Las Vegas

What other venue do you think would have been great for Elvis to perform in. I think Ceasers palace would be one or maybe if they built a purpose built one like they have done for Celine Dion. What do you think?

Anywhere in Blackpool !!

I THINK ALL THE BIG FOOTBALL STADIUMS IN THE USA AND OF COURSE ANYWHERE IN THE UK WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE.......

I am sure we would all liked to have seen Elvis in a Intimate showroom,like the Hilton in Vegas rather than the modern massive stadiums and Arenas, Elvis liked to connect with the Audience which is sometimes lost in modern venues.

hi tide porthcawl

PaulShookUp wrote:

I am sure we would all liked to have seen Elvis in a Intimate showroom,like the Hilton in Vegas rather than the modern massive stadiums and Arenas, Elvis liked to connect with the Audience which is sometimes lost in modern venues.

I agree there Paul, sometimes when you are at the MEN it can seem big.

I like the idea of an intimate venue - I saw Tom Jones in a small venue within the MGM las time in Vegas - it was great how he was able to connect with the audience. It was like having him in your front room.

We were going to see Tom at MGM but the tickets were sold out. We eneded up seeing him at the Echo areana in Liverpool instead. A mear side step in venue I think

All I kept thinking was, if that was Elvis on the stage I would be up the isle so fast and be makin a grab for him! Lol! Nearly did it for Jonesy boy anyway actually

On my bed!

After 71, Elvis didnt like performing in Las Vegas but was contracted to. Of course Parker loved it cause he was a gambling addict.

Elvis didnt like playing in outdoor arenas, only did a few times in the 70's.

One of Parker's weak excuses as to why Elvis never performed in the UK was that there were no indoor arenas for Elvis to perform in which was totally untrue.

In London, there was Wembley Arena,Earl's Court and The Royal Albert Hall.

and Parker was still wanted by the Dutch police. As an illegal immigrant he'd never have got back in to the states.

Sharrie wrote:

and Parker was still wanted by the Dutch police. As an illegal immigrant he'd never have got back in to the states.

That was just a rumour about him being a wanted man in Holland but he was an illegal immigrant, something Elvis was never aware of.

Sorry to digress a little, folks
Hi Sean. Yes, I don't think Elvis was aware of it. It was Alanna Nash who wrote in her biography of Parker ( The Colonel), that there were questions about a murder in Breda in which Van Kuijk, as he was then still known, might have been a suspect or a person of interest at least. This might have motivated Parker to avoid seeking a passport, as the Netherlands has an active extradition treaty with the United States, and Parker might have wanted to avoid criminal arrest by Dutch authorities in that case.

Sharrie wrote:

Sorry to digress a little, folks
Hi Sean. Yes, I don't think Elvis was aware of it. It was Alanna Nash who wrote in her biography of Parker ( The Colonel), that there were questions about a murder in Breda in which Van Kuijk, as he was then still known, might have been a suspect or a person of interest at least. This might have motivated Parker to avoid seeking a passport, as the Netherlands has an active extradition treaty with the United States, and Parker might have wanted to avoid criminal arrest by Dutch authorities in that case.

Yes i agree with you Sharrie,

There was always that question when it was discovered that Parker was an illegal immigrant in the early 80's that why didnt he apply to be a legitimate US citizen considering he was the manager of the Worlds greatest entertainer.
There was something about his past that he didnt want anyone to know.

I still say he kept Elvis in the movies in the 60's so to avoid Elvis touring knowing that Elvis would have wanted to perform overseas.

When Elvis did decide to go back out on the road, Parker kept making excuse after excuse to avoid any overseas tours, turning down $1million-a show offers.

If a few people knew of this why wasnt he reported to the aurthorities. Especially as newspapers like delving into peoples lives.

hi val
from what I have read about this, the press did try to delve a little deeper, but always ended up at a dead end. Parker was always careful not to end up in court, and was meticulous at paying his taxes. His autobiographical account released to the press consist of rehashed information (or misinformation) that was probably made up, so could not be proved or disproved. The stories are sometimes embellished so much, he made himself out to be some sort of legendary carny showman.

I suppose before the internet it was more difficult to gain access to personal records from a foreign country too, so would have been an expensive investigation for any newspaper.

Think the press are more intrusive now than then. They were probably not interested, if the colonel kept his nose clean they wouldnt bother. The power and influence Elvis had helped him aswell.

val w (Kinky Boots) wrote:

Think the press are more intrusive now than then. They were probably not interested, if the colonel kept his nose clean they wouldnt bother. The power and influence Elvis had helped him aswell.

Plus he was friends with alot of powerful people, ex-presidents and that.

Its a shame that Parker had so much control over Elvis and that Elvis never took his career that seriously.

Elvis was duped initially it seems by Parker. When Parker was staking out his "boy" he convinced Bob Neal to keep Elvis ' and the band's wages down to a max of $250 a night apparently. Then once he had Elvis on the road ,started to give him $100 dollar bills as "bonuses" and persuaded that Neal was not a good manager cos he couldn't get Elvis more money. So Elvis was earning more in bonuses than wages. I'd be convinced that I would be better off with the Colonel.

Another rumour was that of the "handshake" which bound them together. Utter pish, apparently.He tied Elvis in with so many ambiguous legal documents, the poor lad mustn't have been able to tie his own shoelaces without permission! Elvis probably didn't want to take his career seriously, if he realised that Parker was earning more out of Elvis' career than Elvis was!