"Elvis for Britain...but where - and how much?" - 1975

[Mister Moon]

One of the subjects that keep cropping up here at FECC is whether Elvis could / should have performed concerts outside of the USA.

Here's a 1975 article about it, taken from the "Melody Maker" (UK). Sorry, but the article is slightly cropped at right - it still makes for interesting reading, I hope.

Elvis Britain.JPG

[norrie]

Very interesting thanks.It's an astute observation by the author that Elvis would be incaple then of recreating his early performances that made his name and was still the image that the UK still held in their minds.Good point I think.

[mysterytrainrideson]

ELVIS PRESLEY...the biggest artist the industry has ever had, and yet, he never went outside the United States and toured for his many fans who would have loved to have seen him...how so very saad and disappointing.

An artist of Elvis' stature not doing a world tour is wrong on every level and he continued to let Parker manage him. He had a lot to answer for.

Thanks for the post MM.

[Tony C]

ELVIS PRESLEY...the biggest artist the industry has ever had, and yet, he never went outside the United States and toured for his many fans who would have loved to have seen him...how so very saad and disappointing.

An artist of Elvis' stature not doing a world tour is wrong on every level and he continued to let Parker manage him. He had a lot to answer for.

Thanks for the post MM.

Would Elvis have done a world tour with a different manager on board? We'll never know, but the problems of going through various countries with guns and drugs would still have been a problem.

[brian]

ELVIS PRESLEY...the biggest artist the industry has ever had, and yet, he never went outside the United States and toured for his many fans who would have loved to have seen him...how so very saad and disappointing.

An artist of Elvis' stature not doing a world tour is wrong on every level and he continued to let Parker manage him. He had a lot to answer for.

Thanks for the post MM.

but the problems of going through various countries with guns and drugs would still have been a problem.

I don't know about that.

They were prescribed drugs and he most likely would have been accompanied by his doctor.

He got permits to carry guns with him when he toured the United States so why couldn't he have gotten them in Europe or Australia.

[EPA4368]

Nice article! Thanks for posting!

In '76 Elvis was not in the best of shape, physically, mentally and vocally. Although it would've been great for Elvis to tour outside the US, he needed to take a long break from touring.

Photo of Elvis in jumpsuit looks like from Elvis That's The Way It Is.

Wonder if this was this the latest image the writer had of Elvis?

[Bodie]

The last thing Elvis needed in 1976 was another tour let alone an overseas tour.

What he needed was at least a year off from touring and just relaxing, getting his health back.

Sad thing was he needed to tour for financial reasons, by the mid 70's he was spending as much as he was earning.

[Tony C]

ELVIS PRESLEY...the biggest artist the industry has ever had, and yet, he never went outside the United States and toured for his many fans who would have loved to have seen him...how so very saad and disappointing.

An artist of Elvis' stature not doing a world tour is wrong on every level and he continued to let Parker manage him. He had a lot to answer for.

Thanks for the post MM.

but the problems of going through various countries with guns and drugs would still have been a problem.

I don't know about that.

They were prescribed drugs and he most likely would have been accompanied by his doctor.

He got permits to carry guns with him when he toured the United States so why couldn't he have gotten them in Europe or Australia.

A permit to carry a gun in the US does not mean a thing in any other country! Civilians do not have permits to carry handguns in the majority of other countries. The problems relating to guns and drugs were discussed on a BBC documentary about the Memphis Mafia a few years ago, it was said to have been one of Parker's concerns if Elvis were to travel through passport control. People are obviously allowed to travel with their medication for medical conditions but not in the doses Elvis had with him and took on a daily basis. Having your own Doctor with you counts for nothing in a foreign country.

[norrie]

ELVIS PRESLEY...the biggest artist the industry has ever had, and yet, he never went outside the United States and toured for his many fans who would have loved to have seen him...how so very saad and disappointing.

An artist of Elvis' stature not doing a world tour is wrong on every level and he continued to let Parker manage him. He had a lot to answer for.

Thanks for the post MM.

Would Elvis have done a world tour with a different manager on board? We'll never know, but the problems of going through various countries with guns and drugs would still have been a problem.

He wouldn't have needed guns in Britain.Drugs on the other hand............



norrie

[brian]

ELVIS PRESLEY...the biggest artist the industry has ever had, and yet, he never went outside the United States and toured for his many fans who would have loved to have seen him...how so very saad and disappointing.

