The club stayed open until quite late and every night fans would end up at Bad Bob's and I met the club's owner, Elvis' vet Dr Ed Franklin. He was a huge man, with a big bellowing voice that at first could seem intimidating but his bark was much worse than his bite. He was very laid back and seemed to take everything in his stride. He had a great sense of humour and recounted wonderful stories about his time with Elvis as his vet. 

He continued to look after Graceland's animals after Elvis died. He didn't take any BS from EPE and admired the fact that I took on EPE in the Courts in the USA and particularly in Britain where we defeated them. His clubs were very reasonably priced for food and drink and played great music, even in the afternoons when he put on tea dances for old timers and the not so old. I used to love watching "line dancing" to the great country music that was the main feature of the clubs. Over the years hundreds of Elvisly Yours Fan Club members enjoyed Ed's entertainment. Although he was known for his Elvis Tribute Contests in August his clubs were open all year around and I would see him on each visit I was in Memphis and that was usually four times a year, twice with fan club tours and then twice in later years for legal proceedings with EPE and general Elvis business. We did several charity promotions together, including one for Special Olympics and the only Concert the Russian Elvis, Rafik, performed in America was at Bad Bob's. Ed had a heart of gold and always had time to talk even on his busiest nights. He was a larger than life character whom you thought would just go on and on. Since I stopped going to Memphis and taking tours I lost contact with Ed but still his death came as a shock. 

However, it brought back such fond memories of a kind and gentle man who helped Memphis rock on, year after year. I was honoured and privileged to have been his friend. My sincere sympathies go to his wife, Jackie, his children and family. Their loss is felt all over the world by the thousands of fans that Dr Ed Franklin's life touched, a true legend of the Elvis World and of Memphis.

Photographic Memories of Bad Bobs/Vapors

           Click here  to view and sign Dr. Franklin's Remembrance Book at the Commercial Appeal.

Last chance to order a numbered, 
limited edition casual Elvis shirt

The first samples of the shirts are being sold as a limited edition, they are that good. The first 500 will be numbered and sold with a certificate and can be pre-ordered now. Only shirt orders received before August 16th 2006 will be numbered with a certificate. We don't believe there has ever been a shirt that has been numbered. It will make sense to frame the shirt rather than wear it and believe me it is fabulous and should be framed. 

The price of the numbered shirts will be the same as the recommended retail price £19.95 (plus £1.55 p&p UK). You can order as many shirts as you wish while we still have stock of the first 500. They will become important collector's items. Of the 3,000 or more products Elvisly Yours has produced over the past 28 years the Elvis shirts are the best design and the most exciting product we have ever sold…Everyone will want a shirt, even your family and friends who aren't fans, a real kitsch product of the King. The shirt will be available in small, medium, large, X-large and XX-large and is suitable for both men and women. 

Order a Casual Elvis Shirt TODAY, each numbered with a certificate 
(Sorry, because of EPE the shirt and other memorabilia is NOT available for sale to US residents) 

Soon after the shirts are launched in mid-August there will follow many other products in the same design and material including ties, skirts, duvets, curtains, pillowcases and cushion covers. Later blue and sepia tone material will be produced for the full range of new Elvisly Yours products, available from us and major stores.

What's wrong with Parkes? 

Australians have a great reputation for being strong characters, great in sports, great fighters and have a deep inner strength. They are even Australians that fight crocodiles and they have the world's most poisonous snakes and spiders. Sadly, this wonderful, macho reputation is being ruined by it seems a bunch of pansies who run the annual "Elvis Festival" in Parkes, NSW, Australia. Each year Parkes puts on an Elvis Festival but after reading on the Internet that Elvis impersonators were to be banned the organisers got their "knickers in a twist" ("panties in a wad"), started panicking and have run to Bob Sillerman, the new owner of EPE begging for an "Official" license. Even Bob Sillerman has stated he does not intend to stop Elvis impersonators. 

As long as the Parkes Elvis Festival pays the standard fee for playing Elvis music they can have all the Elvis Tribute Artists in the world performing and there is nothing EPE can do to stop Parkes celebrating the music of Elvis Presley. I took on Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc in the UK Courts to bring freedom to the Elvis World. In London alone there are seven Elvis theme restaurants and ETA Contests up and down the country throughout the year. There are probably several thousand unlicensed Elvis shows. Since Australian Law follows UK Law and EPE was defeated here I would be happy to advise the Parkes Elvis Festival Committee about their rights. They should save the license fee and give the money to a local children's home, just as Elvis would have wanted if he were alive.

It has been stated that Graceland's character is to remain despite a massive overhaul to the Graceland complex but there is no specific timetable according to Kevin Kern, a spokesman for EPE. In particular, plans to tear down the 128-room Heartbreak Hotel and replace it with an entertainment complex, two 400-room hotels and restaurants, is still on the drawing board, said Kern. But now Kern hasn't done his homework because he stated, "But don't expect the shag carpeting in the mansion's Jungle Room to be taken up and replaced with hardwood floors.""The house is a national landmark. You don't make changes like that. You don't change a national landmark,'' said Kern. "There's always the process of maintaining a place, but that doesn't mean you have to make changes. You clean it up. You trim the trees and change out plants, but you don't change the house. Graceland mansion will always be like it was.

