US to get a taste of Europe's biggest rockabilly weekender
RAVE GOES STATESIDE
The Rockabilly Rave is crossing the Atlantic.

Jerry Chatabox Promoter Jerry Chatabox is to put on an American version of his long running UK weekender.   Rockabilly Rave USA hits Las Vegas from October 2nd-6th with headliners Jack Earls, Billy Lee Riley, Carl Mann, Hayden Thompson and Sonny Burgess.   Jerry is collaborating with fellow Briton Tom Ingram who runs the Viva Las Vegas weekenders every April.

Jerry's been telling us why it's fallen to a couple of Brits to give Americans a slice of their own musical heritage...

• How optimistic are you that the Rave will work in the US?

The Rave USA is already working!   We have had a tremendous response, with people already snapping up rooms at The Orleans, before we have even announced the line up.   I think the international reputation of the Rockabilly Rave gives people the confidence to do that.

• Why should British and European rockabilly fans travel to Las Vegas when they can already get such a good weekender at Camber Sands?

Thank you for the compliment!   But I think that is exactly the point.   The European rockin' crowd have such a good time at the Rave, they want to repeat this in the US.   Also we have picked a weekend date which also features a big hot rod show and a 40s and 50s lifestyle event (furniture/design/pin up art/architecture etc), both in Las Vegas, so there will be plenty to do, and plenty of stallholders for vintage and retro gear that are not seen in Europe.

• What are the most difficult aspects of organising a weekender in the US when you're based in Britain?

Well, I have to spend more time in America!   Having said that, the problems of running any event, anywhere, are pretty much the same.   But I'm certainly not complaining.   It's my job and I am very fortunate to have a job that I care about with a passion.   Word gets around the world in an instant, so getting the word out about the Rave coming to the US has not been such a problem.

• Why does it take you and Tom - a couple of Brits - to present Americans with a slice of their own musical heritage?

Well of course America has a great many fantastic events which have nothing to do with me or Tom!   I think they are more aware of their musical heritage than ever before.   But the Rockabilly Rave is a very specific thing.   It has a very strong character which both European and American fans feel happy with.

• How do you compare the state of the rockin' scenes in the US and UK?   Is there anything we can learn from them, or vice versa?

Of course the two scenes are very different.   In the UK I've been a DJ for thirty years, so there is a lot of experience to draw from.   In the US it's a much younger scene, with some fantastic new bands coming forward.   It's just ideal that the two scenes get together and learn from each other.   That's probably what I enjoy most from all the shows in different countries: we all like the same thing, but come at it from different angles.

• What happens when the original 50s artists are no longer around?   Will these weekenders still work?

Of course they will, because for us it's a lifestyle choice.   People won't suddenly stop liking rockin' bands, or dancing or drinking with a few thousand other rockabilly nuts!   It's great that we can still respect the original pioneers of our music, but of course time moves on for all of us, but it won't alter what we like to hear or where we like to go at weekends.

The Rockabilly Rave USA is at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vagas from October 2nd-6th.   The UK Rockabilly Rave returns to Camber Sands from June 19th-23rd.

Did Elvis visit London?

Claims that Elvis once visited London have been rubbished.

There was shock among Elvis fans when theatre producer Bill Kenwright claimed the King came to London in 1958 to visit Tommy Steele.

Interviewed on BBC Radio 2, Kenwright said: "Elvis came to England.   Nobody thinks he did and I hope Tommy doesn't go mad when I tell you.   Tommy got a phone call one night.   A voice said: 'They tell me you're good' and Tommy replied: 'Who's this?'   The caller said: 'It's Elvis'.   And they talked and they got a friendship.   Elvis flew in for a day."   According to Mr Kenwright, Steele gave the American star a tour of the capital's tourist sights, including the Houses of Parliament.

Tommy Steele, 71, told a newspaper he had promised to keep the trip secret and regretted it had been made public.

Prestwick plaque If true, the revelation would overturn the received wisdom that Elvis's only visit to the UK was on March 3rd 1960 when he briefly touched down at Glasgow's Prestwick Airport en route to the US army base in Germany where he was serving at the time.   The link with Elvis is one of Prestwick's main claims to fame, with his visit commemorated by a star-shaped plaque and an Elvis-themed bar in the departure lounge.

Now airport chief executive Mark Rodwell has cast doubt on the claims of a London visit: "As far as we are concerned, until it is proved otherwise Prestwick airport remains the only place in the United Kingdom that Elvis Presley ever set foot.   There is photographic evidence to prove that Elvis was here on March 3rd 1960.   However we are not aware of any photographs of this alleged visit to London, while the timing of it also seems a bit vague."

Half a sixpence

Elvis expert Sid Shaw, who runs the London memorabilia shop Elvisly Yours, has compiled a comprehensive rebuttal of the London visit claims: "I know many of Elvis's closest family and friends and no one ever mentioned this story in my 53 visits to Memphis.   Elvis would never had travelled without an entourage and they would have taken photos and published books.   Elvis was in the army in the late 1950s and any visit would have to be sanctioned by the military.   Colonel Tom Parker tightly controlled Elvis' career.   He wouldn't have let Elvis go to London.

Surely the Home Office would have documentary evidence of Elvis's visit?   And home come absolutely no one else in Britain saw Elvis during his visit?   Anyone would have been straight onto the the press.

Elvis in the army "Elvis was called up in December 1957 then joined the army in March 1958.   His mother became sick then died in August 1958 and he landed in Germany on October 1st 1958.   He was completely devastated by his mother's death, crying himself to sleep most nights.   Are we to believe that somehow, Elvis overcame his grief, contacted Tommy Steele, flew secretly to London and no one other than Tommy Steele, not even Elvis's family, his army buddies, and the army itself knew of this trip?"

Sid added: "Perhaps Tommy Steele is a 'sixpence short of a shilling' rather than half a sixpence."


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