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Richard
Atkins has been a massive Elvis fan for several years, and it shows
in his fantastic Vegas tribute to the King.
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The
Vegas Years at The Hall For Cornwall
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| Click
here to enjoy our gallery
of pictures capturing Richard Atkins as Elvis at The Hall For
Cornwall in May 2005 |
Atkins
has spent years perfecting his tribute, even wearing jumpsuits tailored
by Elvis' original costume makers in America.
Richard's
Vegas show pays tribute to a time when every Elvis show on the gambling
strip sold out over the period of eight years.
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| Richard
on stage as Elvis |
As
well as the classic hits; The Wonder Of You, Suspicious
Minds, and Heartbreak Hotel, Richard Atkins also treated
Cornwall's Elvis fans to lesser known favourites like I've Lost
You, My Boy and the showstopping Gospel number How
Great Thou Art.
The
RCA band backed Richard through the songs adding to the authentic
feel of a '70s concert. The Heartbreak Horns were slick with their
playing and fun dance movements.
The
Divine Inspirations provided the great back up vocals which were
an important part of Presley's '70s sound.
Richard
and the band also performed a moving tribute to Elvis in the song
Why can't they leave him alone. This original piece also
won over the crowd at the HFC in May.
There
are thousands of Elvis tribute acts all over the world. Some are
funny, others couldn't be further away from the look and sound of
Presley. Thankfully Richard's show is one of the tributes that all
fans would be proud to see.
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| Richard
belts out another hit |
For
two hours Richard Atkins sang his heart out, and many times during
the evening, you could close your eyes and it sounded like Elvis
really was in the building.
Richard
did many of Elvis' world famous Vegas gyrations, told some of the
King's well known jokes, and interacted with the band and backing
singers just like Presley would have done.
The
famous cape came out at the end of the show for Funny How Time
Slips Away which Richard sang to the audience with the house
lights on.
And
how time did slip away...Before you knew it, Richard and the band
were into the Presley favourite from Blue Hawaii: Can't Help
Falling In Love. It was with this song that Presley ended his
sell out shows during the '70s and it was a sign that our night
with Richard Atkins was coming to an end.
Two
minutes later Richard and his Vegas tribute had indeed left the
building, but not without leaving the fans with some warm memories
of the man they call The King.
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