The 20th of February 1973
Official U.K. Albums Chart results from Sunday the 18th to Saturday the 24th of February 1973
Cut-off for sales figures was up to the end of Saturday the 17th of February
Results counted from Sunday the 18th,
announced on Tuesday the 20th,
and broadcast on B.B.C. Radio 1 on Sunday the 25th of February 1973.
Elvis
Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite
At No.18, on the “The Top 50 U.K. Albums Chart” on my 1st Birthday, is Elvis with “Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite”.
Here was Elvis, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the ultimate American entertainer,..
…but this wasn’t Elvis Presley.
This concert was the pinnacle of the career. It was also the moment when the ultimate global Elvis impersonation was born, with the King himself becoming the first impersonator of them all.
One year before this incredible show, Elvis Presley’s personal life had truly begun to disintegrate.
His marriage to Priscilla was over.
There had been extra curricular activities going on which, in one case, saw him almost becoming a father again. Not that he knew that. The pregnancy was terminated before he even knew about it allegedly.
Not long after, Priscilla conducted an extra marital affair of her own.
Presley himself fell into a new relationship.
A divorce was filed for his old family life late the previous summer, which would drag on for over a year, not being finalised for another 8 months time, in October later this year.
It was at the start of this period in his life that he got into a new fight, but this one would be different.
He started his biggest war with himself, the persona vs the personal, which would end up becoming the battle of his life..
All the way through this period, the champ kept on swinging, and I see this performance as the most awe inspiring fight of his career. The ultimate heavyweight title, where he would come out of this bout victorious, just one more time.
And what a show it was.
This gig was held for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund.
Kui Lee was a singer songwriter who had lived in Hawaii before Lymph Cancer took him away in the mid 1960’s.
One of his compositions, “I’ll Remember You” was a regular visitor to the Elvis tour song catalogue and features quite rightly at this show.
In the build up to the event, after seeing Presley perform at Long Beach, american TV Producer and Director, Marty Pasetta, the guy who was going to direct this show, basically told Elvis straight, that he wasn’t pleased with his performance, and that he needed to lose weight too.
Presley listened and took it onboard.
If the Rocky theme had been composed at this time by Sly’s brother, Frank, then this would be the time to play it, but that piece of music was still a couple of years away.
Elvis went on a crash diet, increased his workouts, took his vitamins and guzzled his protein shakes.
The result was a weight loss of approximately 11kg, in one month. That’s astonishing.
At just after midnight…
…on the 14th of January 1973, a time which suited the intended televised selected countries such as Hong Kong, Japan and Australia to name a few, the stage was set. The rest of the world would have to wait, (ironically the United States even more so, until April in fact).
This double album is the soundtrack to that concert.
It enters the U.K. Album Chart this very week, falters a little next week to go to No.19, but then climbs up to its highest position of No.11 at the beginning of March.
From there though, the album would slip slightly to No.14, but then fall dramatically to No.30.
There will be another couple of weeks, as he progressively falls lower, before beaming out after the 7th of April.
There would be one last encore during his lifetime when the album hits No.43 from the 15th of April.
The final showing would be 6 months after his passing, when he re-enters at No.35 on the 19th of March 1978, drops to No.59 (due to the fact that the chart has expanded by now), but then leaves the building after the first day of April.
He leaves the U.K. Chart with a total of 10 weeks under his gemstone cape, triumphant that Elvis had knocked them all out one more time.
But like Mr. Presley said himself at the time:
“Well, the image is one thing and the human being another … it’s very hard to live up to an image.”
The next time Elvis televises one of his concerts, there will be a noticeable difference.
I’ve created my own separate playlists for both Sides 1 and 2 of this album with (I hope) the correct versions and the original track sequencing order for the U.K. release.
Record 1, Side 1
Record 1, Side 2
Record 2, Side 3
Record 2, Side 4
Many thanks go to the following YouTube Channels for providing the chance to hear this music once again.
Please show your appreciation by visiting their channel:
The Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart Playlist for the week of my 1st Birthday:
The Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart Playlist for the day I was born:
Grab Your Binoculars, Come Follow Me
What is it…?
Why am I…?
How do I…?
When am I…?
