WITH a play-list of songs that reads like an encyclopaedia of modern pop music it was little wonder the show charting The King's life in the late 60s was anything but a pleasure.

Yet the quality of the production does not simply lie in the familiar foot-tapping numbers. The way the star's insecurity was skilfully portrayed during the period after his NBC comeback special was its biggest appeal.

You have to be brave to take a part playing one of the most famous human beings ever to grace the planet and judging by the fervour among the crowd at the finish of the two-hour performance Simon Bowman made the right decision.

By the end of the night I think sections of the audience believed they were actually sitting in International Hotel Showroom among the bright lights of the Las Vegas playground.

Personal favourites of Suspicious Minds and The Wonder of You were my stand out tracks and left me whistling and humming all the way back down the M6.

Anyone doubting whether the legend of Elvis Aaron Presley will live for many more years would only need to look at the joyful faces of people leaving the theatre.

At the conclusion I had a woman in her 80s on one side singing along to Heartbreak Hotel with two youngsters energetically mimicking the iconic moves on the other.