Elvis winners had good luck charm

Reporter: Marina Berry
Date online: 25 June 2009

AN obsession with Elvis put two Oldham men right at the top when it came to finding the “King” of the borough.

But judges out to find the legend’s biggest fan found it impossible to choose between the two and announced them as joint winners.

The prize for each is two tickets to see the Coliseum’s current production, “Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis.”

But what judges didn’t know was that Elvis-mania has forged an unbreakable link between the pair, and they were likely to have used the winning tickets to see the production together anyway.

Dennis Berry, from Hollins, and Herm Derbyshire, of Holts, are die-hard Elvis fans who have spent decades collecting memorabilia to create their own personal shrines to their hero.

Herm has his collection on show for fellow-fans to browse over at Failsworth’s Cavern Antiques and Collectors Centre, and Dennis has turned the top floor of his home into an Elvis grotto.

Dennis (55) laughed: “It’s like a bug. If you spat on the floor and it looked like Elvis I’d buy it off you — the only thing I draw the line at are Elvis rubber ducks, I wouldn’t have one of those in the house.”

Dennis, who was born in the same year as Elvis recorded his first record, “My Happiness,” has been a fan since his mother took him to the cinema to see Elvis films as a child.

He has one of the largest Elvis collections in the region in the home he shares with his long-suffering partner, Kath Lofthouse — he is taking her sister, Irene, to the Coliseum with his winning tickets.

His love of Elvis, which he said was down to his music, “plain and simple,” prompted him to paint his likeness in oils on canvas, some of which are on show in Herm’s collection.

“Being a member of the fan club is like belonging to one big family, I have friends all over the world as a result,” said Dennis.

There are still some tickets left for the Coliseum production, which runs until July 11, from the box office on 0161-624 2829 or online at www.coliseum.org.uk