predictions for birmingham

John Devil wrote:

I predict that the sheer Awsome Talent of GarryJohn
will be reconised and he will knock us dead
with his Performance with the Band in the Final
Go Garry, Go Garry He He wicked !!!
.Good Luck to all our Lads
we know you will all do the Browser Proud

Im not sure what your are saying Sharrie ?

Are you saying that you did go and have fun, appreciate the competitors efforts, do some
jammin, celebrate the birthday, and drank the bar dry with your friends!?? If so, fantastic, what a weekend. I certainly looked on it that way with my friends.

or are you suggesting the results were a fix ? if so I have to disagree.

I have been going every year and have also always made my own notes, comments and given scores, purely to see how my opinion compares with that of the judges. This year I had 17 out of the 23 that were put through to the final round.

With regards to the final round - we all see things differently, but it is fair to say that there were at least half a dozen that must have been very close in the scoring.

I had two of the top three and didnt agree on one of the placings, however, i dont think it was a fix, I understand that their scores must have been finate, and could have easily gone another way. So all in all I say well done to the judges, fair play in what is effectively a thankless task and would be very happy for all of them to judge further competitions.

Finally, I would like to say that I thought there was a noticiable rise in the standard that the eta's acheived last year and felt that it had risen even further this year. Which all in all is fantastic for us the fans that get to watch these Guys perform their tribute.

It was really nice to meet you Jasper I agree with your comment Jasper, the judging is a thankless job. We would want everyone to win. The standard was very high from everyone. Maybe next year anyone who didnt agree with the judges can have their own 'judging' table and then compare with the official judges.

Thanks Val, lovely to meet you too

I was really wanting to have my own score sheet this year (as never done it before) to see if my scores were close to the results..... but being a smoker it didnt work out!!!!! (back and too outside!) so sometimes would only get to see 1 song of a performer.

I def agree that each year the eta's are getting stronger and stronger performances.

The Hilton was a great venue (little expensive at the bar, but I think Asda met a lot of us friday! lol!)

Well done to all for making the weekend enjoyable for everyone. x

val w (Kinky Boots) wrote:

Personally I dont think you are right Sharrie, everyone who entered were absolutly brilliant. The standard was very high from everyone and it was a hard to judge. It would be very difficult to get 5 people to 'Fix' a competition as there own reputation would be on the line and I know I certainly would not agree to fixing it. As one of the judges was from the public, maybe you could have put yourself forward to be a judge that way you would be able to see behind the scenes.

Not everyone is a fan of the winner, but I think he is also a worthy winner.

I did put myself forward as a judge!!!!!! I didn't get picked. I guessed nit was because I am genuine Elvis fan, rather than an eta fan. If I was a judge, I would have allowed the first half dozen guys do there act again, as the sound engineers cocked up. A sdound check should be standard. To expect the guys to sing with no sound track audible enough is disgusting. If they moved, there was feedback, so they had to stand still, and there was way too much echo., If the judges do not understand this, they shouldm't be judging.

oh really? in that case, tell me....as i don't get it!.... why, when I went to look at the finalists list, I saw the names of etas that were bloody awful in the heats? The standard was not high! They proved this in the finals too. I had to stick my fingers in my ears on occasion.Also, please explain to me, that whilst I was looking at the list, trying to contain my laughter, was I told by a lady that Gordon Hendricks was going to win it. I have never heard of him. I said "oh yeah, how do you know that?" She said it had been arranged months ago. It was to do with promotion of his tour.!!!!!!!!! Paul Molloy sounded nowt like elvis, stood stock still... still got through. ....when I asked people HOW? They said he was put through cos he has a large fan base! WHAT??????
I should be a judge in this comp. I am an Elvis fan, not an eta fan, and I would treat all contestants fairly. I would remember each and every act, not "forget" who was who.

Before you ask....I have slept on it before writing this! Sorry if I have offended anyone. Just an opinion. I guess we will have to agree to differ.

Other than that, I did choose the top 2, so I was correct. Only 3rd place I differed....and yes, ASDA was much cheaper than the bar!

