Elvis impersonator lands personal stage present and is hoping to take it to the West End
Elvis impersonator Dave Black has landed his own stage show and he is hoping to take it to the West End.
During the pandemic, the former bus inspector, 54, spent a £10,000 chunk of his voluntary redundancy cash from bus company Arriva to fund his lifelong dream of becoming an impersonator of the King of Rock and Roll.
He has since been performing as Elvis in venues across the county, and is now taking his act to the Headgate Theatre in Colchester, which will see him team up with singer Neil Devlin in a Las Vegas-themed show.
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The show, which will take place in December, will pay homage to the artist’s Las Vegas residencies, with Dave performing as Elvis, and Neil impersonating a host of legends including Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones and Barry Manilow.
(Image: Courtesy Dave Black / SWNS)
Dave, who is also an ex bus driver, said he is delighted to have secured his own show because it has always been his ambition and he hopes it will be a big hit so he can take it to the West End.
Dave said: “It was always one of my desires from when I was a kid. The ultimate dream was to get my own stage show and I have got one, I have gone from working on buses to this in just a year and a half.
“I would love to take this show across the country and the West End, as long as it is a theatre.”
Dave described the show, which will see him don full-body jumpsuits much like Elvis did during his seven year residency, as “non-stop energy”.
(Image: Courtesy Dave Black / SWNS)
He said he has achieved his ambition through hard work and determination and described his rise to fame as the “great British dream” which has seen him go from “rags to riches”.
He added: “If you want something bad enough and you are determined you can achieve. It has always been a dream [to perform as Elvis] but I have had to work on the buses to put food on the table and pay bills.
”If you have the dream and it is realistic and you are prepared to put the hard work and determination in then I believe you can do it.”
In a message to other people who are aspiring to become an entertainer, Dave, who is from Colchester, said that they should have “self-belief and be “thick skinned”.
(Image: Courtesy Dave Black / SWNS)
Dave also has a burning ambition of taking his Elvis act to The King’s US homeland and making it big there – and he thinks doing so could lead to him having worldwide fame.
He said: “My dream has to be performing in the USA, if you can smash it in America that is when you break the world. It would mean a lot to get them to like me because Elvis is from the US.”
The Ultimate Elvis & Vegas Legends Tribute Show takes place on December 20.
Elvis performed in 636 consecutive shows at the International and Las Vegas Hilton from July 1969 through to December 1976.
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