Interview with Peter Verbruggen, author of two books on Elvis (and links to Belgium) and one book on John Wilkinson.
EN: To start things off, for those few who don’t know you, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, and your "Elvis history"?
PV: Well, yes – I’d be glad to. But first of all, thank you ElvisNews for your interest in my work. And although I know that you don’t care too much for a pat on the shoulder, let me just say that your website is an asset to the Elvis World. I’m a daily visitor, and I’m not afraid to admit that you run one of the best informed news sites in the EW. There are others too of course, but yours ranks among my 5 favorites.
That said, here goes. I turned 40 last year (you may remember our little ‘Birthday Party’ in Eindhoven last year with a few Elvis musicians on stage), I’m married and the proud father of 3. My first recollections of Elvis go back to the weeks before to his death. I knew of him, but being barely 10 years old at the time, I didn’t quite ‘dug’ his music the way I do now. I published three books so far, and as a journalist I wrote over 200 Elvis related stories, including a 6 full page series in Belgium’s most popular news paper, Het Laatste Nieuws. I produced a radio show, met and interviewed almost everybody from the Elvis entourage (except for Lisa – but we’re working on that ;-)), I run John Wilkinson’s Website, and was asked to coordinate the upcoming “Elvis 2007” Fan club Tour in Europe, covering 10 cities in 7 countries. In 2003, a few friends and myself thought the time had come to begin a somewhat more ‘professional’ fanclub. I don’t want to put anybody down, but we saw room for improvements. That marked the start of the Belgian/Dutch fanclub ‘ElvisMatters’. By the way, that’s a name and a statement in one: Elvis still Matters!
EN: What got you started with Elvis, and what keeps you going?
PV: The thing that triggered me, of course was his voice. When he passed away, we had one album at home: ‘Flaming Star’, the 1968 LP. The very first vocal note of ‘Flaming Star’ did the trick: that deep, brown, pure, unmistakably Elvis voice got me hooked & I love every second of it. I still play that album now and then, and I know every skip and scratch by heart. The thing that keeps me going, like all other Elvis fans, is the love for him. The way he connected people, the way he touched their hearts across the boundaries of race, religion and language, how he always thought of the others first: that’s Elvis to me. A wonderful humanitarian, a good man, in a way – a friend to be proud of. And on top of that, world’s best singer and handsomest entertainer. How can you not love him? Yes, he wasn’t perfect – but his honesty outweighs the rest. It’s like that fan said at the CBS Special: He’s honest, and that’s the main thing.” Couldn’t agree more. Even when he’s singing, you can feel how he feels. My favorite Elvis line has always been “Here I stand like an open book”. Only Elvis could sing that line and mean it. And apart from that, I thoroughly enjoy talking to the guys from the Elvis entourage. John and I spent a few holidays together, James came to Belgium before, just to hang out, and recently Joe Guercio visited my hometown twice without having to do a concert. I know it sounds strange, but I feel completely at ease with them around. I remember the first time I met James, late eighties when he was touring with John Denver. My hands were trembling when I held my microphone (I’m a journalist, remember). And now, so many years later, James is going to teach my son how to play “Early Morning Rain”. Jerry, Ronnie, Glen, and all the Elvis musicians: they’re all first class people. Elvis couldn’t have asked for better ambassadors than his musicians.
EN: To get an idea of you as an “Elvis person”, what, in general, is your favorite Elvis stuff?
PV: I’m a seventies junkie. I like his fifties rockers, and I enjoy listening to most of his sound tracks, but give me the seventies any time. I like it all, from the big orchestra ballads over the powerful live rock to the soft, tender love songs, the heartfelt gospel, the funky Stax sessions – everything from 1969 on.
EN: Can you tell us your favorite, song, album and movie (and don’t say “Double Trouble”)?
PV: My all time favorite is “Loving Arms”, especially the Rhythm & Country version. Favorite album & movie: the Live in Memphis FTD, and “On Tour”.
EN: How long have you had an interest in Elvis and would you describe yourself as a fan of Elvis or as a business man since you appear to be very busy in the Elvis world.
