A tribute to Charlie Hodge

Sadly and strangely, the photographer who took the excellent photos of the statue died a few weeks after the photos were developed. He was a friend of Jon Douglas. The fan who stole the original miniature bronze replica of the statue on display at the Elvisly Yours Centre also died a week after stealing the sculpture. Jon Douglas died a few years ago and was well into his 90's. to me he was the greatest sculptor ever in Britain and was never given the true recognition he deserved because he was a bit of a maverick to his peers in the world of British sculptors. Charlie Hodge loved the statue unveilings and was truly moved and honoured to unveil such a work of art in memory of his friend, Elvis Presley. We offered the statue for free to the major museums in London but no museum wanted our Elvis so we eventually found a home in London in 1982. The statue has appeared hundreds of times on TV, on Rolling Stones and Del Amitri videos, on Top of the Pops and has travelled throughout Britain and Germany. It has raised £thousands for charity as we ask fans and tourists to give a £1 donation for charity to take their photo with the statue.

Photos of Charlie from the Elvisly Yours collection :