Just Pretending

Author: Kurt Burrows

Publisher: Memphis Mansion Marketing

ISBN: 978-0-9563460-0-1 (Paperback, 148 pp.)

I guess you either like Elvis Tribute Artists, or you don't. I don't, but I shall endeavour to examine Kurt Burrows' book, "Just pretending," fairly and honestly.

Kurt is a performer who prefers to call himself an Elvis Impersonator, rather than an Elvis Tribute and was once a member of a group called Private Sector. He is located in Wales.

The book is a paperback and, interestingly, is being sold in aid of the Tearfund charity. Tearfund describes itself as a Christan relief and development agency. More information can be found online at http://www.tearfund.org/. Three illustrated pages at the end of the book are devoted to the work of the charity.

The book's cover shows a jumpsuited Elvis, separated from a number of very much smaller photos of ETAs in action by the book's subtitle, "A Guide to Being An Elvis Tribute" (no mention of Artist).

The body of "Just Pretending" consists for the large part of Kurt Burrows' own advice on the how to become a successful ETA and includes such sections as "Vocal Training," "Going For Perfection," "Talking Like Elvis" and "The Jumpsuit." Plenty of other sections cover all aspects of becoming and being an ETA.

This advice is augmented by several colour sections: a closer look at a number of ETAs (30 pages); an article by Elvis photographer Keith Alverson (6 pages); a collection of photos of Elvis on stage in the 1970s (8 pages, 24 photos). In addition, some amusing cartoons, drawn by Dave Bousefield, are scattered throughout the book, together with some black-and-whites of Elvis himself.

"Just Pretending" could also be called "Being an Elvis Tribute for Dummies." Sadly, however, unlike the books in the "Dummies" series, "Just Pretending" does not benefit from good copy-reading or editing. It is replete with poor use of English and simple errors in written English. This is a great shame, as the book definitely shows promise, containing both useful information and a tongue-in-cheek attitude that could otherwise make for a pleasant read.

Elvis fans might enjoy "Just Pretending" as a curiosity or for the 24 photos of their hero and, of course, by buying the book, they would be helping the Tearfund charity.

More information about "Just Pretending" can be found at http://www.elvistributeguide.com/.

David Neale

copyright September 2010

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