An artist of Elvis' stature not doing a world tour is wrong on every level and he continued to let Parker manage him. He had a lot to answer for.

Thanks for the post MM.

but the problems of going through various countries with guns and drugs would still have been a problem.

I don't know about that.

They were prescribed drugs and he most likely would have been accompanied by his doctor.

He got permits to carry guns with him when he toured the United States so why couldn't he have gotten them in Europe or Australia.

A permit to carry a gun in the US does not mean a thing in any other country! Civilians do not have permits to carry handguns in the majority of other countries. The problems relating to guns and drugs were discussed on a BBC documentary about the Memphis Mafia a few years ago, it was said to have been one of Parker's concerns if Elvis were to travel through passport control. People are obviously allowed to travel with their medication for medical conditions but not in the doses Elvis had with him and took on a daily basis.

They wouldn't have made an exception in Elvis' case and let him carry his prescription drugs.

Were they going to arrest a celebrity like Elvis for having prescription drugs.

The U.K. wouldn't give a celebrity like Elvis a permit for him and his bodyguards to carry guns for security reasons.

I bet they would have and I doubt they would have arrested him for carrying prescribed medication.

[norrie]

Could they not have got around the problem of carrying so many prescription drugs by having Dr Nick writing out prescriptions for the whole entourage ?

[Tony C]

ELVIS PRESLEY...the biggest artist the industry has ever had, and yet, he never went outside the United States and toured for his many fans who would have loved to have seen him...how so very saad and disappointing.

An artist of Elvis' stature not doing a world tour is wrong on every level and he continued to let Parker manage him. He had a lot to answer for.

Thanks for the post MM.

but the problems of going through various countries with guns and drugs would still have been a problem.

I don't know about that.

They were prescribed drugs and he most likely would have been accompanied by his doctor.

He got permits to carry guns with him when he toured the United States so why couldn't he have gotten them in Europe or Australia.

A permit to carry a gun in the US does not mean a thing in any other country! Civilians do not have permits to carry handguns in the majority of other countries. The problems relating to guns and drugs were discussed on a BBC documentary about the Memphis Mafia a few years ago, it was said to have been one of Parker's concerns if Elvis were to travel through passport control. People are obviously allowed to travel with their medication for medical conditions but not in the doses Elvis had with him and took on a daily basis.

They wouldn't have made an exception in Elvis' case and let him carry his prescription drugs.

Were they going to arrest a celebrity like Elvis for having prescription drugs.

The U.K. wouldn't give a celebrity like Elvis a permit for him and his bodyguards to carry guns for security reasons.

I bet they would have and I doubt they would have arrested him for carrying prescribed medication.

The UK did not then and do not now give celebrities or their bodyguards permits to carry guns for any reason. In those days, permits for handguns were given to UK citizens under very strict rules. People were not allowed to carry them on their person, they could only transport them unloaded to and from firing ranges. Since 1997, ownership of handguns in the UK has been forbidden. The UK has one of the lowest rates of gun homocide in the world. As for the drugs, the customs regulations are very strict. A Doctor just writing out bogus prescriptions for the entourage would not work, the authorities are wise to those type of dodges.

[brian]

ELVIS PRESLEY...the biggest artist the industry has ever had, and yet, he never went outside the United States and toured for his many fans who would have loved to have seen him...how so very saad and disappointing.

An artist of Elvis' stature not doing a world tour is wrong on every level and he continued to let Parker manage him. He had a lot to answer for.

Thanks for the post MM.

but the problems of going through various countries with guns and drugs would still have been a problem.

I don't know about that.

They were prescribed drugs and he most likely would have been accompanied by his doctor.

He got permits to carry guns with him when he toured the United States so why couldn't he have gotten them in Europe or Australia.

A permit to carry a gun in the US does not mean a thing in any other country! Civilians do not have permits to carry handguns in the majority of other countries. The problems relating to guns and drugs were discussed on a BBC documentary about the Memphis Mafia a few years ago, it was said to have been one of Parker's concerns if Elvis were to travel through passport control. People are obviously allowed to travel with their medication for medical conditions but not in the doses Elvis had with him and took on a daily basis.

They wouldn't have made an exception in Elvis' case and let him carry his prescription drugs.

Were they going to arrest a celebrity like Elvis for having prescription drugs.

The U.K. wouldn't give a celebrity like Elvis a permit for him and his bodyguards to carry guns for security reasons.