PV: Well, my interest in Elvis goes back to the day I discovered ‘Flaming Star’ and it kept on growing ever since. I hate to be called a business man. I’m not, on the contrary. I don’t even wish I was. I’ve seen too many people in the EW turn from fan to business man. That’s OK, if they feel happy with that – but I am and will always be a fan with the highest respect for Elvis. It’s cool that people can make a living from selling Elvis stuff, but that’s their thing. But don’t get me wrong: whatever we do with our fanclub ‘ElvisMatters’, has got to have “quality”, be it books – magazines, shows, CD’s, whatever. We owe that to Elvis. Does that make me a business man? Don’t think so. By the way, Elvis is still my hobby. I’m sure I could have turned that into my “job” somewhere along the way, but thanks no thanks. There’s enough businessmen in the EW as it is already.
EN: Can you tell us something about your work and how you became an Elvis author?
PV: Sure. I work as a full time journalist for ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’, the Belgian news paper. Being a writer by profession, it was a small step to my first book. As long as I can remember, I contribute articles to magazines worldwide, but since ‘ElvisMatters’ came along, I devote my time and stories to that fanclub mainly. My first book came out in 1999 and explores the links between Elvis and Belgium (there are more connections than one would expect), then there was ‘Memories’ in 2003, which was actually John Wilkinson’s biography, and now there’s “Inside Double Trouble.”
EN: To the book. Your new project "Inside “Double Trouble" is finished. Where did the idea for this book come from?
PV: Double Trouble is not Elvis’s best movie – at all. It’s not his worst either, but somewhere in between. The strange thing about the script, is the Belgian setting, and that’s where the idea came from. I never understood why Elvis would come to Belgium for a movie. Of course he stayed in Culver City, unfortunately, but it’s funny to hear Elvis talk about Antwerp, Bruges or Belgium. When he does ‘City By Night’, you can even see some old advertisements for Belgian beers. Being a Belgian citizen, I have always watched ‘Double Trouble’ with special attention for details. But the researcher didn’t do a good job, to say the least. So, that’s the angle: the ‘Belgian’ virtual visit of Elvis to my home country.
EN: Can you tell us something about the book?
PV: It holds 120 pages, full color, hard cover. There are 200 illustrations, 9 chapters and 6 different ‘takes’. We had 1.000 sets made, and they’re going like hot pancakes. This set too, had to reflect the quality of our fanclub, thus we went for the complete package: the A1 color poster in three languages, the hard cover book, the full movie with the original trailer, the signed and numbered COA, the vinyl single with the 1967 radio commercial, the movie sleeve of Guy Lambert, postcards… the lot, really. I read in one of the reviews that: ‘the book is better than the movie’. I wouldn’t exactly put it that way, but in all honesty: the good reviews mean a lot and tell us to continue on this path.
EN: Does the book contain a lot of new material and photos that fans will not have seen before?
PV: Well, if there aren’t any new pictures, I wouldn’t have done a good job, would I? So yes: there are some new shots that have never been published before.
EN: What did you discover what we didn’t already know?
PV: I guess everybody knows by now that Jerry Scheff made his Elvis debut during the overdub sessions for Double Trouble. I mailed Jerry about it, and he had forgotten completely about that session – so I updated him on that… But here’s something that I didn’t know when I began my research: Norman Rossington, who portrays one of the two jewelry smugglers in Double Trouble, plays the part of the Beatles’ manager in “A Hard Days Night”, making him the only actor to work with Elvis and the Beatles. Unfortunately, Norman passed away in the early nineties.
EN: Did you have to leave any out you would have liked to include?
PV: Yes, I have some of the original acetates used for the movie. I should have at least used the labels. Perhaps in a reprint.
EN: What is your favorite story from the book?
PV: I enjoyed the many hours I spent with Jos Clauwers. He stood in for Elvis, during the filming in Belgium. Jos fondly remembers those days, and he has a great sense of humor. Of course I know that he had only a bit part, but he ìs in the movie. And best of all, he showed me a scrap book with old news paper articles and pictures of the ‘Belgian Elvis set’. Being a Belgian Elvis buff, I had a great time going through those articles and pictures. It really amazes me that no one else ever thought of that idea before. To me, that archive was like a goldmine.
