SPORTING skin-tight shiny white jumper suits and hair styled in black quiffs, a group of Singaporean Elvis Presley impersonators belted out his famous tunes and shook their hips.

'We had originally planned the dinner for 220 but more people asked for tickets, so we had to open extra tables to cater to them' Co-organiser Victor Chia

Their rendition of tracks such as Burning Love and Rubbernecking drew cheers and wolf-whistles from the women in the crowd, some of whom were grandmothers. They even got up to dance.

Over 280 fans of the late King of rock 'n' roll, most of whom are in their 40s to 60s, held a dinner at Toa Payoh West Community Club last Saturday night to celebrate Presley's birthday. He would have been 74.

Founder of the Singapore Elvis Alternate- Country Meetup Group, which co-organised the shindig, Mr Victor Chia, 62, said: 'The response was overwhelming, we did not expect that so many people would want to come.

'We had originally planned the dinner for 220 but more people asked for tickets, so we had to open extra tables to cater to them. We even had to turn some people away as we wanted to have enough room in the hall for people to dance.'

Saturday's event, with tickets priced at $28, was the second dinner last week in tribute to the King, who died in 1977 of heart failure.

Rival group Singapore First Elvis Fan Club held a dinner last Thursday at Hotel Royal, with over 200 in attendance who paid $35 and $40 each. Both events featured eight-course Chinese dinners.

The Singapore Elvis Alternate-Country Meetup Group was formed in 2006 by a breakaway group of the Singapore First Elvis Fan Club, who felt the club had too many regulations.

Members of the newer fan club do not limit themselves to Presley but also pay tribute to other artists such as country music legend George Strait.

Group member Charles Kang, 62, said the turnout confirms that Elvis still has many fans. He said: 'I really enjoy being in this group, we are all Elvis fans but we are open to country and western singers and we are also into line-dancing.'

The dinner was co-organised by the Thomson Community Club's Senior Citizens' Executive Committee and Member of Parliament Hri Kumar Nair was the guest of honour. He wore sunglasses and sang Are You Lonesome Tonight?

For some, the dinner was a family affair. Accounts manager Kerry Chua, 30, was not a member of the fan club but had a good time anyway. She went to the dinner with her father, husband and three-year-old toddler.

'I am not really an Elvis fan but I am learning a whole lot more about him at this event.'

dinohadi@sph.com.sg

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