I bet they would have and I doubt they would have arrested him for carrying prescribed medication.

The UK did not then and do not now give celebrities or their bodyguards permits to carry guns for any reason. In those days, permits for handguns were given to UK citizens under very strict rules. People were not allowed to carry them on their person, they could only transport them unloaded to and from firing ranges. Since 1997, ownership of handguns in the UK has been forbidden. The UK has one of the lowest rates of gun homocide in the world. As for the drugs, the customs regulations are very strict. A Doctor just writing out bogus prescriptions for the entourage would not work, the authorities are wise to those type of dodges.

So you are saying they don't make an exception for Elvis with the guns.

If Elvis set foot in the U.K. he would have been arrested for carrying prescription drugs.

[NumberEight]

Great article - thanks for sharing.

The internal evidence suggests that it's from 1975, not 1976. The 'recent' Sinatra Albert Hall concerts took place in May 1975.

[jurasic1968]

If Elvis was booked for 2 concerts in England (2 days) and after that he would return to the States he didn't need much drugs. I don't think if Doctor Nick had 50 pills in his bag, Elvis would be arrested. Regarding the guns-Sonny and Red could collaborate with the British cops and their guns could be locked in some vault of the Lisa Marie airplane.

[mysterytrainrideson]

If Elvis was booked for 2 concerts in England (2 days) and after that he would return to the States he didn't need much drugs. I don't think if Doctor Nick had 50 pills in his bag, Elvis would be arrested. Regarding the guns-Sonny and Red could collaborate with the British cops and their guns could be locked in some vault of the Lisa Marie airplane.

I don't wanna get into this conversation about guns because it's a stupid subject to make theories about the problems it may have caused on a world tour and that includes the drugs too.

First off, the guns would had to have been a no no. The laws are different in each country, Eelvis would have been told he couldn't carry these guns around him a he would have to leave them at home - whats he gonna do? Argue with them? Besides, a world tour would have a challenage for him and i'm sure he would have seen the logic to leave such crap at home.

[rjm]

ELVIS PRESLEY...the biggest artist the industry has ever had, and yet, he never went outside the United States and toured for his many fans who would have loved to have seen him...how so very saad and disappointing.

An artist of Elvis' stature not doing a world tour is wrong on every level and he continued to let Parker manage him. He had a lot to answer for.

Thanks for the post MM.

but the problems of going through various countries with guns and drugs would still have been a problem.

I don't know about that.

They were prescribed drugs and he most likely would have been accompanied by his doctor.

He got permits to carry guns with him when he toured the United States so why couldn't he have gotten them in Europe or Australia.

A permit to carry a gun in the US does not mean a thing in any other country! Civilians do not have permits to carry handguns in the majority of other countries. The problems relating to guns and drugs were discussed on a BBC documentary about the Memphis Mafia a few years ago, it was said to have been one of Parker's concerns if Elvis were to travel through passport control. People are obviously allowed to travel with their medication for medical conditions but not in the doses Elvis had with him and took on a daily basis.

They wouldn't have made an exception in Elvis' case and let him carry his prescription drugs.

Were they going to arrest a celebrity like Elvis for having prescription drugs.

The U.K. wouldn't give a celebrity like Elvis a permit for him and his bodyguards to carry guns for security reasons.

I bet they would have and I doubt they would have arrested him for carrying prescribed medication.

The UK did not then and do not now give celebrities or their bodyguards permits to carry guns for any reason. In those days, permits for handguns were given to UK citizens under very strict rules. People were not allowed to carry them on their person, they could only transport them unloaded to and from firing ranges. Since 1997, ownership of handguns in the UK has been forbidden. The UK has one of the lowest rates of gun homocide in the world. As for the drugs, the customs regulations are very strict. A Doctor just writing out bogus prescriptions for the entourage would not work, the authorities are wise to those type of dodges.

So you are saying they don't make an exception for Elvis with the guns.

If Elvis set foot in the U.K. he would have been arrested for carrying prescription drugs.

Arrested? That's possible if they saw something that went way over the line, but I think it would have gone down differently. He would have been stopped, detained, searched again, questioned (as would a number of people with him), and they maybe would have let him go with his stash of pharmaceuticals and personal doctor. Maybe.

But this would have been big in the press, and it's the British press so that would have been something else again. It would have overshadowed the tour, opened up his private life . . . a real mess.

