The Kings Of England

"The Kings Of England" A 2011 survey estimated that there were over 85,000 Elvis impersonators around the world in a phenomenon spanning countries, cultures and religions. Graeme Oxby presents his photographic survey of The Kings Of England in a series of pictures made at Elvis competitions in the UK over the last two years. For most people in Britain, Elvis Presley was a mediated concept who existed only in films, on television and on record. Only once did he set foot on British soil and that was in the dead of night en route from Germany back to the USA. Yet forty years after his death, the fascination with Elvis lives on through the legions of impersonators or “Tribute Artists” as they are now known, who perform regularly in pubs, clubs and theatres up and down the British Isles. These photographs by Graeme Oxby document the cultural impact in the UK of a young man from Memphis who fused country music and blues, shook his hips and became the most photographed man in history.