"THE BIG ROOM" When
I was a small person I wasn't allowed in 'the big room' unless
I was accompanied but a big person. One day, years later,
I don't really know exactly when, I was suddenly big enough
to be left in the house alone. Obviously I took that as my
cue to open the door to 'the big room'.
Not
surprisingly it was full of the more delicate house furniture.
There was an old piano, and some of my fathers model cars.
But one thing that stood out to me above all else was an old
wooden record player. With a beating heart, I gingerly lifted
the lid. There were switches, dials and a turntable and a
plug. I'd once had a bad experience with a plug socket, but
I wasn't going to let that stop me on this most auspicious
of occasions, so I flicked the switch (good, no bang) and
set the button to ON. A red light came on and and a soothing
hum could be heard
This
wasn't totally new to me, because I had seen my father playing
records before, although I had never done it. Uncertainly,
I opened the large red box in which he kept his albums. I
reached inside and pulled one out. It was Elvis Presley. Gently,
ever so gently I placed it on the turntable, flicked another
switch and all by itself, the needle rose and steadily lowered
itself onto the revolving black vinyl.
That
single moment changed my life for ever. It was like the hidden
demons had come out of the closet and said, "Congratulations,
son. You've just discovered rock'n roll."
The
older I got, the more often I was allowed to go into 'the
big room', and play records on my own. I tried lots of stuff,
but nothing ever hit the spot quite like the first time, quite
like Elvis. He became my friend and even made some films to
make my school holidays more bearable.
One
sunny day, completely out of the blue, my nan told me "Elvis
Presley died today." No one had ever died on me before.
When I switched the TV on that night I was staggered to discover
it was true (not that I really thought my nan would lie to
me). Elvis was dead, just like shed said, just like that.
As I sat there watching the tributes it suddenly dawned on
me that I wasn't the only one crying at his loss, nor the
only person in the world who genuinely loved his music. There
were loads of other people too.
One of my saddest feelings for me as I grew up remained the
fact that I would never see Elvis 'live'. But today on the
17th March 2001 to be precise, I got to sit in another 'big
room'. A room called the London Arena, at Docklands, along
with loads of other people (8,000 others in total) to see
'Elvis the Concert'.
Elvis
Presley first appeared in the 1950's as a snarling punk. His
records were often banned and he had to be filmed from the
waist up. He completed two years national service in the US
Army and went on to make movies throughout most of the sixties.
In 1968 he made the '68 Comeback Special. It's huge success
left only one thing to do, go on stage live ! Admitting he
missed the closeness of a live audience, Elvis handpicked
a completely new band with this sole intention in mind.
With Ronnie Tutt on Drums, James Burton on lead guitar, Glen
D Hardin on piano, Jerry Scheff on bass, and with the critically
acclaimed Sweet Inspirations and The Imperials as backing
singers, Elvis played Vegas for two years, before taking the
show on the road across America. Elvis, in fact, was still
'doing the rounds' right up until his untimely death in August
1977. So you would think a world tour in 2001 might be a bit
tricky, wouldn't you ? So read on for 'the technical bit',
and do pay attention..... 007!
Anything Elvis recorded on a multi-track from live performances
such as the 68 Comeback Special, That's the way it is and
Elvis On Tour, the whole band are stripped from the recording
leaving only Elvis on lead vocals. Bearing this in mind, with
a huge screen dominating the arena and his original Vegas
band waiting behind a white curtain, the show once again was
back on the road !
I
sat there in sweat anticipation and looked all around me at
the packed arena. I can not believe the huge diversity of
people ih the audience. Young people, old people, punks, rockers,
black, white, and most, like me, sitting pensively. After
all this show has just been entered into the Guinness Book
of Records as "The first live world tour starring a performer
who is no longer living!"
The lights went down and there was a huge rumble from the
Joe Guercio Orchestra as they started up with "2001:
Space Odyssey". spooky ! Then the huge white curtain
fell to the floor and there was Elvis, alive again,infront
of us all on a giant screen, looking surprisingly well as
a matter of fact! He strode out on stage, smiles coyly and
set about "CC Rider". He pointed and said, "Play
it James" so James did live! At this there was a huge
roar from the crowd and we are most definitely talking HUGE
! (even Lemmy would have approved). The sound was extraordinarily
well balanced and the mix absolutely seamless. Then Presley
throws a punch into the air and the whole show obediently
stopped in it's tracks and the entire place went crazy!. Elvis
said "Good evening everyone. I hope you enjoy the show
tonight". Man, you just had to be there to believe what
you were seeing and hearing. You really, really did.
We were treated to a wide spectrum of his "live hits"
including, Burning Love, Steamroller Blues, Never Been to
Spain, In the ghetto and classics like Hound Dog, Don't Be
cruel, All Shook up and Heartbreak Hotel. Hell, at one point
Elvis even introduced the band! His penultimate song the Anthem
like An American Trilogy, along with the help of a local gospel
choir, had the entire arena on their feet singing along. But
then, before I know it, the show was over and a booming voice
spoke those immortal words, "Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis
has left the building." I could almost imagine him, still
sweating, being herded off into the night, deep in the back
of a big black Cadillac.
Bruce
Springsteen once said of Elvis Presley "It was like he
came along and whispered some dream into everybody's ear and
somehow we all dreamed it"
That was my privilege on the 17th of March 2001 - along with
7999 other dear souls.
|
