Roy Darby is all shook up over Elvis Presley.
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The first time Roy played the classic Jailhouse Rock on his guitar during a street performance something very peculiar happened.
“I just started moving my hips like Elvis as a I was performing,” he says.
“I wasn’t like technique forced into it, or trained, I just did it naturally and I got a bit of a crowd, I got a bit of a liking.”
That was six months ago.
Since then, Roy, 11 has been perfecting Elvis’s sultry looks, swinging hips, pelvis shaking and dynamic vocal style.
Arguably one of Ballarat’s biggest fans of the king, Roy, 11, has spent his childhood watching clips of his idol.
“I’ve seen the '68 Elvis Comeback Special heaps of times,” he says.
“I’ve watched the 1973 Aloha from Hawaii special. I’ve watched his last live concert in 1977 plus countless YouTube videos, I can’t get enough of him.”
Roy performs all around Ballarat, from the Bridge Mall to the Ballarat Market on Sundays.
Recently, Roy even filmed his own DVD of him performing Elvis hits around Ballarat including outside the iconic Crossroads Music store at Skipton Street.
A clip of him performing the Chuck Berry classic Too Much Monkey Business famously covered by Elvis in 1969 has been viewed more than 7000 times.
“I love Elvis because it’s bringing old music back and he was a great musician,” he said.
“I love his music, he had the right techniques, the right moves and the right singing.
“He always has been and always will always the king.”
Roy’s dream is to one day travel to Memphis, Tennessee and perform in Elvis’s hometown.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Elvis’ death and while he may have “left the building” in 1977, his legacy is as alive as ever.
This weekend, score of fans of the king of rock ‘n’ roll will flock to Lydiard Street for at the annual Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival’s Elvis Presley Show which will kick of at 12.30pm on Saturday.