It’s not everyday that you meet a teenage Elvis Tribute Act (ETA) so it was hard to know what to expect when we met Alfie Pearson ETA.
It was a Wednesday afternoon, and we were at the Ryder Club, on Coltman Street, Hull. Ryder was in itself a phenomenon, packed to the rafters by 2 in the afternoon.
And then there was Alfie.
Suited and booted, gold lame and white spats he certainly looked the real deal and when he got on stage he seemed to fulfil the larger than life persona that a tribute act should have. He worked the crowd and he really gave it some.
Alfie was impressive. The crowd loved him and to be honest so did we.
Our attention was drawn to make a KCOM Culture film about the 13-year-old by the Magnum exhibition at Humber Street Gallery. It contains a photo, taken by Olivia Arthur, of Alfie, sitting in his bedroom dressed as Elvis. There was something stark and melancholy about the image, but meeting Alfie in person and watching him perform left us proud to have met someone so young who is so determined to be himself and do something special.
And we hope that our film contrasts well with Olivia Arthur’s image and helps to tell Alfie’s story.
It was a lovely film to work on and we wish Alfie luck as he aims to make a career out of being Elvis.
KCOM Culture Alfie Elvis 2 from Nova Studios on Vimeo.
