A Date With Elvis

November 1962. At midnight in the Davies household in Canton, Cardiff, the telephone rang. Mrs Davies picked up. The operator said: "Can your daughter take a telephone call from the USA?" Somewhat puzzled she handed the receiver to her daughter, Elizabeth. At the other end a voice said: "This is Elvis Presley speaking from Tennessee, USA. Who have I the pleasure of speaking to?"

Elizabeth could do little more than mumble "hello" before The King went on to explain that he was phoning six people in Britain and recording their conversations for an NBC broadcast the following week. Still in a state of shock Elizabeth passed the phone to her sister Ann who was similarly tongue-tied. Finally Mrs Davies herself took control of the situation and informed Elvis that they were all fans of his music. She went on to tell him all about their family life.

In turn Elvis told them that he intended coming to Britain to perform at the Albert Hall and that he would send them complimentary tickets. Of course, this never happened. But he also said that he would send Elizabeth free copies of all his new record releases, and indeed, shortly afterwards, the Davies family did receive Elvis material through the post.

At the time Elvis Presley was promoting his latest album Pot Luck.