He so wanted to do it. There's no question. But he was well aware that he had problems in addition to his manager by late 1970. Big problems.
For heaven's sake, it should be clear why he was so hung up on the EXACT WORDING he wanted on his BNDD badge. "At-large." He kept harping on that. To him, in his mind, this meant anywhere in the world. He really wanted to work this out somehow.

It wasn't over after the president gave him the badge, you know. Because it didn't say what he wanted it to say. He wrote Hoover. And mentioned traveling abroad specifically. You know: to protect America and all that.

But he just kept trying during that period.

The idea of cleaning up just did not occur to him as an option. He was going to do this on his own terms - if he could have contacted George Washington, he would have.

(But it never happened. He never got out of here.)

rjm

Sent via mobile

[r&b]

The time to do it was 1970-72. Prime touring years. Any world tours after that would have brought as much ridicule as praise.

[roustabout2014]

Something doesnt ring true about Parker turning down many millions for overseas concerts. Parker wouldnt have had to go, he was an aging man with heart trouble, he could easily have sent a lacky with elvis and his guys. No, i dont buy it. Parker wouldnt have turned down many many millions for a few concerts that would have doubled even trebled their yearly income.

I dont think Elvis was capable of an overseas tour from 72 onwards, he was just too much of a loose cannon.

Parker didnt go to Germany back in the 50s did he, yet he continued to manage and talk with Elvis probably daily.

[jurasic1968]

I like to write here once again: how many bands on the 60's and 70's, including the Rolling Stones, toured the world with drugs and excepting a few incidents, like Keith Richard's arrest (for heroin) they had problems? Elvis with Doctor Nick was safe. And if he should perform in London for 2 days how many pills Nick could have? The only problem of Elvis in such trips was the guns but I think this matter could be fixed with the local cops and authorities.

[jurasic1968]

The time to do it was 1970-72. Prime touring years. Any world tours after that would have brought as much ridicule as praise.

Maybe the last chance was in March 1974. Instead of the March tour in the US with many small cities he could do a world tour, or instead at least some concerts in London.

[TheMaskedClown]

The time to do it was 1970-72. Prime touring years. Any world tours after that would have brought as much ridicule as praise.

Maybe. Wouldn't a new challenge have given Elvis a new reason to get his sh*t together? I think it was in Alana Nash's book The Colonel that said the Colonel was looking at british venues for 1978. Nash also said Elvis had been offered a few million $ to perform one concert in front of the pyramids in Egypt.

[EPA4368]

Arrested? That's possible if they saw something that went way over the line, but I think it would have gone down differently. He would have been stopped, detained, searched again, questioned (as would a number of people with him), and they maybe would have let him go with his stash of pharmaceuticals and personal doctor. Maybe.

But this would have been big in the press, and it's the British press so that would have been something else again. It would have overshadowed the tour, opened up his private life . . . a real mess.

He so wanted to do it. There's no question. But he was well aware that he had problems in addition to his manager by late 1970. Big problems.
For heaven's sake, it should be clear why he was so hung up on the EXACT WORDING he wanted on his BNDD badge. "At-large." He kept harping on that. To him, in his mind, this meant anywhere in the world. He really wanted to work this out somehow.

It wasn't over after the president gave him the badge, you know. Because it didn't say what he wanted it to say. He wrote Hoover. And mentioned traveling abroad specifically. You know: to protect America and all that.

But he just kept trying during that period.

The idea of cleaning up just did not occur to him as an option. He was going to do this on his own terms - if he could have contacted George Washington, he would have.

(But it never happened. He never got out of here.)

rjm

Sent via mobile

Sums it up

[vbgt]

Could they not have got around the problem of carrying so many prescription drugs by having Dr Nick writing out prescriptions for the whole entourage ?

Exactly. It's just another of the myriad excuses for why great things didn't happen.

[jurasic1968]

The time to do it was 1970-72. Prime touring years. Any world tours after that would have brought as much ridicule as praise.

Maybe. Wouldn't a new challenge have given Elvis a new reason to get his sh*t together? I think it was in Alana Nash's book The Colonel that said the Colonel was looking at british venues for 1978. Nash also said Elvis had been offered a few million $ to perform one concert in front of the pyramids in Egypt.

The initial offer was for 5 million Dollars. The Colonel sad no. The Saudi Arabian billionaires doubled the offer to 10 million $. Once again the Colonel said No!!!