The Truth About Me

Hi, this is Thomas... I'm 23 years old and my interest in Elvis started when one of my two brothers bought the double LP Elvis Forever in the late 70's. I became a real fan a short time later when I borrowed a couple of Elvis albums from a classmate, among them Elvis In Concert.

During the years me and my other brother have built a record collection that we're proud of. Not because it includes a lot of valuable editions, but because we think we own most of the stuff released officially by Elvis, and to us it's the music and not the value of the collection that counts.

My favorite period with Elvis is 1968–77, when Elvis was at the peak, artistically as well as vocally.

When it comes to fan clubs, I joined the British Official Elvis Presley Fan Club in 1982. Two years later I became a member of the Swedish fan club Tidskriften Elvis, and in issue number 1, 1988, my first article was published.

Although I listen to other artists as well, not a day goes by without a dose of Elvis; by listening to a record or occasionally catching a video. Like a certain singer once said (with some slight modifications): "Without an Elvis song a man ain't got a friend. Without an Elvis song the day won't ever end. So I'll just keep listening to his song..."

I wrote the above (in Swedish) 21 years ago, when the members of the staff of the Swedish fan club magazine Tidskriften Elvis presented themselves in issue number 2, 1990. I'd written a couple of articles for that magazine (here's an example) , and felt proud to be considered part of the team.

I stumbled across the short text I'd written back then while leafing through a heap of old Elvis magazines. And although I no longer think Elvis was at his peak in 1977 and I'm no longer a contributor to Tidskriften Elvis, the rest of the stuff still holds true. Especially the last paragraph that actually was the reason I started the Elvis Today blog in 2007.

PS: I remember thinking that the other staff members were looking really old, like in their early to middle 40's or something, and now I'm as old as they were then...