A FEW of the notes might be slightly off-key, but the tune filling Sean Woodward's living room is unmistakably Love Me Tender.

His eight-year-old son only started playing the piano a week ago but he has already picked up the opening bars of one of Elvis Presley's best-loved numbers.

It is hardly surprising, as his dad - the leader of Fareham Borough Council for the last eight years - is such a massive fan of the iconic star that he even paid a visit to Elvis's Graceland home on his honeymoon.

Sean was just two years older than his son James when he was first mesmerised by the legendary singer.

It was the early 1970s and he spent his summer holidays watching old Elvis films on the TV like thousands of schoolchildren across the country.

That was it - he was hooked - and soon his bedroom was plastered with posters of the singer known universally as The King.

Sean, who grew up in Warsash, taped all of his aunt's records and a few years later he was finally able to start his own collection.

"When I got my first holiday job at the age of 16 as a building site labourer, I started using the pittance I was earning to buy a record a week," he said.

"But then, suddenly, most of the records disappeared out of the shops because Elvis died and everyone started buying them."

Recalling the fateful day that he heard the shocking news, he said: "I think a lot of people know what they were doing on August 16, 1977. I was at home when I heard, but I can remember taking a radio with me to my labouring job and most of the channels were playing Elvis songs solidly for days and days.

"I was a child and I was very upset. It was strange because someone I had never met had died but it had a profound effect on me, as it did thousands of people across the world. I think it's a tragedy when anyone dies at the age of 42.

"He made an awful lot of people around the world very happy when he was alive and after he died. It is sad that some people see him as an overweight junkie. They would have difficulty trying to explain away his success."

Thirty years on, the 46-year-old's collection includes every recording the star made, not to mention countless books, videos and DVDs.

Putting into words just what it was about Elvis that sparked this three-decade devotion, the leader paused for thought before answering.

"It was the voice and the life story," he said finally. "As I got older, reading that poor boy made good' story is something that can't fail to appeal."

For the full story see today's Daily Echo