Design
The 124-page hardcover book can best be described as a travelogue or scrapbook, filled to the brim with personal memorabilia from the scrapbooks and photo albums of fans crossing the Atlantic to see their hero.
The visual part of the book is impressive with literally hundreds of color and black and white photos, many very rare and of historic importance. Presented as a beautifully illustrated scrapbook, with the story of the Elvis fans visiting Elvis - including plenty of relevant information on the context - intertwined on the 120 colorful pages. The design is featured throughout the book, making it a feast for the eye.
Erik van den Berg's writing style takes you by the hand, following in the footsteps of those lucky fans who made the trip across the Atlantic to see Elvis live in concert. He provides a frame in which the memories, memorabilia and photographs tell the original story. Together they provide a strong graphic narrative.
Fortunately the author took care of business and started to chase the lucky few who had realized his dream, and this book captures the stuff that dreams are made of in words and images.
Content
Following a short introduction on Elvis 50's and 60's career to set the scene, the story really picks up for Dutch Elvis fans after the 1968 Comeback Special, as it was a turning-point in Elvis' career because it brought him back to live performing. Where until then Dutch fans were mostly treated to corny movies, this showed them "Elvis the performer". The soundtrack of the TV Special, the 'On Stage' live album that followed a year later, and 'Elvis: That's The Way it Is' movie and album further build the idea to go and see their hero live in concert.
When the biggest Dutch newspaper announced in 1971 that Elvis might be coming to Europe fans thought that their dream would come true. Unfortunately, as we all know, this tour never came to fruition, and fans "had to do" with the 'Elvis on Tour' movie and of course the 'Aloha via Satellite' TV-Special.
Obviously, this was not enough for part of the fanbase, so if Elvis wasn't coming to Europe, Europe was coming to Elvis! This book covers the trips made by fans from 1973 to 1977.
Next to the main story as told by the author, quotes from fans make the reader really part of the group, and we follow them on their trip through the U.S. From a 2025 perspective, it is fun to read that fans from Europe who now visit the U.S., still make the same journey, visiting places like Nashville, Tupelo, Las Vegas, Hollywood and of course Memphis. On these pages the fans tell their story, making it fun and real.
In Memphis these fans were able to visit Elvis' Graceland Mansion, and wander through the garden, visiting Vernon's office, the pool and Meditation garden. The book shows some great photographs from the mansion while Elvis still lived there.
Interesting to read that these fan's dream almost became a nightmare when the Hilton cancelled all their reservations because these fans "weren't gamblers, so they wouldn't spent enough money" for the Hilton standard ... This perfectly illustrates why the Hilton booked Elvis, he was a cash-machine for them.
Following the 1973 trip, the book does the same for the trips organized in 1974, ending up in the audience - front row! - of the infamous September 2, 1974 Closing Show during which Elvis lost his cool, sharing his feelings with the audience: "Don't get offended, ladies and gentlemen, I'm talking to someone else. If I find or hear the person who said that about me, I'm going to break their goddamn neck, you filthy bastard! ... That's dangerous... I'll rip your goddamn tongue out by the roots!". This concert was released November 2025 by the Memphis Recording Service record label.
In 1975 tragedy struck for both Elvis and his fans, he fell ill, and the concerts were cancelled … the dream became a nightmare.
Remarkably, Elvis, who normally chats with his musicians after a performance, was left quite alone this time. His musicians were all celebrating James Burton's birthday party that evening. His two private physicians, including Dr. George Nichopoulos, who had accompanied Elvis constantly since arriving in Vegas, decided to cancel all performances and fly Elvis back to Memphis. Via Graceland, Elvis was admitted to Baptist Memorial Hospital at 7:00 a.m. that morning.
With Elvis absent, the Hilton looked macabre. Dozens of taxis whisked away the hastily departing hotel guests. No one hesitated. A complete exodus of Elvis fans from all over the world. To my great luck, Elvis's shocked musicians stayed another day at the Hilton. Thus, I was fortunate enough to be introduced, through my hostess, to Jackie Kahane, the man who makes the "jokes" before the Elvis show and parades through the Hilton to attract attention.
He also introduced me to most of the Stamps, a group of incredibly nice guys, all of whom were somewhat distraught, processing Elvis's absence. J.D. Summer was in the worst shape. He had drowned his sorrows in a good number of drinks and now, barefoot, socks and boots in hand, hairs across his forehead, entered the elevator. A bleary-eyed look and a limp hand, holding the new $45,000 ring Elvis had recently given him. A kind of boil you can pop off. He then sought solace with a private concert and flirting with a blonde in the same elevator. The next day, he walked with another hottie for support ..."
I never saw this grey gospel singer as such a womanizer ... personal stories and experiences from fans illustrate the beauty of this book.
Other stories gave the fans who missed out on seeing Elvis in person a glimpse of hope: "We were invited by Kathy Westmoreland to her room for a quiet chat. Kathy sings backup for Elvis and is known as a beautiful young woman with the high-pitched voice. Kathy told us: "Believe me, we're all eager to go to Europe. Elvis himself is increasingly eager to go. I have a feeling it'll happen in the next two years."
Elvis didn't do a Vegas engagement in 1977, so in cooperation with Colonel Parker's office, the fan club organizing this year's trip across the Atlantic for European fans made arrangement to visit Elvis' shows on June 25th in Cincinnati, and on June 26th in Indianapolis. We now know that these would be Elvis' last two shows. Some of the Dutch fans were filmed for the CBS TV Special that would eventually aired after Elvis' untimely demise on August 16, 1977.
We all know about his heartfelt (and painful to watch) rendition of 'Unchained Melody' accompanying himself on the piano ... There probably isn't an Elvis fan in the world who doesn't get goosebumps on his or her arms watching this performance, but being in the audience during this special moment was even more overwhelming ... the Elvis dream ended there.
The book ends with a "photobook" showing fan shots of Elvis in concert, not the kind of material we know from photographers like Keith Alverson or the aforementioned van Houten, but simply precious memories by fans who dared to take a picture, and the memories of a Belgian fan who saw Elvis 26 times over the years, met him and got a kiss. Something a lot of female fans will be jealous of.
Conclusion
This book truly is a dream-catcher, perfectly capturing the experience of those lucky enough to make the trip to see their hero. The visual element is bring to life the book’s narrative, providing a wonderful photographic record of seeing Elvis live on stage in the late seventies from a fan’s perspective, reflecting the energy and excitement of those who were there.
At the same time, it serves as a beautifully illustrated time-capsule for those of us who weren't there. This is what fantasies are made of, and it's wonderful to see this chapter of the Dutch Elvis story documented so elegantly.Compared to other books with memories by fans - like the '200 Concerts' book published January 2025, that only contained one picture on the cover - this richly illustrated book deserves a wide audience as the story it tells will appeal to fans from Europe and other parts of the world.
The book is available from the >>> ElvisMatters webshop with an exclusive bonus DVD titled 'We're From Europe And Going To See Elvis'.
The film features unique private recordings from Memphis and Vegas, offering a rare glimpse into how these fans lived their dream, in color, full of emotion, and straight from the 1970s.
The DVD perfectly complements Erik van den Berg's book, which recounts the adventures of these fans and is richly filled with photos, letters, and documents from the same period.