Yes, it was a brilliant weekend. I know I am in a lot of trouble on the browser cos the judges are on here, and so are a lot of their friends. It's nothing personal, just a difference of opinion. Is that allowed on forums like this, or are we expected to say the "right" thing?

having judged a comp in the pasti can tell you it is no easy task , i ,like paul knew most of the e.t.a,s in the comp i had to judge but you have to put that to one side , start with a blank sheet and judge each one on there merit , well done to all the judges not an easy job as i have said but i think you all have put some crediblaty back into the system

Lorna wrote:

Sharrie, I mite well have gone down the 'fix' route at one time if I had not agreed with the judges or my fav did not go through before Paul became a judge. However now I cant help but feel its a bit narrow minded to call it a fix and I also feel it takes away from those who did get to the finals and did get placed which is not fair at all. A few of my fav's were not placed but even with our friends on our own table, we all had different opinions on who we thought the winners should be, even my mum thought different from me lol!

One of the reasons I think Paul was asked to be a judge was because he runs this forum and Michael wanted to prove, not just to him but to all of us that this comp is legit and people are marked out of 10 for each category and then the scores are added up and the highest one wins - simple as that.

Think it is a really good idea that you should put yourself up to be a judge next time. I think the more people who see it for themselves the less scepticism there will be x

I didn't call it a fix, another lady told me who was gonna win it. I did piut myself forward to Michael KIng. I wrote a formal letter. I didn't get chosen. Not sure why not., I would have been totalkly impartial as I am new to the eta world, and don't know who should get through. They would have been marked totally on merit in the heats, which I am sure was done by anyone judging. It threw me totally when I was told who was going to win. I did guess the top 2. I saw the whole of the finals. I judge every year, using the set criteria. I compare with the some a\ dozen people who have done this every year. They usually get it right too. They run the jamming sessions in the bar.

pauldb38 wrote:

As a Judge i am insulted that anyone would think i would entertain fixing , the voting was hard and not allot of points separated the top 3.

I think the top 3 was all worthy winners and deserved there place there !

Like I said, I guessed the top top two, so no fixing problem with me. Is it ironic then that I was told who the winner would be before the start of the finals? Personally, I would have liked evidence rather than hearsay. If I saw a poster last week with "Gordon Hendricks, Winner of 2011 Elvis Euros, " I may have entertained it more.The judges got it right. .Gordon Hendricks was very good and a worthy winner. There was nothing wrong with the positions given. A level playing field would have been nice for all contestants though. First four guys in first heat didn't stand a chance, as the sound engineer cocked up big time. Sound check should have been done BEFORE the competition. Just because they were doing the graveyard shift should not mean that they should be the sound engineer's guinea pigs. Why were they not allowed to start again. It must have been very nerve wracking for them at best. To have to sing with feedback, too much echo, cd jumping, and no sound through the speakers, must have affected their efforts????

Yes, i would have been an ideal judge two years ago, before I knew any of them. I have been an Elvis fan, since I was three years old. I know every move, I know who sounds like Elvis, and who doesn't.

You noticed that I haven't mentioned Johnny personally? If you think that it would make me less than impartial, knowing one of the contestants, are you therefore suggesting that the judges that know more than a few etas would be more open to accusations of impartiality? Hmmm. Food for thought.

I think outsiders would be best bet, if for no other reason than to protect them from accusations of bias.

My own personal marking I did had Pete 1st, Gordon 2nd and Ciaran 3rd.

It was rather disturbing to be told some time before that Gordon was going to win, but of course that may just have been an opinion that had grown legs since he is obviously very, very good. I certainly enjoyed listening to him.

I didn't see all of the heats - but I will say that from what I did see of the heats, the best 24 didn't get through.
I'm not going to bother trying to qualify that with names of who should or shouldn't have got through.

I didn't think the sound was great. I heard guys in the final who sounded god-awful although I know from having heard them before, that they are normally pretty decent. I didn't hear all the contestants in the heats beforehand so can't actually say on this occasion if they were any good then either.


One thing I would like to know from the judges...

Did they compare scores or hand their sheets in individually?

Not meant to be a trick question, but obviously if the judges are all in different locations and are judging independently from one another then they actually would not know how each of them are scoring and would therefore not really know who had been the choice of the majority of them.

Just a thought that sometimes a panel sitting together is a better and more transparent system.
I also think that, no matter how painful it may be to the contestants, the score sheets should be available to read.
It's hard to improve if you don't know what you're doing wrong in the first place, and feedback on performance is standard in any other workplace

Yes, like Johnny just wrote, ideally you want totally independent judges...an impossibility? I could not say. It is a dichotomy which will always be there, I suppose.

