State of grace(land)

By HELEN HARVEY helen.harvey@tnl.co.nz - Taranaki D


Elvis is not allowed inside the house. Or in the car, at work or down the pub. He is confined to the garage. And Hawera's biggest Elvis fan, Kevin David Wasley KD to his mates is quite happy about that.

He doesn't have tunnel vision. His whole life doesn't revolve around the king of rock 'n' roll. But part of it does ... and has done for more than 45 years.

KD was about 12 when he first heard Elvis Presley sing. But it wasn't until he saw what the singer looked like that he became totally hooked. He saw the cover of an EP record with a black-and-white head shot of Elvis taken side on.

"The way his hair hung down in front motivated me to find out what Brylcream was." Later, KD's parents banned mirrors from the house because he was always combing his hair.

His hair is gray now, but KD still has the same swished-back hairstyle. And he still has the sideburns.

Wife JJ has never known him without the sideburns, though his three now adult sons, David, Greg and Chris, once planned to shave one while their dad was sleeping. Their mother talked them out of it. Just as well, KD growls, or they would have been sleeping out here.