Max Pellicano was driving across San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge in 1977 when he heard the news on his wireless – the King, Elvis Presley, was dead.
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Studying theatre at the University of California at the time, Pellicano was playing in a rock band on weekends to pay off his study debt.
“People kept requesting Elvis songs because they said I kinda looked like him,” he says.
“So we started including them in our repertoire, little by little.”
But Pellicano’s father was pressuring him to get “a real job” in business administration.
He went for a job interview which went well, but his band decided to put on a tribute show honouring Elvis the following weekend.
“Pretty much after that I got an offer to go to Hawaii to perform for two weeks (as Elvis), and I was there for three years almost,” he says.
Pellicano also starred in the musical Bye Bye Birdy, which depicted Elvis’ time in the army and appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Since then, he has has built a career ensuring Elvis’ memory and legend lives on.
Even Pellicano’s costumes are exact replicas made by Elvis’ personal tailor, Bill Bellow.
“I’m more of an entertainer, I’m really not an impersonator,” Pellicano says.
“My biggest thing for my show is including the audience and making them feel a part of the performance.
“I’ve seen a lot of acts, and sometimes I think they don’t include the crowd enough.
“For me, it’s all about the audience.”
No stranger to the Border, Pellicano is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his first tour to Australia.
He thinks it’s Elvis’ songs which keep the enduring artist so popular.
“He came along at a time when – he didn’t start rock ‘n’ roll, but he made rock ‘n’ roll what it was,” he says.
“Without Elvis, I don’t think rock ‘n’ roll would’ve been quite as big as it was. He really made it very mainstream.
“I also think it was just his personality. People just loved him as a person. He was an icon, and very few of them come along in a lifetime. You look at him, the Beatles - there’s not many.”
Pellicano’s tour involves recreating Elvis’ greatest live performances after 1970, including the famous Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite concert, which was beamed to television sets across the world.
“He had so many great songs, I’m trying to fight for what I’m going to cut or put in, it’s a struggle,” he says.
“Some artists don’t even have enough.
“I watch a lot of old live concerts and it’s actually kind of easy to study Elvis, because I really enjoy watching his shows.”