My life as Elvis Presley

THE white diamante Vegas jumpsuit, the familiar curled lip, the hip rattling moves and the velvety voice. It can only be, the one and only . . .

Rob Kingsley.

He's the former soldier from Prestonpans whose astonishing Elvis tribute act has propelled him from Army professional to performing in front of thousands as the King of rock 'n' roll.

And this is no mere Elvis impersonator. For Rob is the undisputed "king" of European Elvis tribute acts.

Incredibly, he was named top Elvis Tribute Artist in the UK and Europe just three years after quitting the Army with few career options but a burning desire to sing like the King.

And after pestering his Army resettlement officers to help find him a singing coach, Gulf War, Kosovo and Northern Ireland veteran Corporal Rob was reborn – in Elvis wig, sideburns and sequins.

Since then he's been All Shook Up in front of more than 17,000 people in Hyde Park, has made friends with some of Elvis's closest associates and is now waiting to secure two of his biggest gigs yet – singing at a Hollywood film director's wedding and for a mega-rich sheikh in the Middle East.

Come January, he'll be back at the European Elvis Tribute contest – this time only to perform in order to leave the stage clear for a new Elvis act – and will be preparing for two performances in Budapest aimed at raising thousands of pounds to send vital medical expertise to help Afghan children maimed by mine explosions.

"Yeah, it's been pretty incredible," says the father of two, who swapped his own name, Ainslie, in favour of Kingsley, in honour of the 'King'. "It's hard to believe how it's all turned out. I'm just happy to be doing what I love doing – and that's paying tribute to Elvis."

He first heard his hero's distinctive tones as he played with toy soldiers at a pal's house. "I was six, maybe seven years old," recalls Rob, now 40. "We were playing with our toys when this music drifted down from upstairs.

"It stopped me right in my tracks. It was Elvis singing Heartbreak Hotel and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was like the Pied Piper – the music had me mesmerised."

It was the mid-seventies – just two years' later his hero would be found dead in his Tennessee mansion – and it wasn't even particularly hip to be an Elvis fan, but Rob was hooked.

Nonetheless, it would be a further 30 years, and after three spells in war action with the 1st Battalion the Royal Scots, before Rob found his own remarkable voice.

"I never really knew I could sing," he shrugs. "I liked the music but sport was more my thing. I left school early – I hated it – and did a string of jobs before the Army, but it never occurred to me that I'd ever end up singing as Elvis."

He joined the Army partly because it meant a steady job and partly because he wanted to visit Germany where Elvis was based during his National Service. But it wasn't until he found himself posted to the turmoil of the first Gulf War that he stumbled upon his own amazing vocal talent.

"I'd been in Northern Ireland," he recalls. "I did six months in Crossmaglen – one of my friends was shot dead while we were there – so it was pretty tough going.

"Then we were being sent to the Gulf and I had to write our 'last letter'. I was writing it to my eldest daughter, Vikki, while listening to Elvis's American Trilogy. The lyrics were about 'Daddy's going to die' and there was me, this young father writing to his young daughter. It brought everything home to me. I was blubbering. The song was really important to me during that time, I'd sit with my Walkman on and sing along.

"Then we got back there was a welcome home party for us at Lennoxlove. There was a karaoke competition and I won! That was how the singing kind of started."

Still, it wasn't until years later that he switched from fun-time karaoke to walking in the King's footsteps.

"At one point I left the Army to become an LRT bus driver," he recalls. "The only exciting bit about that was when I was driving one day and saw a parked car start to roll down a hill straight towards a blind pedestrian."

Rob was hailed a hero for swerving his bus into the path of the car – saving the man from certain injury. But he missed Army life and later rejoined to serve in Kosovo at the height of the conflict.

"I went on to become an Army recruiting instructor and if I ever had to punish anyone, I'd make them do push-ups to really fast Elvis songs," he laughs. "Then my knee was badly damaged and I was facing a desk job. The resettlement officer was suggesting things like fitting satellite dishes but I'd done three tours in war zones, so that wasn't for me.

"I was walking my dog in Port Seton one day wondering about what I'd do when I bumped into a chap who told me his wife did karaoke sessions. I went along to one and everyone said how good my voice was.

"That was it. I phoned the resettlement officer and told him that I wanted singing lessons because I wanted to do an Elvis act. He laughed for the next half hour."

Still, it was Rob who had the last laugh. He spent hours perfecting his voice, Elvis's movements and even made friends with the legend's costume designer, Gene Doucette, who has produced his amazing array of outfits.

His transformation from squaddie to superstar was complete this year when he beat scores of other Elvis acts to be crowned the best in Europe, with a cash prize and the chance to be star performer on a special "Elvis" cruise.

"It's been fantastic," he smiles. "I love what I'm doing. Even though my voice coaches have said that I have the kind of voice that would be perfect for opera, I don't want to do that."

Now based in Warrington because it's central, he certainly seems to have found his niche. He's appeared on a BBC television Elvis special, has signed up with Sony BMG to help promote Elvis around the world, sharing the same label representative as Mariah Carey and Bruce Springsteen, and is even attracting interest from Elvis fans in America.

Above all, he says, he strives to follow the King's example from his stage act right down to every day life. "Elvis did lots of work behind the scenes for charity so I try to do the same," he explains.

"I'm not in this for money. I'm just as happy going to the local old folks' home down the road and putting on a wee show as performing for a big crowd.

"And I believe in karma, that if you do good things, good things happen to you. Elvis was a giving person and I want to try to give things back, too."

And he did just that when he recently returned to his roots and performed at Musselburgh's Brunton Hall, and was greeted by an adoring, sell-out crowd.

"It was brilliant, we could have sold out five times over," he says. "I stood on that stage when I was a little boy – I was pulled from the crowd to kiss Cinderella during the pantomime. I remember the warmth from the stage lights and thinking it was magical, but I never imagined I'd ever be back there performing as Elvis.

"It's been quite a journey. Hopefully it's not over yet."

Visit Rob Kingsley's website at www.elvistributeuk.com

THE KING AND I
ELVIS PRESLEY

Born 1935, named Elvis Aaron Presley and raised in East Tupolo, Mississippi.

• Parents: Vernon and Gladys.

• School: Lawhorn School in Tupelo where he was said to have been bullied.

• First job: Worked evenings as an usher at Loew's State Theater.

• Army: Inducted as US Army private in 1958, and was posted to Friedberg, Germany for two years until 1960.

• Married to Priscilla: They met in Germany while she was just 14 and married eight years later. One daughter, Lisa Marie.

• Biggest gig: Arguably the Hawaii concert – the world's first live concert satellite broadcast which reached a billion viewers live and a further 500 million on delay. The album spent a year in the charts.

ROB KINGSLEY
Born in East Lothian, named and raised in Prestonpans.
• Parents: Rob and Rose.

• School: Preston Lodge High School. Disliked school and left before 16th birthday.

• First job: Worked as a slater, but quit after nearly falling from a roof in Gayfield Square.

• Army: Joined in 1989 in hope of being based in Germany like Elvis. Saw action in Northern Ireland, first Gulf War and Kosovo.Left Army in 2003, took singing lessons and launched career as Elvis tribute act.

• Married to Marie: They met at a disco and became engaged after just six weeks of dating. They have two daughters: Vikki, 21, a dental nurse, and Abbie, 13.

• Biggest gig: Performing to 17,000 at a cancer charity walk event in Hyde Park, followed by the Brunton Hall, Musselburgh.