Date with history: An all-night vigil to secure a Presley ticket

SNUGGLING under her blanket as she tried to keep warm on an early autumn night, 16-year-old Elvis Presley fan Sandra Coleman put her head on the pavement outside the Odeon Cinema, on Clerk Street, and settled down to sleep.

Once she fell asleep, no doubting she dreamt of what the morning would hold for her - a chance to be one of the 1800 Edinburgh Elvis fans lucky enough to secure a ticket for an all-night screening of her late idol's films.

On September 3, 1977, Sandra, from Niddrie Mill Crescent, was one of 100 people who queued outside the cinema - many, like her, all through the night - desperate to be part of the action.

Tickets were about to go on sale for the event, set to take place later that month.

Spurred by his death in August, the cinema was showing five of Presley's most-loved films, including G.I. Blues and King Creole.

"I was surprised at the age of some of the fans," cinema manager Dave Elliot said.

"They all seemed very young and some queued all night."