Competition success for West Sussex Elvis Presley tribute artist

Jon was competing in Birmingham at the European Elvis Championships in a bid to be crowned European champion. He was happy with the result.

“It was a fantastic weekend. I sang three songs including Bridge Over Troubled Water and I Just Can't Help Believing. The people that were placed first second and third were told what their position was but I reached the top ten, and I think I will get the judges’ scorecards and feedback at some point. But I'm pleased with that though I know there is still room for improvement. It was only my second competition. I did one in Blackpool when I made it into the finals last year. I’m still a relative newbie.

“I think vocally it went well. It was the strongest vocals I have done for a while. When you're at a venue and there's a really good sound tech team, then I think it really does help rather than just being in a tiny room in a pub. I think if I was being super critical, maybe I just need to watch some videos a bit more. But there's not a lot of live footage of Elvis actually but maybe I just need to watch more. It's just about nailing down those details. From what I understand it is about the judges wanting your closest representation of what Elvis was and what he means to you.

“I got into him when I was taken to Graceland when I was 17. To me Elvis is the American Dream. It is the rags to riches story from humble beginnings. That's a really important part of the story and I think it gives you a lot of belief that you can do something as well. And I think he was not just a fantastic singer, he was also a really great performer. He was one of the first original performers that could sing and dance and who orchestrated it all. The band were following his beats. They were doing his timing. He was the king of rock 'n' roll, and he was so diverse. He had such a big impact on people's lives but he was humble as well.

“I started the tribute in March 2023. There are lots of guys out there doing it but I would go around and do the voice and sing a few songs and people would say that I was pretty good. I would always go to see the tributes when they were on in the theatres and so on around here and I suppose it just grew from there. I did a few charity events and then started doing a few pubs and venues. Last year I thought I would look at the competition aspect of it all and I signed up for my first competition in Blackpool in May.”

More details on https://www.facebook.com/JohnnyBMemphis and

www.johnnybmemphis.com.

Jon, aged 33, is lining up another competition for June this year but the year will also be about increasing the number of gigs as he works towards perhaps one day having his own band behind him on stage.”