Ahead of his gig at the New Wimbledon Theatre next week, leading Elvis tribute artist Lee Memphis King chats to Guardian reporter Nathan Woolford, a former Elvis impersonator and firm aficionado of all things Presley-related.

Elvis was always on my mind, even as a young child. For leading Elvis tribute artist Lee Memphis King, the story is the same. Having been inspired to grow sideburns, snarl his lips and shake his hips from a tender age, he has gone on to become one of the UK's leading impersonators of the legendary rock 'n' roll star.

As a one-time, part-time tribute artist of sorts myself, the chance to talk Elvis with this guy was an opportunity not to be missed. While I first became interested in the King as a youngster, due to a close friendship with my brother-in-law, a die-hard Presleytarian, before strutting my stuff on stage for several years while a student in Cornwall, Lee has completed the transition from mega-fan to successful on-stage star.

I asked him all about his status as the man who would be King, wondering throughout our chat what my life might have been like if I had chosen Elvis impersonating as a career ahead of journalism...

Nathan Woolford: How did you get started as an Elvis tribute artist?

Lee Memphis King: I watched the Elvis film Roustabout when I was about five years old, and started imitating him from that young age. It was an obsession really, and I started singing every day. It went from there. My first proper gig came about when a friend of mine asked me to do a corporate gig. I avoid them like the plague these days, but that was my very first show. It was terrifying. Then, I had the chance to make a CD some years later, and got some private shows and it went from there.

  NW: What was it like in the early days?

LMK: I worked in sales management for several years, but I always wanted to perform as Elvis. I had a fear of getting on stage, and this fear held me back. But, once I started, it was great. When I started playing in theatres, it was really good. My favourite is still the Hammersmith Apollo.

NW: How many miles do you notch up travelling around the country doing shows?  LMK: I guess we do 40,000 miles a year. We used to do four or five gigs a week when we were really busy, but it's calmed down a bit now, and it's a lot better.

  NW: What is your favourite Elvis era?

LMK: The Vegas years. At that time, he was more relaxed. With the early years stuff, we keep it as authentic as possible. But, with the Vegas years, it is a bit more loose. There are jokes, and even the odd mistake sometimes, but that's all part of the show, and we want to include that. That's what his shows were like at that time.

  NW: What sort of material does the current show contain?

LMK: We'll be doing all the eras. We begin with the early years, then move onto the 68 Comeback Special, then the whole of the second half is the Vegas years. We do the same eras in each show, but have different songs each time, and try to introduce new songs as well, which people may not have heard before. We like to include some more obscure songs sometimes, so the public can hear stuff they are not used to, on top of the stuff they would expect to hear. I like to do two or three obscure songs, for selfish reasons and for the purists.

  NW: You won the world-renowned Collingwood Elvis Festival in Canada in 2005. What was that like?

LMK: It was great, an incredible experience. There were 125 Elvis tribute artists, mostly from America and Canada. There were three heats and thousands of fans watching. Beating the Americans was great, and it was a good feeling. Winning that event launched me really and, two months later, I did a tour. That was it really.

  NW: You also appeared in the BBC TV show The World's Greatest Elvis. Tells us about that.

LMK: It was OK but, to be brutally honset, I did not take it very seriously. It was great being on TV, getting the advertising, and I'd always wanted to be on TV at some point, but I didn't take it that seriously, particularly as I'd won the Collingwood Festival. I would have liked to have won. I think I got to the final four or five.

NW: Do you have any advice for budding Elvises?  LMK: Not really. Just do your bit and see what happens. If you have stage fright, the key is repitition. You get used to it.

  NW: Any outrageous fan-related incidents?

LMK: The most outrageous thing happened in St David's Hall in Cardiff. We were doing a sit-down bit when, unbeknown to me, a woman came on stage, took her top off, and declared herself to the crowd. She just lifted her top off, and then ran off. That was quite an episode!   Lee Memphis King, New Wimbledon Theatre, May 21, 8pm. 0844 871 7646, ambassadortickets.com