Did you ever belong to an actual Elvis fan club?

[JimmyCool]

About a decade ago, I attempted to join an official fan club here in Chile. I attended a few gatherings initially, and everything seemed fine. However, as time went on, I began to notice the excessive emphasis placed on tribute artists, many of whom lacked talent, proper appearance, and even accurate English diction. This aspect started to bother me, and gradually, I distanced myself from the fan club without any intention of returning.

These days, I interact with fans exclusively through different Elvis forums, where genuine enthusiasts value the artist's life and artistic contributions beyond his mere image and likeness. It's truly refreshing to connect with individuals who appreciate Elvis' body of work, as opposed to those solely fixated on subpar Elvis impersonators and tacky Elvis-themed merchandise.

[Christopher]

great topic! many here should be able to contribute, since a lot of us are born around lisa marie's year of birth, some are older.

I know most , if not all of us, in this forum are a bit too young to have been in a fan club while Elvis was still alive.

don't think so.
according to this survey from 3 years ago, 3/4 of us became fans up until elvis' 50th birthday in 1985:
https://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=106425

[Wonderwall]

I became a fan at the age of 10, in 1971, so Fan Clubs were a natural part of all that.

[Edwin]

I was a member of the Dutch fanclub It's Elvis Time from 1986 till maybe 2012 or so.
In the first years there were regular meetings with guests like James Burton, Charlie Hodge, Kathy Westmoreland e.o.
Nice going through the shops with lp's, cd's, books, etc.
In the later years with the internet coming up....it just wasn't worthwhile anymore.
And....service in ordering items went downhill.

[Christopher Brown]

I subscribed to Strictly Elvis by Rocky Barra, the best fan club magazine, in the early '70s, and am only missing two issues -- still looking. Rex Martin's Elvis News Service Weekly was a fantastic and affordable subscription, and I have all of those from issue 24 onwards. Getting something almost every week detailing Elvis' shows, movements and upcoming concerts was amazing and so exciting.

I belonged to the Hound Dogs for Elvis Fan Club for about a year, but didn't think much of it, certainly compared to Strictly Elvis. I tried Elvis Monthly in the early '70s for a year or two, but generally didn't care for its content and poems. After Elvis died, I joined Bob Heis' club, and since then, Elvis The Man and His Music from day one. Due to postage costs, I haven't subscribed for the last 6 years, but every 1.5 to 2 years order 6 to 8 issues, save tremondously on postage costs, and bury myself in great Elvis articles and interviews for a few days.

[BobDylan]

Nope

[eligain]

I belonged to 3 Elvis fanclubs. 2 while he was alive and joined the 3rd one in 1978. The first one I joined was the biggest, (Mile High On Elvis in Denver Colorado). I joined it in 1974 when I was 13. I was the youngest member by a long shot. I joined a second one called Elvis, A 2001 Fan Odyssy in 1976. I was also the youngest member. And the last one was called Elvis, A Sentimental Journey.

The Mile High On Elvis Fan club was the most active. It had several members that would follow every tour and go to all the Vegas shows and also hang around the gates of his California homes and Graceland. They would give us reports of his concerts that they went to including pictures, Super 8 films and their audience recordings. They got to know most of the entourage. We had a lot of activities including screening his movies in movie theaters and screening film versions of the 68 Special and Aloha. About a month after Elvis died, we had a memorial service for him at this big church and all the local news channels covered it.

[emjel]

It was 62 years ago when I became a fan - started buying the Elvis Monthly booklet two years later and joined The Official Elvis Presley Fan Club of Great Britain in 1967. They had regional branches around England and activity/meetings was based on how big the town or city was. In Liverpool, in the early 70s, we had monthly meetings and I would take my small collection of Elvis movie films along - this was a few years prior to video being generally available and even affordable. Elvis certainly affected my life - if it wasn’t for him, I would never have met my wife just over 50 years ago. By the end of the 60s, I subscribed to a few mags/newsletters including Strictly Elvis, but I would not regard them as Fan Clubs.

[murph1031]

Yes the Irish fan club in the 1980s, moved to USA later.

[martin018]

Have been in the UK Fan Club for nearly 50 years,
Went with them to Graceland in 1997 and Hemsby in 1989.

[skabillyrebels]

Yes the UK Fan Club.

[A. C. van Kuijk]

A long time ago I was a member of the German "EPG - Elvis Presley Gesellschaft".

[Domino]

The Elvis In Canada Fan Club.

[elvis-fan]

Wait... where's the dude that started this thread? DOA?

[Christopher]

i cannot believe this.
the thread starter delivered a really well-laborated entry post.
did he delete his post himself, like greystoke did a few months ago???

[Troubleman]

The Elvis in Concert fan club from Quebec. We also went to Elvis Week in 1997 as a group.

[James27]

The United Elvis Presley Society (Belgium) in the 90’s and in the late 90’s or early 2000’s I joined ElvisMatters, and still am a member of them. The way to order my FTD’s quickly and reliably.

Thru EM I went to concerts with Elvis’ original bandmembers, like James Burton, Jerry Scheff, John Wilkinson, Ron Tutt, Glen D. Hardin… and also went to Elvis exibitions in places like a university public librarie, and a colonel Parker-themed city-trip in Breda, amongst other things, but never went to any Elvis look-a-like singer. EM didn’t do that thing. But EM did organize from time to time concerts with singers like Bouke and other quality singers who had their own style but who sang Elvis songs, in their own way. Very nice.

[Swedish]

Wait... where's the dude that started this thread? DOA?

The user ElvisDan does not exist any more!

[Ricky]

The Return To Sender Fan Club in Tidewater, VA. Headquartered in Chesapeake. My best friend's mother got us involved in 1976.We were18, when we first started learning about memorabilia from boots and overseas. Nice bunch of ladies.

[elvis-fan]

Wait... where's the dude that started this thread? DOA?

The user ElvisDan does not exist any more!

[Greystoke]

Wait... where's the dude that started this thread? DOA?

The user ElvisDan does not exist any more!

It's called doing a Greystoke now.

[Swedish]

Wait... where's the dude that started this thread? DOA?

The user ElvisDan does not exist any more!

DimConsiderateHomalocephale-max-1mb.gif

[Dan_T]

Speaking of Fan Clubs, has anybody seen Todd Slaughter's YouTube channel ? Stumbled upon it a couple of days ago.

https://youtube.com/@toddslaughterser

[bajo]

I still support my own Norwegian Elvis Fan Club. Flaming Star! Run by the everlasting Pål Granlund!!