ADAM Page knows he is not Elvis Presley, nor does he want to be.
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“I don’t pull all the moves, I don’t do the ‘thank you very much’ and the over-the-top dancing. I’m a larrikin Elvis, it’s just ‘g’day everyone, I’ve come from Tasmania’,” he said.
After performing in the unplugged competition at last year’s Parkes Elvis Festival, the event’s music organiser said Mr Page was so good that he could perform on the main stage for 2019.
Check out part of Adam Page’s performance at Parkes Elvis Festival 2019:
So, on Thursday, for the first time, the Launceston-based Elvis impersonator took to the main stage for an hour – a privileged place sought after by hundreds of his contemporaries from across the world.
He backed it up again for 30 minutes on Friday.
Mr Page had a five-year plan to reach the main stage, but he achieved it in just his second year at Parkes.
“Usually it takes a few years to get to the main stage, you have to work your way up. But the right person saw me sing last year,” he said.
“It’s been a learning curve, but I realise I can mix with the best of them.”
He has set a new goal of reaching the stage at the main event on Saturday night, and entering the Ultimate Elvis competition at future events.
In the meantime, he will perform six times at this year’s Parkes Elvis Festival including at the Coachman Hotel in the heart of the town, where only the best Elvises are offered a room.
Mr Page said the secret to his success was simple: respect for Elvis.
“I do a tribute because I respect him a lot, I find a lot don’t show respect when they imitate him,” he said.
There are no karate kicks, no jokes and no caricatures.
Mr Page just relies on his voice to win over the crowd.
“I just sing my favourite songs, his gospel songs, If I Can Dream, American Trilogy, Amazing Grace. Elvis recorded over 3000 songs and to be honest, most of them I don’t like,” he said.
“About a third of them I absolutely love, so I stick to those. I nail If I Can Dream.”
Adam Page runs Elvis Weddings Tasmania and will perform at A Day at the Creek at the Mole Creek Hotel on February 23.