FORGET the idea of the man who would be king, Chris Connor IS the King.

And if you doubt that, just ask the thousands of Elvis fans around the world who voted him the ‘world’s best Elvis’.

Over the next couple of weeks, Chris will be playing two dates in and around Bolton with his live band and backing singers for a show which covers Elvis in the Seventies.

“I’ve always concentrated on this era of Elvis,” said Chris, “and I think that has helped me become so well known. I can put all my energies into just getting it right.

“I’ve never done the early stuff. When I started I was 29 and thought to do Elvis from the 1950s you really needed to be a teenager in your early twenties to pull that off.

“Mind you Fifties’ Elvis would have been a lot cheaper - it’s just a blazer and some trousers!”

It is the quality of Chris’ shows and attention to detail which have won him so many fans. He gets all his rhinestone jumpsuits from the same company which made them for Elvis himself and the live show is as close as you will come to experiencing the real thing.

It’s all a far cry from some of the tribute acts who, in Chris’s eyes, have devalued the work of an icon.

“Elvis was definitely one of a kind,” he said. “I think everyone knows there are a hell of a lot of bad Elvis impersonators out there but I’ve never understood that. Elvis was so great, so why does everyone else think they can do it?”

Indeed it was a bad Elvis impersonator which almost deprived fans of the experience of seeing Chris perform.

“When I was about 18 I was an Elvis fan and I was thinking about performing some of his music,” said Chris. “I didn’t know anything about all the tribute acts at the time but I saw this one guy and he was shocking. That put me off for nearly 10 years. Then I went to American and saw another guy doing an Elvis show with a big band and all the lights and costumes and I realised it can be done, but you have to do it really well.

“Tell you what, I wish I’d seen that guy 10 years earlier!”

At the heart of it all Chris remains an Elvis fan.

“At same time I’m not one of these guys who wants to live and breath Elvis 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said. “I don’t go round the house dressed as Elvis.

“I keep it separate from my personal life so when I do go on stage it feels new and you still get that excitement. Because I like the songs I enjoy performing them. As long as you do enjoy it and are portraying Elvis well then you’ll keep going.

“The day I go on stage and I ever think ‘not this song again’ is the day I would stop. But I don’t think I would ever do that because I do love his music.”

Chris said that he owes a lot to his wife Lisa who also manages the tours.

“I think in this business it can be difficult to find people you can trust but I trust Lisa implicitly,” he said. “She works so hard and we are a good team.

“We look after our own tours and handle all the bookings and deal with the fans. But we don’t let it take over our lives. Certain times during the week are all about the show but then we can put that to one side and just enjoy a normal family life.”

Chris Connor, Albert Halls, Bolton, Saturday, April 7, details from 0843 208 0500; Middleton Arena, Friday, April 13, details from 0330 303 8633