ATV Today reflected on the news that Elvis Presley had passed away. Newsrooms in the UK were issued with the story at 10.10pm on August 16th confirming the singer had died in America several hours earlier.
Reporters Tony Maycock and Bev Smith both provided coverage for ATV Today the following evening with Maycock interviewing the President of the official UK Elvis Presley Fan Club Todd Slaughter who had only months earlier spent time with Elvis stateside as part of a documentary for CBS Television. Todd notes that both himself and the production team felt Presley was not going to live much longer due to ill health.
Slaughter also talks about plans for Elvis to tour in 1978 which would have included possibly stage shows in the UK. And concerns for fans who had called him to say they felt suicidal now Elvis was no longer alive.
Bev Smith then interviews one of Elvis’ biggest fans Michael Haywood of 40, Hawthorne Street, Leicester who is bereft at the loss of the Wonder of You singer. His wife Val talks about Michael’s growing interest in Presley and how she worried about how he’d react to the news of ‘The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s’ death. The report notes how Michael had the phone service give him a number that included Elvis’ birth date and he named his daughter Lisa after Presley’s own child.
Later Michael took part in the BBC Leicester project called The Street.
The 2010 project saw Michael pictured outside his home, which he’d lived in since 1969, and was now proudly showing a metal sign above the door noting ‘House of Elvis‘. The feature, which also formed part of a BBC Radio Leicester show noted the then 62-year-old was still a big fan of Elvis, although sadly his wife Val had died a few years earlier. Michael passed away peacefully on 17th February 2014 aged 66 years, the house was sold later in the year. And while it may no longer contain the Elvis shrine the house still bares the metal sign above the door.
The UK Elvis Presley Fan Club opened in 1957. Todd Slaughter has run the club since 1967. Meeting Elvis for the first time in 1972, Todd is also in some of the final footage recorded of the Hound Dog performer in 1977 as recorded by CBS for a TV special.
ATV wiped the full episode of ATV Today shortly after broadcast. Below the clip comes from an off-air copy, only the interview with Michael and Val was retained officially on film in the ATV/MACE archive.
This feature is not affiliated with ITV Midlands/MACE
