ELVIS has entered Barnard Castle, via Blackpool’s promenade, a residential home in the North East and an antiques shop in Weardale.
A six-foot effigy of the king of rock ‘n’ roll now stands proudly in the lounge of resident John Emerson, who has a penchant for the peculiar and is a familiar figure at the town’s Meet parade, where he has given his impression of a host of famous figures over the years.
The self-confessed Elvis Presley fan said he discovered the model while visiting Pinky Henderson’s Weardale Trading Post, in Wolsingham, while looking for “antiques or something quirky” .
Mr Emerson said: “I tried to by one of these 30 years ago.
“When I saw it, I thought ‘should I buy it?’
“But then I thought, ‘here is a chance’ and I did the deal. I had to offer to buy him straight away. It is purely a fun thing and it’ll give everyone a smile. It came out of a residential house in the North East and then Blackpool.”
Photographs from the past confirm that it had appeared on Blackpool’s promenade and outside the town’s Louis Tussauds, which closed in 2010 and reopened as Madame Tussauds a year later. Mr Emerson now wants to use the resin model for fundraising activities and is willing to allow other groups in Barney to use it for the same purpose.He said: “I have been a lover of music for many years, especially sixties music – I have loads of vinyls from the time. Elvis would have been 86 this year if he had been alive.
“His ancestry goes back generations to the Cherokee Indians. I could talk about him all day.”
The model was delivered to Mr Emerson’s home last Wednesday. The chances of it being returned to sender are slim.