Sharrie wrote:

val w (Kinky Boots) wrote:

Personally I dont think you are right Sharrie, everyone who entered were absolutly brilliant. The standard was very high from everyone and it was a hard to judge. It would be very difficult to get 5 people to 'Fix' a competition as there own reputation would be on the line and I know I certainly would not agree to fixing it. As one of the judges was from the public, maybe you could have put yourself forward to be a judge that way you would be able to see behind the scenes.

Not everyone is a fan of the winner, but I think he is also a worthy winner.

I did put myself forward as a judge!!!!!! I didn't get picked. I guessed nit was because I am genuine Elvis fan, rather than an eta fan. If I was a judge, I would have allowed the first half dozen guys do there act again, as the sound engineers cocked up. A sdound check should be standard. To expect the guys to sing with no sound track audible enough is disgusting. If they moved, there was feedback, so they had to stand still, and there was way too much echo., If the judges do not understand this, they shouldm't be judging.

oh really? in that case, tell me....as i don't get it!.... why, when I went to look at the finalists list, I saw the names of etas that were bloody awful in the heats? The standard was not high! They proved this in the finals too. I had to stick my fingers in my ears on occasion.Also, please explain to me, that whilst I was looking at the list, trying to contain my laughter, was I told by a lady that Gordon Hendricks was going to win it. I have never heard of him. I said "oh yeah, how do you know that?" She said it had been arranged months ago. It was to do with promotion of his tour.!!!!!!!!! Paul Molloy sounded nowt like elvis, stood stock still... still got through. ....when I asked people HOW? They said he was put through cos he has a large fan base! WHAT??????
I should be a judge in this comp. I am an Elvis fan, not an eta fan, and I would treat all contestants fairly. I would remember each and every act, not "forget" who was who.

Before you ask....I have slept on it before writing this! Sorry if I have offended anyone. Just an opinion. I guess we will have to agree to differ.

Firstly No ETA was arwful in the heats, yes some are not as good as others but to say they were arwful is horrible. I also heard that Pete Storm was going to win, think this is a case of different opinions of people. I think I came to the conclusion that everyone there are 'Elvis fans', not necessarly ETA fans. You dont have to remember each and every act. I watched it all from the beginning to the end, quite a few I remember more than others and it proves they had that something extra. You cetainly havent offended me, I am the last person you would offend. Feel you are being negative about the ETA's who have worked hard and give it there all. Paul Molloy has a large fan base, so did Pete Storm and Eiren Elvis, they were all there. There was no judging about how many fans. We stood and gave a lot of people standing ovations who we though was brill. People stood up for Garry but they didn't know it. They obviously judged on there merit.

it is a personal opinion. I thought some of them were awful, and you say some weren't as good as others. Personal opinions. My friend Melvis is usually much better than that, but he was goddam awful. He lost his nerve, and he was awful. he was good in the heats so was in the final...he is still an excellent eta, and a thoroughly nice chap to boot, as are most of them.

It could have been the sound system, as a lot of them seemed to be shouting into the mic. If the monitors aren't set up quite right, you need to sing a little louder so you can hear yourself. If that happens, you have to compromise and you do not sing in your normal elvis voice. Any contestants find this or was it sorted?

val w (Kinky Boots) wrote:

Firstly No ETA was awful in the heats,

I suppose the definition of awful is a very personal one.

johnny king wrote:

val w (Kinky Boots) wrote:

Firstly No ETA was awful in the heats,

I suppose the definition of awful is a very personal one.

johnny king wrote:

val w (Kinky Boots) wrote:

Firstly No ETA was awful in the heats,

I suppose the definition of awful is a very personal one.

I just think awful was a strong word. It is personal opinion, we all like each ETA differently.

Whoever the judges were there would be the same problems , we all have our favourites , and it is difference of opinion that causes controversy

Its a great debate to have and this is what the beauty of a competition is, we all have our own opinions and favourites and who should and shouldnt be placed here and there but eventually the best man will win, Simon was the best last year and Gordon this, you could tell how much it meant to Gordon and his family when the results were announced but he was a class act and been in the game for many years!

The judges did a great job in my opinion, there was no one not in the final that I thought should.............. I just wish we had a bit more 50's Elvis to chose from!

Lisa you wouldnt be a very good judge hon you miss the last few contestants as you would be too p#ssed! And trying it on with Austin Powers again.........!

Ok i'm going to give you some inside info here but also a explanation .....