…Who is he kidding or didn't he know Priscilla tore up the carpet, torn down the curtains, removed the furniture etc, etc when she took over Graceland and changed history? It seems she did not like the way Elvis left Graceland when he died and millions of people have never had the chance to appreciate Graceland as Elvis left it. Perhaps Sillerman can now change the house back to the way it was when Elvis died, as featured in the photographs displayed in this Newsletter supplied originally by Jimmy Velvet. The rooms you first enter when you go into Graceland were in a bright red, carpet, drapes, furniture and apparently it was the style Linda Thompson persuaded Elvis to chose. 

By all accounts Priscilla didn't like Linda, especially because she was close to Lisa, so as soon as she got the chance Priscilla put her mark on Graceland and destroyed history, by changing the interior decor of Graceland. I am shocked to see after all these years Linda and Sam Thompson are finally guests of Graceland for Elvis Week 2006, especially after what EPE did to her parents when they sued them to take back the house Elvis gave to them.

Facts about Elvis' hair by Larry Geller

I get 10,000 emails a year about Elvis and I try to answer all. Recently I was asked a question about what pomade Elvis used for his hair. Of course, Elvis' hairdresser on the road was Larry Geller who was also his spiritual advisor. In Memphis Elvis used Homer Gilliland, commonly known as Gill, but on Tour and for many movies Elvis used Larry Geller and they became close friends. Larry kindly took time to answer the fan fully and wrote, "in terms of Elvis' hair you can add the following: In the sixties I styled Elvis' hair for the movies Roustabout; Girl Happy; Double Trouble; Easy Come, Easy Go; Frankie and Johnny; Harum Scarum; Paradise Hawaiian Style; Tickle Me; Spinout and Clambake. 

We would arrive at the studio each morning, and before Elvis' make-up was applied I would do his hair in his dressing room. During the day's shooting I would be on the set making sure his hair matched scenes and was looking appropriate. Typically, I would have to redo his hair a half-dozen times a day because he was so active in the films. Although Elvis had a perfect full head of hair, it did lack body. Therefore I had to constantly spray it, and when it came to the type of shampoo that I used, it was a custom solution that I prepared. I always used a mild pH base, to which I would add vitamin E oil, Aloe Vera gel, Jojoba oil and other ingredients to keep his hair healthy and looking great. He also received from me regular shampooing, brushing and scalp massage. Pomade? Never! That was a no-no. The only pomades available in those days were detrimental: heavy and clogging the pores; they would have worked against the full, healthy head of hair that Elvis possessed and that I worked to maintain. 

When it came to dying his hair black, I used a wonderful product from a company called "Lapinol", which is no longer in business. I later used Clairol or sometimes L'Oreal.  On tour in the seventies, I would do his hair before we left the hotel or on the plane. Backstage before a performance I would tinker with it, making sure it looked right."  It was Larry who trimmed Elvis' hair for the funeral at the request of Vernon Presley and when he discovered Elvis had greying hair he had to use his partner's black eyebrow pencil to blacken the grey roots. Larry has just written a new book about his spiritual experiences with Elvis and is hoping to market a new range of wonderful, natural hair products, just like he used for Elvis. We will advise you of the publication of the book and launch of the hair products as soon as we hear from Larry.

I recently introduced Uri Geller to our dear friend, Larry Geller. I could not get over how much they look like each other; Larry could be an older brother. They have similar traits when they stand and talk and both are deeply into spiritual life. Larry was Elvis' mentor and Uri was keen to meet him on a recent visit to Los Angeles. They both have family from Austria and since they are Jewish the War could have separated the Geller family. They are researching their roots to see if they are indeed cousins. It was Larry who first told me Elvis was Jewish. Elvis' great, great grandmother Nancy Tacket was Jewish and according to Jewish law the mother carries the religious line making Elvis also Jewish. 

Some years ago I got a phone call from an Elvis fan in Scotland asking for some advice on publishing a book about Elvis. He knew I had beaten EPE in the UK Courts and wanted to know if he would have problems writing his own book. His name is Paul Graham and what is amazing about Paul is he is totally blind, since the age of 12. There has been constant communication by phone and emails for several years with Paul. He decided to delay his Elvis book and first write a children's book, instead.

The book is delightful and is called "The adventures of Captain Kizzy and the Grapes". In keeping with his love for Elvis a character in the book is named "Elvis Pearsley". It is in large format (8.5 x 11ins) and in colour. The ISBN number is 142592896X and published by Author House. It is Paul's love for Elvis Presley that has kept him going over the years. 

     Possible new clock design

Elvisly Yours has just signed a major contract with one of Britain's leading clock and watch manufacturers. Over the next few months we will be designing a wide range of clocks and watches for launch in January 2007 and the 30th Anniversary year.

Included in the range will be a clock that the legs of Elvis acts as the pendulum and swing back and forward. In my office, for over 20 years, I have clocks that used to be handmade in Memphis in the shape of a guitar by a lady who made the clocks as a labour of love. They are quite beautiful, hand carved and lacquered wood with a photo of Elvis on a glitter backing. I have always wanted to reproduce them after the lady that made them was driven out of business by EPE. I used to get them from Roy Wells of the Wooden Indian store in the Graceland shopping plaza. We will also re-launch our famous 'disappearing Elvis' watch. The watch worked on a Polaroid principle and Elvis would appear then disappear every 15 seconds. I still wear the original proto-type and gave them to Elvis' friends who came to England. 

I remember giving one to the late Richard Davis. He loved it and wore it every day for about two years. I was in Memphis and he complained the watch wouldn't work anymore and he was quite upset. I said, "Richard, have you tried changing the battery?"

Front and back of the new 
Elvis card pack

Elvis playing cards £9.95 for 2 packs
 p&p £1.00 p&p, £2.00 Eu, £3.00 world