_____________________________________________________________________________ \\\\\___CHEROKEE ELVIS RESOURCES___\"-._ /////~~~ wwwebmonitor@yahoo.com ~~~/.-' _____________________________________________________________________________ India: Elvis Presley is singing in Goa! _____________________________________________________________________________ March 11, 2005 [India News]: Panaji, If music and fun times are associated with Goa, it would be almost impossible to visualise the landscape or the average well-informed human mindset without the "King of Rock", Elvis Presley. Competition to attract the most and the best of tourists to this coastal state surrounded by beautiful beaches, scenic forests and mountains, besides wine and song has led to a new form entertainment-related experimentation -- an Elvis lookalike contest. A visit to the Drop Anchor bar-cum-restaurant in North Goa's Baga Beach is a must, for it regularly organises `Elvis Presley Nights' to attract tourists, especially foreigners. It specially calls in lookalikes of the "King of Rock" from Sweden to entertain the guests with their brand of rock music. Wearing flashy clothes just as Elvis use to do during his many concerts, both in America and abroad, these lookalikes re-enact some of his world famous hit songs like "Jailhouse Rock" and "Teddy Bear", having the whole house eventually rocking to these songs. Many of the tourists say they are delighted to be a part of the contest or programme, which they add helps to showcase their talents. For British tourists like Neil and Elaine,"the show was good. We were delighted to be a witness to it." "I really liked the show. I have always been a great fan of Elvis. I liked the show, particularly the way it was performed by Elvis look alikes, and that too, away from England in Goa," said Owen, another Britisher. Rakesh Mathur, the owner of this beach side restaurant, says he thought of starting this contest to ensure his survival in Goa's competitive tourist industry. "Everybody knows at this time too much competition is going on. So, I thought of coming up with something different. My partner Dilip Sirkha suggested this lead and we worked on it, and that's why Elvis Presley has come from Sweden to perform for people of Goa. The response is very good. I don't have place to sit," adds Mathur. At the last count, there were 650 Elvis fan clubs worldwide. The majority of these fan clubs are located in Elvis's home country, the USA. The USA tally is around 500 with the European Community registering nearly 100 clubs and Australia 26. Other clubs can be found in South America, Japan, China, South-East Asia and India. The "King of Rock" has millions and millions of fans in India too. So much so, that there is even an official Elvis Presley Fan Club in Mumbai. Founded by Fali R.Singara on October 22, 2003, the club today has 39 full-time members, but is not rated so far. For Singara, Elvis is the reason he got into the music business. "The man's been my hero as I was growing up - just as he is for millions of other kids and people in the world today," he says. According to him, the music of Elvis Presley transcends all barriers of age, caste, class or religion. Elvis, he adds, "can be a friend, a father, a lover or anything you want him to be - for that was his talent. You could feel it in his voice, the emotion, the pain, the heartbreak, the happiness and that the fact that only one person in the world matters to him. You. For if you listen to any Elvis song carefully, you will feel like he's singing to you and only to you alone." Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi and died of a drug-induced heart attack on August 16, 1976. (ANI) FROM: http://www.keralanext.com/news/readnext,1.asp?id=147451&pg=2 ____________________________________________________________________________ ASIAN PACIFIC POST NEWS _____________________________________________________________________________ Goa is all shook up with Elvis _____________________________________________________________________________ Apr 21, 2005 The Elvis Presley craze is making a comeback in Goa, a popular tourist destination in western India. The American singer may have died in 1977 but his popularity lives on as a barrage of Elvis clones try to out-perform each other. He is possibly the most impersonated rock‘n‘roll celebrity. Although it‘s nearly three decades since he passed away, the spirit of Elvis Presley lives on in the many performers who make great efforts to dress and sing like him.In India‘s popular tourist resort of Goa, that seems to be the newest attraction for holidaymakers. At restaurants and nightclubs, a motley mix of chubby and middle-aged Elvis Presley look-alikes belt out hits from the 1950s and 60s. FROM: http://www.asianpacificpost.com/news/article/395.html _____________________________________________________________________________ Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html Doctrine of International Copyright Law ____________________________________________________________________________