How a Prince is helping boy who would be the King

Published on Friday 18 March 2011 09:58

For Daniel Currie, it's a case of a little less conversation, a little more cash.

&#149 At 22, Daniel Currie is Scotland's youngest Elvis impersonator and a Youth Business Trust loan is helping him develop his act

Daniel, Scotland's youngest Elvis tribute artist, is donning his bejewelled jumpsuit in a bid to be named the best in the world after securing a loan from the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust.

The grant allowed the 22-year-old to go into business full-time as an Elvis performer and kept his dream of one day taking the stage in Las Vegas alive.

"They gave me a loan which helped get a brand new PA system for doing my shows, new lights, all new stage wear - stuff like that," said Daniel.

"I've got a contract with a casino in Dundee, I've got birthday parties and I do a lot of weddings as well. I travel all up and down the country, doing my show."

&#149 Click here to see Daniel in action

His polished performance is divided into sections, the first focusing on the King's earlier years in the 1950s and 1960s, while the second half showcases Vegas-era Elvis in his iconic sparkly costume.

Daniel, from Corstorphine, can spend at least 2500 on the costumes, which take six months to make and are ordered from the firm which made Elvis's original outfits, J & K Enterprises.

He said: "I get a lot of attention in the jumpsuit, especially from the women. I do get a lot of women's underwear thrown at me. Elvis got that a lot, too. It is a little bit embarrassing when you're on stage, and you think: how do I act about this? But it's still a really good craic at the end of the day."

While Elvis may seem an unusual choice of idol for a young man, Daniel said his friends have always been very supportive: "Everybody I know calls me Elvis, only my close family call me Daniel," he said.

"One of my friends is my sound technician, and if I need any help, they're all on hand right away. Some knew my nickname but it wasn't until they came to see me (perform] that they were really blown away. It's something they hadn't seen before."

He performs under the stage name 'Danny Allan' and first became a fan of Elvis at a very young age.

"I was born into it in a way," he said. "My dad used to have all the LPs as a kid so as I grew up I always had Elvis playing around me.

"And as I got older I started learning more songs as I started doing karaoke when I was 16 and everybody said how good I was and that I should go professional with it.

"To me, I like the music but there's not a thing I really don't know about Elvis. I've been studying him since a very young age."I went through a phase when I wouldn't watch TV, I would just watch Elvis in concert just so I could study how he moves and how he worked."

The hard work finally paid off in 2008, when the father-of-one won the biggest Elvis competition in Europe, entitled, Walk a Mile in my Golden Shoes, taking out the title again in 2010. But for Daniel, the ultimate goal is being crowned the winner at the Images of the King competition in Memphis, Tennessee, which he plans to compete in, in the near future.