ELVIS is alive and well – right here in Birmingham!

More than 80 impersonators are crooning and blinging their way to winning the title of being Europe’s best at a competition being held in the city for the first time.

Eyeliner, quiffs, sideburns and Elvis’s trademark swagger have all been perfected by the lookalikes who have come from as far as Australia to win and earn a place in the ultimate final in Memphis.

At 17, Ben Thompson is the youngest contender waiting to perform Trouble and a Heartbreak Hotel medley on stage at the Hilton Metropole, next door to the NEC.

The schoolboy, from Surrey, dyes his blond hair and has built up a wardrobe of three rhinestoned jumpsuits and Elvis’s ’68 black leather comeback look.

“I love what I do,” he said. “I work off the audience reaction.

“Sometimes you get girls screaming. I’d like it to happen a bit more to be honest. I wear the black leather look as often as I can.”