EN: Are there many links between Elvis and Belgium?
PV: More than one would think. The oldest link I found – it’s in my first book – are the 72.000 pairs of Elvis Jeans, made in Brussels. By the way, did you know that Graceland has a golden Atomium? The Atomium is the Belgian monument built for World Expo ‘58, with 9 silver balls connected. In 1978, Vernon got a gold Atomium, representing the 9 gold or platinum records held at the time of his death… A picture of Vernon and the Atomium is in the King Of Belgium book too.
EN: Do you have personal memories of watching the “Inside Double Trouble” movie?
PV: Not really. I think I’ve seen all of his movies by now, but most of them don’t come out of the DVD box again, after one viewing.
EN: To be honest, when we first heard about this book, we thought that it was taking advantage of Ger Rijff’s successful series. Aren’t you afraid for that reaction?
PV: Not at all, and the reason for that is: I asked Ger’s permission. I explained about the concept, and he agreed immediately. In fact, Ger even helped me look for pictures from the Double Trouble period.
EN: Did Ger Rijff’s releases inspire you?
PV: Yes – is there any writer or Elvis author that wasn’t inspired by Ger? His Inside-books still rank among the very best in their genre. My favorite is ‘King Creole’, the ultimate “Inside” book for me.
EN: Which book by another Elvis author would you have liked to write? And which Elvis book shouldn’t have been published at all?
PV: The Elvis Concert Years by Stein Erik Skar – that’s the book I wish I could have contributed to. Stein Erik’s a journalist too, and he has the exact feeling of how to do an Elvis book right. The book that, of course, never should have been written, was “What Happened”, for obvious reasons.
EN: On which subject would you like to write a book? Have you any plans ready for future books or other projects?
PV: Being a seventies adept, I can’t help but wanting to do a book on that era. There are two books in the making, at this stage – one should be out by the end of the year although, oddly enough, that one’s not really about the seventies.
EN: What is your "own" favorite Elvis book and what is your favorite Elvis book written by somebody else?
PV: My favorite book? Well, “Memories”, which I wrote for John Wilkinson. He’s such a good friend, that this book was a labour of love. As to your other question: there are so many, but If I have to pick one, it’s definitely “The Concert Years” by Stein Erik, closely followed by “Elvis – Day by Day”, the master piece of Peter Guralnick and Ernst Jorgenson. That’s the Elvis bible to me.
EN: What kind of books do you read yourself?
PV: I like the themed books a lot, the “Sun Record Service” books are true gems to me, just like Wertheimer’s “Elvis At 21”: themed books, you know, as long as I have the feeling that I learned something new.
EN: Not to stir up any trouble, but if you and Ernst were to change places for the next set of FTD releases, what would you release? What CDs would you put together?
PV: The Stax Sessions – both of them: May and December ’73. If I had something to say about it, I would put together the Stax Box Set. Gosh, I love that music!
EN: What would be your biggest dream for an Elvis project?
PV: I’m still waiting for the ultimate Jumpsuit Book. “Elvis Fashion” was quite disappointing – certainly after the very promising press release. And the new Jumpsuit Catalogue – how much pages does it hold? 60 at the most? That’s half a page per suit. C’mon, that’s the opposite of what a good jumpsuit book should be.
EN: What project are you currently working on?
PV: The biggest project I’m working on, are the September shows, with the original Elvis cast: the TCB Band, the Sweet Inspirations, the Imperials, Joe Guercio and the Joe Guercio Orchestra… We’re touring Europe in September and October, with stops in Holland (September 20th) and Belgium (September 30th). Although the Tour is still 5 months from now, there’s a lot of work to be done on a daily basis. And apart from that, I just finished the latest ElvisMatters Magazine, which should be out by the end of this month.
EN: If you’d meet Elvis today, what would you ask him?
PV: If he was happy. Wherever he may be…
EN: Which question did we forget?
PV: I think we covered everything pretty much. Thanks again for the time and the questions. I really appreciate it.
EN: Thanks Peter, it was nice talking with you again.
The book "Inside Double Trouble" can be ordered through shop@elvismatters.com for 39.95 Euro.