Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Direct from Graceland: Elvis Exhibition London, 2023

London The Unfinished City
From Graceland to London.

Saturday October 28, 2023.

It was a beautiful morning as my friend Len and I made our way to the Arches London Bridge, to see the Direct from Graceland: Elvis Exhibition. The exhibition was bringing some 400+ pieces of Elvis memorabilia, direct from Graceland, to London, some of which had never left Elvis' home in Memphis, before. 

We arrived a few minutes before our time-slot of 11:00, but were immediately granted access to the building. The staff were pleasant and, after asking if we wished to have refreshments, directed us to the entrance of the exhibit.

London The Unfinished City
Some of Elvis' personal items.

The exhibition began with Elvis' upbringing in Tupelo and had information boards affixed to the walls, while TV screens showed a young Elvis. clothing, worn by his parents, were in glass display cases, along with rare documents and other items.

London The Unfinished City
A model of Elvis' childhood home.

We then moved through to his first foray into music, along with Elvis merchandise and a selection of Colonel Tom Parker's personal items.

London The Unfinished City
Some of Colonel Tom Parker's personal items.

The exhibit took us through his years in the US Army, some of his favourite cars and through to a massive collection of his clothes. 

London The Unfinished City
1975 Ferrari Dino GT4.


London The Unfinished City
Some of Elvis' clothing.

Many of these outfits were from his years performing in Las Vegas.

London The Unfinished City
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas.

A dress worn by Priscilla and some rare family items were on show in the glass cases. All the while various Elvis songs were being played, at a low volume, while TV screens displayed interviews, concert recordings and family videos.

London The Unfinished City
The dress worn by Priscilla on the eve of the 40th anniversary of Elvis' passing.

There were also original design sketches, showing how his show personna evolved.

London The Unfinished City
An original costume design.

A whole section was also dedicated to his films, where the walls were adorned with movie posters and glass cases held costumes, scripts and other movie memorabilia.

London The Unfinished City
Movie posters.

There was a small area where fans had the chance to write a message of love or support on the walls.

London The Unfinished City
Len reads some of the messages left by fans.

Towards the end of the exhibit was a screening room where concert footage, lasting around ten minutes, was displayed on a loop.

London The Unfinished City
Waiting for the show to begin.

This then took us to the shop, where mugs, t-shirts, jewellery, jackets, badges, pencils and so much more was available for purchase.

The exhibit took a good 90 minutes to see and was a lot more interesting and had a lot more to see than we had hoped.

If you get the chance then this is definitely an exhibition to see, and is remarkably affordable.

Click the 'Video' link, below, to watch a short video of the exhibition.

Video

Click the 'Gallery' link, below, to see more photographs from the day.

Gallery

The exhibition runs until February 2024.

Click the link below to read more about the exhibition and to book tickets.

Direct from Graceland: Elvis Exhibition

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