Whatever happened to Elvis Presley in later life, one thing is certain: at school he was an extremely well-behaved young boy who got top marks for courtesy and reliability.
Presley the angelic 13-year-old is revealed in a school report from Gloster Street Junior High in Tupelo, Mississippi, in which he gets six “ones”, or “excellents”, and then falls down on industry and co-operation – still mostly “goods”, however.
“You can see him in class being a very polite young boy, one his mom was proud of,” said Angie Marchese, director of archives at Graceland and curator of the biggest Elvis retrospective ever staged in Europe.
More than 300 artefacts have been brought to the O2 for an exhibition charting his life and career. “You are getting a glimpse behind the icon,” said Marchese. “You’re seeing Elvis the dad, Elvis the friend, Elvis the husband, Elvis the son.”
Costume features abundantly, including many of his jewelled jumpsuits, an extension of the karate training suit he liked wearing and which were good for the stage because they allowed people far away in a crowd to see him.
Visitors will also see that the King liked a cape and fur trim. But not other fashions. “One of the things you won’t see in the exhibition is denim,” said Kevin Kern, Graceland’s PR director. “Elvis grew up very poor and always wore denim, overalls and blue jeans, so wearing it reminded him of being poor and when he made it there was no denim.”
•Elvis at the O2, 12 December-31 August
