Kevin Kern, director public relations for Elvis Enterprises
JUMPSUITS and pompadours have arrived in Liverpool for the launch of Elvis and Us at the Beatles Story.
The exhibition is being billed as Europe’s biggest ever showcase of the King of Rock and Roll, celebrating his relationship with the Beatles through artefacts and costumes.
Kevin Kern, Director of Public Relations at Elvis Presley Enterprises, travelled over from Memphis with 80 artefacts to go on display.
Among them is the jumpsuit Elvis wore the first time he performed a Beatles track – Yesterday–- on stage and the pool table over which he first met the Liverpool band.
Kern said: “The relationship between Memphis and Liverpool goes back to the days of the cotton trade. Then these people called Elvis and the Beatles came along and strengthened the connection. Liverpool is the natural place to have the exhibition and we’re very excited to be here.
“There’s a reason people call Elvis the King – because he still exists and he’s everywhere. Right now he’s in the UK.”
The exhibit covers all of Elvis’s career. Genuine outfits will be on display – each one custom-made and some weighing up to 40lbs.
It will also feature a selection of the 3,000 costumes and 400 pairs of shoes from Vegas show Viva Elvis, which plays to audiences stateside 10 shows a week.
In true Elvis style the finale to the exhibition is a Vegas monument.