Why do i think i was chosen as a judge ? Well i am a life long Elvis fan its elvis first everytime, I'm also a Epe Registered fan club president who has been a Honour Guard at Graceland twice but i get invited to do this every year (if only i had the funds to go every year). Also here at Elvis Is in The Browser we are the only mixed Elvis fan / ETA fanclub to be recognised and endorsed by Elvis Presley enterprises for which i am also president of.

Judging friends i knew most of the contestants anyway but the likes of Gary , Pete , Eddie who are management on here it was very hard and i did them no favours allow me to explain, all our scoring is looked at for consistency through each judge , and in case of the guys above i either scored slightly lower or the same as the other judges , a example here take Gary John i actually scored him the lowest out of the 3 judges why ? well he deserved what i marked him and possibly more but i didnt want it to look as though i was favouring him so i scored him at what i thought was a safe well earned score. I wasn't alone the other 2 judges Julie and Neil also knew allot of eta's and had the same concerns as me , same has to be said for ETA's we dont see eye to eye with same problem would we mark them down ? One such ETA did this and was brought up the meeting where we was going threw the scores and it was actually found i didnt score him the highest or the lowest i was right in the middle. Not that i'm the sort of person that would do this anyway , what i wanted more than anything was to be sending the best possible ETA to memphis to represent the Uk and show the yanks its not just them who can do Elvis.

Scoring how did we do this ? Well although we was all sat together we didnt actually know what we was scoring each contestant so each judge scored independently the only point we compared scores was when we was counting up to see who was in the final and then the final 3. How in tune was we with each other ? Well despite been independent we agreed with in a point or 2 96% of the time. And where we disagreed ie the odd 4% non of them came close to been a finalyst. We had a meeting with the Event organisers where the score was looked at in detail again for consistency and neil will back me up on this , the organisers agreed with our scores of who should be in the final and who should be placed in the top 3.

So again this is another reason why i think i was asked to be a judge i can report the contest was not a fix in any shape or form , would i be a judge again if i was asked ? I certainly would it was a honour and a pleasure to be part of such a great event.

There seems to be allot of talk about Gorden hendricks and Pete Storm some say we got it right some say we got it wrong , well i can assure you all there scores was so close just 5 points seperated them in fist and second place. And when you consider there was 5 judges in the final that makes it 1 point difference per judge.

Final note i think each and every ETA who took part are winners where else in the world can you go on Elvis's birthday sing your heart out to a dedicated Elvis fan base Audiance ?

We had a meeting with the Event organisers where the score was looked at in detail again for consistency and neil will back me up on this , the organisers agreed with our scores of who should be in the final and who should be placed in the top 3.


whether the organisers agreed with the judges scores or not is immaterial, Paul. You don't have to justify your decisions as a judge to anyone, least of all the organisers. They are spectators in the finals, just like the rest of us not judging. It should not depend either whether an eta is popular or been in the circuit for years. It should be what the judges see and hear for themselves on the day, and their decision should be final. When I trained as a footy ref, I was told that we would not always get the decison right, but what was important was that we were impartial, offered a level playing field and did our very best to make the right decisions. People would always disagree as it is difficult to be impartial. Please believe me that I am not having a rant for rantings' sake. I believe that the judges got it right on the night re: the finals. Like I said, earlier, I would want more evidence of fixing before believing. I guess it was a coincidence that the winner has a forthcoming tour and someone close to his promotions manager was annoyed enough to tell people who were questioning the finals list. I do believe though that the sound engineer should have done a sound check prior to the commencement of the first heat, as a level playing field was not offered.

Thats the point i was making right at the end what i said was the judges decision was final but obviously the event orginisers have to check for themselves to see no fowl play.....


Your telling me something i didnt know i knew nothing of the forth coming tour of Gorden , i had heard the name but its the first time i have seen him , simples the reason why gorden won is because he has done the hard work on his look his presentation and voice. Obviosly if what your saying is true and he has a tour then he would have had to work bloody hard to get to tour standard , you dont just turn up at a theatre and entertain 400+ peeps for 2 hours without some sort of training hard work.

I knew when i agreed to be a Judge i would come up against the oh its a fix etc etc but fortunatly for me i have broad shoulders and have learned along time ago not to take it to heart and i certainly wont be loosing sleep over your comments or anyone elses for that matter , i know in my heart i did my best which was also reflected with other judges , i'm knackered its been a hard weekend but most definatly worth it.