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Review: Elvis Presley, LG Arena, Birmingham

"How do you fancy going to see Elvis Presley in concert on Mother's Day?" I asked my Mum a couple of weeks ago.

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Elvis Presley In Concert

LG Arena, Birmingham

Concert review by Ian Harvey

"How do you fancy going to see Elvis Presley in concert on Mother's Day?" I asked my Mum a couple of weeks ago.

"You mean one of those impersonators?" she replied.

"No," I said. "The real thing."

At which point I was told off for being silly, until I explained that the show would features archive concert footage of The King from 1968-1972 beamed on to large screens with a full band, orchestra and backing singers performing live.

Not only that, but many of those on stage were members of Presley's touring band, still recognisable as the much younger versions of themselves on the video screens.

For nearly two hours last night the LG Arena was treated to a non-stop collection of classic hits like Hound Dog, Don't Be Cruel, Heartbreak Hotel and Suspicious Minds, Presley's electrifying stage presence preserved by the magic of technology.

There were big audience singalongs, especially to How Great Thou Art and Elvis's version of My Way.

On top of that there were some truly moving performances, among them In The Ghetto and his rousing covers of Bridge Over Troubled Water and You've Lost that Loving Feeling.

It was astonishing to realise that in real life, no Elvis Presley concert ever sounded this good, with state of the art audio systems bringing the while thing to life in a way that just wouldn't have been possible four decades ago.

It meant that at times the illusion was almost complete . . . on a couple of occasions I even looked away from the big screens to see where Elvis was on the stage!

For one night only, Viva Las Brum was all shook up.

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