Elvis Lennox Parkes Elvis Festival's first look-a-like winner before he changed his name

But what some may not know is that the NSW Central West town really is home to its own Elvis - Elvis Lennox that is.

And as you'd expect, he's been involved in the Parkes Elvis Festival in one way or another since it began in 1993.

In fact he has the honourable title of being our first - and second - Elvis look-a-like winner.

Though back then he was known as Neville Steven Lennox, or Steve, before he legally changed it to Elvis in 1997.

"I never liked Neville. I asked mum's permission to change it," Elvis said.

"I'm a big Elvis fan and because I like the name. One festival someone yelled across the street to me 'hey Elvis' and I thought why not?"

Elvis became fascinated with The King in 1959 at age five after viewing 'Love Me Tender', in which Elvis starred, at the Bourke Picture Theatre. He started collecting all things Elvis at this early age, but it wasn't until he was 16 that he really started to beef-up his collection.

When an Elvis Festival planned for January 1993 was announced, Elvis and his wife Debby were very excited about it.

"2PK Radio was running a competition and Debby rang in to enter and she won tickets to the first night," Elvis said.

"She got into cutting and sewing, and she made my jumpsuit."

But Elvis didn't know there was a look-a-like competition until festival founder and the Elvis Revival committee president Bob Steel approached him and asked if he'd be a judge for the competition.

"I thought about it but I told him 'I'd rather enter the competition'," Elvis said.

"It was the best night I've ever had in my life!"

He still has both his ticket stub, number 146, from the evening at Gracelands restaurant and function centre and his concert ticket, number 187, featuring Eddie Youngblood, Parkes Elvis Festival's first feature concert artist (who performed from 1993 to 1995) at the Parkes Leagues Club, costing all of $12.

Elvis became part of the committee from 1994, Debby too, and over the years held the position of president and vice president. He and Debby, who passed away 17 months ago, were lifetime members.

"She (Debby) did a lot of work for them to help keep it going," Elvis said.

Remembering the struggles the small committee experienced in the early years, Elvis admitted he would never have thought the festival would last 30 years.

"I didn't expect it to get to its second festival," he laughed.

"We did lamington drives, Easter and Christmas raffles, and fundraised all year to keep it going.

"We spent many days fundraising but we loved it!

"The town's too small for it now."

Elvis met Debby, a Parkes girl, in 1980 and it was lucky she was a big Elvis fan too because that collection of his kept growing after they were married in 1981. So much so they opened a little private museum at their home in Wentworth Street during the festival from 1998.

"I got the idea when Bob and Anne Steel started the festival," Elvis said.

"And that was my idea when I bought this place with the double garage."

READ MORE:

One of the features of his extensive Elvis Presley memorabilia is the collection of jumpsuits, including one worth $4500. It is a replica of the suit Elvis wore in his 1973 'Aloha from Hawaii' concert that was beamed around the world via satellite. Lennox had this suit especially made in America in 1997.

He has the 'Black Matador,' a replica of the suit made for the Elvis American tour of 1971 and a white-fringed suit purchased from Eddie Youngblood himself.

There's also original copies of movie jackets and army uniforms, guitars, rugs, costume jewellery and blue suede shoes, and pictures and posters.

"It's anything that's part of his life that were copies that I could get to add to the collection," Elvis said.

He had his museum open and operating from his garage right up until Covid hit, and has plans to reopen it again in the future, perhaps in 2024 he said.

"People loved the museum - I remember 10 years back there were husband and wife teams who'd visit the museum. The husbands waited outside while the wives went in to look because they were the Elvis fans," Elvis said.

"Then the husbands came back another day and had a look at the museum because they got so much enjoyment from the festival and the activities, they'd say to me 'we're sort of Elvis fans now'.

"There was a lot of that happening.

"There was a woman who was in there (the museum) for a while and she was sobbing. She came out and said it was 'so great to see someone like you keeping him alive'."

Elvis kept a log book too and said he had people from all over the world visit his museum.

Elvis Lennox is 68 now and he's hoping to be around for the 30^th anniversary of the Parkes Elvis Festival which kicks off from January 4.