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Elvis super fan says the king 'feeds my soul'

John Devine/BBC Giles Moriarty, 57 is wearing glasses and sitting in a chair holding an Elvis Presley album showing the young Elvis in black and white on a yellow background. Giles has brown hair and a dark rolled neck sweater with a red black and white patterned cardigan over the top, there is a dark wooden book case behind him filled with Elvis books.John Devine/BBC
Giles Moriarty said he became fascinated with Elvis after the star's death in 1977

An Elvis Presley super fan says his fascination for the king of rock 'n' roll has never waned, since discovering his music almost 50 years ago.

Giles Moriarty, 57, has a room in his home in March, Cambridgeshire, dedicated to the Hound Dog singer, who would have turned 90 on 8 January.

He said he became enthralled by Elvis after hearing a vinyl record in his parents' collection in 1977, around the time of the star's death.

"Had he been alive today I think he would have hung up his Blue Suede Shoes, but would have enjoyed reflecting on his success," said Mr Moriarty.

John Devine/BBC A photo of Elvis holding his guitar and dancing is next to a silver 7" record. A label says 'Elvis Presley, Don't be Cruel platinum edition record. Limited edition 946/5000'John Devine/BBC
Numerous photos and records of Elvis are on Mr Moriarty's walls

Mr Moriarty's dedicated "Elvis room" is filled with hundreds of books, records and assorted memorabilia, which he has collected over the course of half a century.

"I was not cool at school in 1977, the other kids were discovering punk rock, but not me," he added.

John Devine/BBC An original Sun Records 45 rpm vinyl record on a turntable. The label on the disc is yellow background with light brown writing it is a song called "Baby Let's Play House" from 1955 and was recorded by Elvis Presley at the Sun studio in Memphis.John Devine/BBC
One of Mr Moriarty's most prized possessions, a 1955 Sun Records recording of a song he says was just as explosive as anything the Sex Pistols produced during the punk era

Who was Elvis Presley?

  • Elvis was born in Tulepo, Mississippi, on 8 January 1935 and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee
  • He began his singing career in 1954, ushering in "a whole new era of American music and popular culture"
  • The star joined the US Army in 1958 and served for two years
  • He has sold more than one billion records globally, starred in 33 films - and won three Grammys
  • Elvis died at his Graceland home on 16 August 1977, at the age of 42

Source: Graceland

Mr Moriarty says he vividly remembers finding a vinyl double album of Elvis' 40 greatest hits in his parents record collection in the summer of 1977.

"When Elvis died the TV was full of tributes showing old movies, it was then I got completely hooked," he said.

"People forget what a ground-breaking artist he was.

"I have a rare 1955 Sun Records single of a song called Baby Let's Play House, a [sexual] euphemism that many white Americans did not know at the time.

"Then when he appeared on TV, wow, that was a moment in music history."

John Devine/BBC A 30cm (1ft) model of Elvis in black leather with his foot on a blue chair playing a sunburst electric guitar with microphone on a stand in front of him. The image is a nod to the '68 Elvis comeback special TV show, there are picture frames visible behind the model on a magnolia coloured wall.John Devine/BBC
A model of the famous televised 1968 Comeback Special sits in Mr Moriarty's Elvis room

"Throughout my life, Elvis has always been there for me, providing the music that feeds my soul," said Mr Moriarty.

There have been many accounts of the negative aspects of Presley's lifestyle, including drug abuse and the nature of his demise, but, Mr Moriarty says, "none of that matters - it's the music that I love".

"He had a Shakespearian arc to his life, the rags to riches story and then of course an undesirable end, which is a pre-requisite to a Shakespearian classic," he added.

A wall filled with Elvis records, tapes, and photos
John Devine/BBC A large collection of books, the spines include Elvis in most of them. they sit in an oak style book shelf in the "Elvis room" at the home of Giles Moriarty.John Devine/BBC
Part of a vast collection of books on Elvis that Mr Moriarty has collected for almost 50 years

Mr Moriarty admitted that his family think he is "mad" for his dedication to Elvis Presley, but he says he doesn't mind at all.

Elvis is always a "constant" in his life, he says.

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