A Hunk of Burning Love
By day, Alan England is a senior account manager for Moncton-based INCOLOR printing. But at night, he puts on his blue suede shoes and becomes the king of rock ‘n’ roll.
For about six years, England has made a hobby of impersonating Elvis Presley for audiences, mostly seniors, in the Greater Saint John area.
It all started with a push from a friend across the pond.
“My friend who’s in Norway, he’s an Elvis tribute artist … that’s exactly what he does. He’s been to all the big competitions, but he’s known as Norway’s best Elvis and he sings in all the senior homes. He really has a nice voice for it,” England says. “So he talked me into doing it. He said ‘why don’t you do that over here?’ So I just started singing away.”
England has always been an Elvis fan. He says there are few other artists who have a more powerful legacy and cultural impact.
“I think he was quite charismatic. How many artists today, 40 years later after they died, can still sell music? He’s still on the charts. That’s not going to happen with any current artist I think,” he says. “He could connect with people and people still talk about him. I think he lived during the best of times, back in 50’s, 60’s, 70’s when music was well listened to and he had a big impact on a lot of people.”
And a lot of those people today are, well, older. Most of England’s gigs are at local nursing homes. Using his phone and a sound system for the backing music, he covers songs from Elvis’s mid-60’s-70’s catalogue.
Check out highlights from England’s Charismas show at the Loch Lomond Villa below:
“I like the senior crowd. Senior homes and retirement homes, they’re not the funnest places. They can be lonely,” he says. “They’re always so friendly to me. They chat. They’ve got interesting stories. I just find I like to bring a little bit of fun to them because I’ll be in there someday too.”
Despite the older demographic, some shows have gotten pretty wild.
“At one of my shows, they were throwing underwear on the stage, that was last summer,” England says. “There might have been about 150 people there. The show was going really good and a lady threw a pair of red underwear up in the middle of a song.”
“20 minutes later they threw another pair up there.”
It doesn’t stop at undergarments. Sometimes, things get physical.
“One lady tried to unzip me. This was at the senior home … [security] came and got her and it was good laugh. Then I turned around and she grabbed me by the ass,” England says.
“At the end of the show, they came up to me and said ‘Listen, we just wanted to see how good of sport you were.’ Because they’re just like us, but they’re older. They still have feelings. They want to have fun. If they want to grab me or hug me that’s fine because they’re having a good time.”
Though his performances bring a lot of fun, England’s act has also brought joy to people in their darkest hours. One time England was asked to perform a show at a man a local hospice.
“He was an avid Elvis fan yet never saw a tribute artist, so his family asked if I would do so. I performed an hour show for him and his family at the hospice. He was absolutely thrilled,” England says.
“Three days later he passed away. I gave them one of my Elvis capes and they buried him with it.”
Though many people make Elvis impersonating a whole career, England chooses to keep it strictly as a hobby. Most of the shows he does are volunteer ones.
“I have been paid to do a few gigs in the past. But I’ve turned down a lot of paid ones too,” he says. “Because I do it if I want, when I want and where I want. It’s a lot more fun. As a business, it wouldn’t be as much fun. “
The King isn’t the only artist England can sing. He also does a good Roy Orbison, Beatles, Johnny Cash, Blue Rodeo, CCR, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, the Eagles and even Freddy Fender. It’s a repertoire made for a bar cover band, but England would rather keep his hobby simple.
“I’ve been asked by quite a few people if I could sing for a band because I can sing a lot of different music. I’m just not interested. I don’t want to do that,” he says. “It may be fun for one night, but … it’s easier to have a band on your phone. That way, I’m just a one-man show. I sing and do it where I want when I want.”
In other words, don’t expect him to leave his day job at INCOLOR to compete at the Collingwood Elvis Festival anytime soon.
“I like the business that I’m in. I’ve been in it for 22 years. If you really like what you do, it’s pretty rare,” England says. “Not a lot of people are into their jobs. It’s just a job to pay the bills. But I really like doing what I’m doing and my off-site job, which is this. It’s not always perfect, but I’m having a blast”