GRACELAND WARNS SCOTS: DON'T STEP ON OUR BLUE SUEDE SHOES

MORAG LINDSAY

09:00 - 24 March 2004
Bosses at Graceland have warned the people of Lonmay they had better seek permission from them before they think about cashing in on their connection to the King.

The Buchan community was making the most of its 15 minutes of fame yesterday after a Scottish author revealed Elvis Presley's ancestors had married there before leaving for the new world in 1745.

With news teams flocking to the area, community leaders were hoping a tourist boom would follow.

But Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc, which controls the Presley business empire, warned they would be fools to rush in to any marketing campaigns without its blessing.

The firm is notoriously protective of the Elvis identity - it owns the trademarks to Graceland, Elvis, and Elvis Presley - and last year even tried to outlaw Elvis impersonators.

Speaking from Graceland, Elvis's Memphis mansion, Todd Morgan, director of media and creative development, told the Press and Journal: "We object to any unauthorised use of our Elvis Presley trademarks but are always open to hearing proposals from any entity seeking the appropriate and necessary permissions."

Mr Morgan might be mistaken if he thinks he will be able to stop the people of Lonmay crowing about their new-found claim to fame. Yesterday the talk was of Elvis and little else.

Christina Gibbins of the Ban Car Hotel had to raise her voice to be heard above the strains of Elvis tunes being played on the bagpipes for the benefit of the tourist board and TV crews.

The hotel was fully booked yesterday - even before the news crews from Sky and GMTV rolled into Lonmay.

Mrs Gibbins said locals were thoroughly enjoying their fame.

"It might be one of these one-week wonders," she laughed. "But you never know - Elvis has been around for a lot longer than that.

"We've been told to start advertising more so we can make the most of this.

"I'm thinking about changing our name to Heartbreak Hotel and I'm trying to get the staff to start wearing Elvis sideburns, but they're not keen."

Never one to miss a chance to put his Banff and Buchan constituency in the spotlight, SNP leader Alex Salmond tabled a motion at Westminster, calling on fellow MPs to share his delight in the discovery that Elvis's roots lie in Lonmay.

On a more serious note for the Buchan economy, he calls on colleagues to invite Elvis fans around the world to visit Lonmay and bring a welcome and long-term boost to tourism in Aberdeenshire.

Mr Salmond hailed the discovery as great news for Lonmay and the north-east of Scotland.

He told MPs: "The area has a rich musical tradition - much of which did travel to America with emigrants.

"And now we discover that it is the ancestral home of the King of rock and roll.

"It has huge tourism potential, and will be of massive interest to Elvis fans all around the world."

He is not wrong there.

By first light in America yesterday the giant ABC news network had got wind of Lonmay's claim to fame.

"The tiny Scottish farming village of Lonmay is more familiar with Wellington boots than blue suede shoes," it announced. "But a writer and amateur genealogist says it is nevertheless the ancestral home of Elvis Presley."

On the other side of the world, the Sydney Morning Herald was trumpeting "McElvis's roots revealed", while The Australian newspaper was informing its readers "Rock's king came from Highland fling" and bemoaning the absence of cheeseburgers in Lonmay.

Far East fans were alerted to the news by the Indiaweb website, which warned Lonmay was about to be besieged by Elvis enthusiasts.

The international Reuters news agency was also predicting Lonmay would become a new shrine for Elvis devotees. "You have Graceland in Memphis," their writer reasoned. "Now hopefully you will have Presleyland in Lonmay."

Priscilla Parker of the We Remember Elvis fan club, America's biggest with more than 900 members and offshoots in Poland, Sri Lanka and Madagascar, predicts many will flock to Scotland to see where it all began.

"We had heard years ago that some of Elvis's ancestors had come from Scotland but I could never find any written proof," she explained from her home in Pennsylvania.

"A lot of fans have asked what was Elvis's heritage? So I'll bet a lot of them will be interested to hear this claim and will want to find out more about where he came from."

Mrs Parker stressed that she and her friends were united not just by their love of Elvis but by their public spiritedness, which has seen them raise thousands of dollars for good causes such as their local burns unit and the Memphis Trauma Centre.

"We all get that from Elvis," she explained. "He was very charitable and he would help anybody - maybe that's because he was a Scot."

Back home, staff at Aberdeen and Grampian Tourist Board were enjoying the kind of publicity money cannot buy, with calls coming in from Elvis fans around the world.

Spokesman Kevin Robertson said the interest from the international media had been overwhelming.

"It's one of these small stories that has just escalated in a huge way," he said. "It's got people talking about Lonmay in Australia, America, India . . . that's got to be good for the area."