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Dublin city is to honour Ireland's most famous Rock band U2 with a Tower rising maybe 100 metres. See photos on the link. Just scroll down a little to get an idea of the scale.
The reluctance of Memphis city to honour Elvis Presley in a really substantial way is a mystery.
Statues and boulevards are commonplace...........even Airports named after celebrities.
What would really make a superb tribute to Elvis in Memphis?
What would really make a superb tribute to Elvis in Memphis?
Name the airport after Elvis Presley.
That would be a great tribute to The King.(y)
Maybe they could do more but... remember they put a statue of Elvis near Beale Street and they named Elvis Presley boulevard for him too... :king:
Very good points Donut (y) (y) (y) Dovey ;)
The statues of Elvis in Memphis and the Boulevard are not exactly what I had in mind....I have seen them.
I took them, Memphis airport, and Graceland into consideration before starting this thread.
The U2 Tower is a MAJOR tribute. There is a world of difference.
Don?t get me wrong Maurice but I think the U2 thing is an exageration and what I meant is I think the city of Memphis apreaciates Elvis. But that?s just my opinion.Quote:
Originally Posted by MauriceColgan
Pretty rich to claim that the city of Memphis doesn't appreciate Elvis. IMO.
What....? Is it because they don't have one of your statues yet? :lmfao:
Anyway, try saying the same thing on a Memphis street, Maurice. Be sure to bring your megaphone.
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This building you've linked to is also pretty fugly. IMO. The idea of naming it "The U2 Tower" and having a recording studio for the band at the top smacks of Bono's ridiculously over-inflated ego. As usual. I don't think Elvis would ever have done something like this.
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And tell me: just what *is* your obsession with phallic monuments? :doh:
Cryogenic, Why the animosity? Remember this is a moderated Forum.
The Media in Memphis are accustomed to my suggestions:-) I had an email only the other day from the Memphis Business Journal.
Shreveport has an Elvis Presley statue and Boulevard.
I don't need a megaphone my child, Memphis TV5 usually broadcasts my messages:-)
That's OK Donut...we all have our own views. I'm not the Pope :) As for U2, at least a couple of them are Elvis fans.Quote:
Originally Posted by Donut
I swing both ways in discussions such as these.Quote:
Originally Posted by MauriceColgan
ERGO....
Perhaps Memphis could do something extra in time? But I really think Elvis is known, appreciated and honoured enough there.
However, it's good that you're putting the word out. As you say, future generations should be able to appreciate EP, and all these things help in spreading his influence.
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All that aside...
I still think that apartment block is fugly. Most modern architecture, when it tries to be clever, leaves me cold.
Cryogenic, A lot of New Yorkers did not like the World Trade Centre towers when they were first erected. They appear to miss them now. Rightly so. The buildings were a salute to the modern age. The very impressive interior of the tourist tower gave way to a beautiful panoramic views of New York and it's surroundings, from the roof.
The U2 Tower sited where it is will give one of the finest views of beautiful Dublin Bay. I will not make my mind up about the building till I see it in real life so to speak.
As for my "Obsession" with "phallic symbols"?
It's a long story but here's an abridged version.
When we saw the Elvis statues in Memphis 1997, I was curious to know how many Elvis statues existed. Did a little research on google.com and elsewhere and discovered there were quite a few often in surprising places like Israel and New Zealand etc.
So I wrote a poem about them..as one does :blush:
Later we were in Tupelo, September 1999 to be exact, where I noticed there was no Statue of Elvis. I Did not think much about that till around December 2000!
We were playing Elvis's Christmas Album and became sentimental, as one does on these occasions :blush:
For some reason or another Tupelo came to mind and I tried to imagine a statue of Elvis there...maybe as he looked at the Fairground Concert 26th September 1956. But as we all know Elvis lived in Memphis then.
A EUREKA moment! A statue of Elvis as a boy would be the answer.
So being bold as one is on these occasions I decided to write a letter to the Mayor of Tupelo suggesting a statue of Elvis as a boy..no particular age.
I sent my letter to the Mayor, Larry K Otis, and he received it on the 8th of January 2001. Larry forwarded my letter to Henry Dodge of the Elvis Presley Memorial Foundation. Henry a Tupelo business man commissioned Michiel Van Der Sommen to create a life-sized bronze statue of "Elvis at 13". The Statue was unveiled on Elvis's birthday the following year, 2002.
