Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8^th 1935. He was overprotected as a child and this combined with his long hair and good looks resulted in many beatings for the "Mama’s boy" or "prettyboy". He graduated high school in 1953 and became a truck driver.

At eighteen years of age he decided to go to Sun Studios to record a song for his mother. He was just what the studios were looking for i.e. a white boy who sounded black. He made his first commercial recording "That’s All Right, Mama" in 1954 under his manager, Colonel Thomas A. Parker. His raw rockabilly songs made waves and RCA paid $35,000 to get him on their label.

His big break came when he sang "Heartbreak Hotel" on the Milton Berle show in 1956. His appearance led to instant national recognition which was helped further by his appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. On stage Elvis’s pelvic gyrations earned him the nickname Elvis "The Pelvis", sent the kids into screaming frenzy and scared the kids’ parents to death.

On the big screen Elvis made one successful film after another such as Viva Las Vegas (1963) and Paradise Hawaiian Style (1966). On the concert circuit and in the hit parade Elvis pulled onw success off after another.

After a quiet period Elvis re-emerged in the 70’s and re-invented himself. He was a permanent fixture in Las Vegas and was famed for his outrageous and tacky lifestyle which helped gain him the crown "The King Of Rock And Roll". Although Elvis did not invent Rock And Roll he was instrumental in popularising it.

Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton (bass/vocals) and Rick Buckler (drums) old school mates recruited guitarist Steve Brookes and formed The Jam. In 1976 they were playing brilliant gigs at The Marquee, but this did not prevent them from being rejected by EMI.

Brookes left at the end of 1976 despite the band’s growing reputation for knock out live performances. With the guiding hand of Weller’s dad - John, a signing with Polydor was achieved in 1977, followed shortly after by the release of "In The City" and its title track as a single, and a headlining UK tour. The album went to number 20 in the UK chart, and was hastily followed by "The Modern World" which was released in December and was not well received.

In 1978 following a disastrous attempt to break America, The Jam released "All Mod Cons" which rode on the back of the mod revival and reflected the mood of the mod culture. This album proved to be their most commercial to date and showed Weller’s song-writing had developed considerably.

The Jam’s first world tour came in 1979 and once again they tried to make it in America. Alas success was not to come on that continent, they were however gaining the reputation as Britain’s best band. The album went to number 4 in the UK, but only managed number 137 in the States.

Touring in Texas in 1980 "Going Underground", the band’s latest single release went straight in at number 1 in the UK charts. Polydor wasted no time in re-releasing six of The Jam’s earlier singles which all charted second time around.

The Jam’s fifth album "Sound Affects" (1981) saw a departure from the earlier furious sound of The Jam which was replaced with a funkier sound. The Jam were now idolised not only in Britain but in Japan as well. Following the album’s release the band went through a quiet period, though their singles got in the top ten and they ended the year by winning just about every award going in the NME poll for the second year running.