"King" of Elvis Impersonators Crowned

It was a case of now or never for the newly-crowned King of Elvis impersonators. Tribute acts to Mr Presley came from all over the country to sing for glory in an Elvis Academy competition. And Jim Santana, the Merrie City's own answer to the King of Rock 'n' Roll proved he had the moves after lifting the trophy. The final 15 impersonators, whittled down from hundreds of pretenders, took part in a sing-off. A BBC documentary following Elvis Academy is planned for transmission in September.

Mr Santana, of Farne Avenue, Alverthorpe, sang Burning Love, Suspicious Minds and You Gave Me a Mountain and took more than 20 per cent of the votes on the night.

He said: "Yes, I am the King for now. Actually it is a bit of a shock, although a lot of the Elvises thought they would breeze through. "I put my all into my act with a lot of kicks and really got the crowd going. "A lot of professional Elvises took part so there was a lot of competition."

But Mr Sanatan, a director of a Normanton double glazing firm, is not letting victory go to his head.

He said:"In Elvis circles the word gets around after winning a competition like this – so some agents might come sniffing around.

"But I have seen it before when acts get promised big contracts and then a management company goes bust. "I will keep my feet on the ground, but maybe five or six years down the line I might think differently."

Elvis Academy took place at the Tap and Spile in York and all proceeds went to Caroline's Rainbow Foundation and Cancer Research.

Mr Santana hopes to take part in BBC Children in Need night later this year but has to contend with a separate section of the Academy competition. All the contestants go through to a web vote where you can hear Elvises singing online.

To vote for Mr Santana go to to his website www.jimsantana.co.uk