We went to see the lovely statue of Elvis in Tupelo June 2002. Larry K Otis graciously invited us back in 2003....and of course we went, as one does :blush:
My comments on Memphis are from experience. We have toured the city four times 1997,1999, 2002 and 2003 and spoken to hundreds of people including Elvis Scholar Dr Vernon Chadwick of the Elvis International Conference held at Mississippi University, and later in Memphis itself.
Vernon knows only too well how the establishment in Mississippi and Tennessee looks upon Elvis. We discussed the topic with him as he drove us around Tupelo and Memphis 1999.
Tupelo is now taking Elvis tourism very seriously indeed. Back in 1998 when I spoke by telephone to the then Mayor of Tupelo, Glenn McCullough, he didn't know when Elvis Presley day was in Tupelo. A few days later his secretary told me there would be an Elvis Festival in Tupelo August 1999!
We do not know what can be achieved for Elvis, till we try.
Know That Elvis Name Is In most USA State Or They Have Name Building After Him, We don't Ready know about, In Memphis You Have Elvis Presley Blvd And Elvis Presley Hospial, I know back in 1978 or1979 School In Cailfornia, The Kids try To change name their School, To Elvis Presley High School. they had Vote on it and It pass,but the one stuff of that school say no, He change To Steve Garvey High School, after his fevorvite Baseball Player.
It's nice have some thing special remember Elvis by.
Tom
Personally I think Memphis does appreciate Elvis. Let not get above ourselves here, Elvis was great but he was not a saint or anything. Maybe if Memphis renamed herself Elvisland some people would be happy, but things can be taken to the extremes. The airport quagmire has been explained many times.
"Maurice,
When are you going to stir the soup about renaming the airport?
Scott
--
Scott Shepard
Staff Writer
Memphis Business Journal
80 Monroe, suite 600
Memphis Tenn. 38103
901-259-1724."
The above email was received just recently.
Scott bought us lunch in Memphis 2002. In 2003 we were interviewed by Memphis TV5 about the Airport in Memphis. The TV Station ran a poll on it's website and the Elvis Airport got more than 75% of the Memphis vote.
Radio stations and other Memphis magazines have covered the story.
Quagmire indeed. LOL.
I think Memphis has done its share to remember Elvis over the years.I think sometimes his fans believe everyone should share their enthusiasim about Elvis.I think the poll about the airport is misleading because the people who vote are going to be Elvis fans while most people wouldnt take the time or care to vote.To be truthfull I think you would find the majority of Memphis residents are not Elvis fans.A good number of people actually seem to harbor some resentment of the attention Elvis gets because it can overshadow other things about the city.One thing the city appreciates about Elvis is the tourism dollars he brings in.
Jak
Yes I have heard those arguements before. But.
Liverpool named it's airport after John Lennon, not The Beatles, and John lived in New York!
I guess the majority of people in Liverpool did not get a chance to vote on it.
The Elvis airport story was also reported in an Australian newspaper, as well as the UK, Irish and American media.
I'm sure a great many Elvis fans would love to fly to, "Elvis Presley International Airport, Memphis".
Maybe one day?:-)
I would be all for the airport being renamed in his honor.Having said that I still think we fans can be selfish at times when it comes to things like this.Im guessing most of us here are not residents of Memphis and the locals feel like these things are forced on them.
Jak
Welcome to the real world.Quote:
Originally Posted by jak
There was no memorial to a famous Irish Tenor, Josef Locke, in Derry, till an "outsider" kick-started a campaign for a statue of him:-)
There is a fine memorial to Josef now!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...n/jlocke45.jpg
Ive realized my place in the real world for quite some time now but thank you anyways.Comparing a relatively obscure Irish tenor to Elvis isnt quite the same thing.The city of Memphis has proclaimed Elvis week every year to celebrate Elvis.This means closing the hwy in front of Graceland,providing police for the candlelight vigil and not to mention the added patrols around the area at this time.None of those services are free.It costs the city thousands to do these things.They do however reap the benefit of our dollars being spent there.I just dont think its fair for people outside of a comunity to impose their will in some situations.Memphis is saturated with Elvis.Putting a resolution on a ballot would be fair in my mind.Let the resident voters decide.A privately funded memorial would be a different story.That wouldnt involve tax dollars.Of course we could just change the name of our planet from Earth to Elvis.They both start with "E" and they both contain 5 letters so it wouldnt be a big deal.Problem solved!!:D
Jak
Believe it or not, I had thought of all that:)Quote:
Originally Posted by jak
And the same when I had the cheek (If not Gall) to contact Tupelo about an Elvis statue and Festival.
(Planet Elvis? Why didn't I think of it!)
With that I think we are done here...don't you?:-)