Why Chris is all shook up

IN full flow . . . Chris Connor

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IT might still be a massive ELEVEN months away, but already Elvis Presley tribute 'King' Chris Connor can't wait for his home-town gig at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Oldham on Saturday, December 16.

Loyal Connor ­- widely acknowledged to be one of the best Elvis acts on the planet ­- always performs a clutch of pre-Christmas gigs at the quaint Playhouse 2 venue in Shaw, but now local fans will get the chance to see him, and his band the Steels, perform a breathtaking show at Oldham's largest-capacity venue.

Connor, who is currently taking a well-deserved month-long break from touring, told the Chronicle: "I was eight years old the last time I went there, watching Keith Harris and Orville!

Sentimental
"The reason why we are doing the QE Hall, though, is because we have done Shaw every year, it sells out six nights, and we've all seen the pictures in the paper of the queues to get tickets.

"People queue up in the early hours of the morning, they queue round the corner, so we knew we needed a bigger venue because people still weren't getting Shaw tickets.

"We will still do Shaw at some point because I do feel sentimental about the place, but people want to see the big band as well.

"I think around 1,100 people can fit in the QE Hall, and it will be nice to put the full band on in my home town.

"I'll be a little bit nervous because there will be a lot of people there who know me, and it can be hard to pretend to be someone that you're not with a crowd like that.

"But they understand I'll be playing a character."

That character is of course the legendary Elvis, who passed away 40 years ago this year so would have been 82 last week.

Surely Connor still admires and listens to the music of his idol?

"Of course I do still listen to Elvis when I'm relaxing, though maybe not quite as often as I once did," he revealed.

"Although I am an Elvis fan, it can be like work too.

"I might go for a week or so without listening to Elvis, but that's no bad thing because if I listened to a particular track too much, I'd lose interest.

"It's just nice to have a break, then start listening to it again.

"That's the way to keep it fresh I guess."

This year is set to be another bumper year for Connor with, starting next month, three separate UK-based tours and two trips to Canada. The World Famous Elvis Show and the Steels will feature at the Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Trafford Park on July 22, and that promises to be a particularly spectacular showcase.

However, already tentative plans are being made for 2018, with fellow star Elvis tribute Dean Zeligman set to come over from his native USA for what is hoped will be a joint feature.

Connor said: "Dean Z is a very talented guy, he seems to really own the '50s and '68 kind of look.

"He's a talented musician as well. He has his own show. We got talking to him and his wife a few times while we were over in America and got on, and he is a genuinely nice guy with a great act. We've done a few festivals over in America when Dean was there, but he does love it over here.

"He wants to travel and see the world like me, and he wants to play to different fans, so hopefully he will come over and it'll be a great experience for us both."

Meanwhile, though, Connor will continue to sell out theatres and arenas, and all this with wife and manager Lisa expecting the couple's first child.

"I've been fixing the cot together, buying baby-grows and lots of other stuff for the baby," said Connor.

"It is going to be a mad year, but to be honest I am lucky because, although the Elvis show is a full-time job, I won't have to get up early and work all day, and bring baby up as well.

"We've got it a lot easier that way, and Lisa works from home, so hopefully it will be a little easier."

After originally being cajoled onto pub stages in and around Oldham towards the end of the last decade, Connor dramatically burst onto the UK Elvis scene in early 2009, and within 12 months he was performing at venues such as the Manchester Apollo and the Harrogate International Centre, backed, no less, by the Sweet Inspirations (Elvis's original backing singers).

Endorsed by the Daily Telegraph last year as 'the best Elvis tribute show in the world', no wonder Connor is so much in demand.

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