Review: Elvis at the O2

If you love Elvis Presley and you think you might not be able to visit “Graceland” – his museum/house in Memphis, Tennesse (USA) – now you’ve got the chance to see many personal objects that belonged to “The King of Rock & Roll”.

For the first time in its history, the “Graceland” fund allowed to take part of Elvis’ personal effects to a temporary – and unique – exhibition at the O2 Arena in London.

It is a great opportunity to see many of his most precious belongings, including some of his cars, a pool table where he had a match with The Beatles, the champagne bottle he drank on his wedding day with Priscilla, signed by both of them, and many other things.

The exhibition starts from the beginning of Elvis’ life at Tupelo, Memphis. His family didn’t have much money and – as many Southern State families – shared a deep religious faith which was a factor that influenced Elvis later on in his life.

When Elvis was a teenager, he went to a record company and sang a popular song at the time, “That’s alright”. The manager from the record company thought Elvis had an outstanding voice with lots of potential and asked him to record it. The result was an instant success that would change Elvis’ life afterwards.

Elvis’ music was greatly influenced by the Blues and Rock & Roll of his time, but with the addition of his personal charisma, contagious lyrics and hypnotic dance movements it all made the perfect combination for the road to success.

In the following years, Elvis became a rock star, and at the exhibition you can see pictures and videos that show him surrounded by crowds of cheering girls who were both infatuated by his songs and his good looks.
Each song that he released soon turned to be a massive hit that, even today, remains as a timeless classic. His success was so huge that he was very soon nicknamed “The King”.

A few years after starting his career, Elvis decided to join the army. In the exhibition you can see his suitcase, some pictures of the time he spent in the Army and even the chair where his famous hairstyle was cut to adapt his hair to the Army rules.

The main part of the exhibition is called “Concert Years”, and it contains the iconic suits he wore on his tours, personal belongings such as a pair of boxing gloves which were given to him by Muhammad Ali, his cars and even his set of keys from “Graceland”.

There’s another part dedicated to his return to the stages in 1968; he was very anxious about this as he thought nobody would care about him and he wasn’t sure if the show was going to be a possible fiasco. He didn’t have to worry as his fans – devoted as always – followed and supported him until the very end.