At the purple-black decorated desk in the New Daisy Theatre on famous Beale Street in downtown Memphis I sit working – and, waiting for all the fans to finally get their autographs and take their photos of themselves together with Elvis-Impersonator Ben Portsmouth, who just minutes ago was sitting right there on a white wooden folding chair performing his acoustic concert. It’s Elvis Week 2015 and the city is crowded with men, women and even children who look astonishingly similar to Elvis Presley. Ben Portsmouth though is looking rather casual right now with his plain white T-shirt and fawn-colored trousers as he welcomes his fans with an excessively charismatic smile. At long last – after all the fans have had their chance to shake hands with him – Ben appears with a stack of New Zealand chocolate, a much appreciated gift from his fans. Ben directs his eyes to me as if to acknowledge what we both know – we’re starving – and so Ben proposes we go out to lunch.
Ben Portsmouth in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2015.
