Someone has seen the movie and wants to see the Elvis show. After all, all Elvis tribute artists are helping to keep his music alive.”
