COPYCAT SINGER Tom Gilson, who sings songs like Love Me Tenderto wife Gillian in bed, has been acclaimed Ireland's official entry in the first Elvis World Cup.
The 39-year-old book-binder won the national Elvis Presley lookalike and soundalike finals at a special tribute festival commemorating “the king” in Bundoran, Co Donegal, at the weekend.
He beat six rivals in glittering rhinestone jumpsuits and Elvis capes to win the right to represent his country against 15 other nations at the Elvis world finals, officially called the Elvis Tribute Artiste World Cup, in Cardiff on July 4th next year.
Still dripping beads of sweat on to his shiny white and silver jacket and already signing autographs for fans after his winning performance, Gilson said: “It’s a dream come true.”
Bundoran was turned into a mini Las Vegas with Elvis look-alikes all over the place during three nights of celebration concerts.
Kraig Parker from Dallas, reputed to earn up to $3 million a year as one of the world’s top three professional Elvis imitators, showed the aspiring rivals at a special show just how much they need to do to look and perform like the real Elvis.
Gilson, a father of three, has only been doing his copycat act in public for 18 months. “Once I sang, somebody asked me to do something else and it just sort of snowballed then.”
It was the second annual national Elvis tribute artiste contest at the Co Donegal resort.
Last year’s winner Ciarán Houlihane (30), from Lusk, Co Dublin, went on to represent Ireland at Memphis, Tennessee, last August in the American final of the worldwide “Images of The King” competition. He came sixth.
Gilson will instead go direct to the first-ever Elvis World Cup in Cardiff. There are plans to hold it every four years, like the World Cup soccer finals.
Elvis’s tour manager during his last five years, Charles Stone, teamed up with Briton Peter Phillips to organise the Bundoran festival.
Mr Phillips hosts what's claimed to be Europe's biggest annual Elvis festival in Porthcawl, Wales. He also organises Tedfest on Inis Mór, which commemorates the Fr TedTV series.