'A Little Bit Of Elvis' - Frank Skinner (1998 Documentary)

In the late 90's, at a pop memorabilia auction in Christie's of London, British comedian Frank Skinner paid out the sizeable sum of £11,200 for a blue velvet shirt, once owned by Elvis Presley, and to have been worn by him during a famous hometown concert back in the 50's. Frank believed his purchase to be genuine; "The picture used to illustrate it was from a concert that Elvis did in 1956. September 26th, 1956,in Tupelo".

A letter authenticating the shirt was also provided, signed by Dave Hebler, who had acted as bodyguard for the singer, back in the 70's; "From 1972 until 1976 I was Elvis Presley's personal bodyguard. During those years I received a number of gifts from Elvis. Among those gifts was a royal blue velvet shirt which he wore on several occasions in 1956. Elvis indicated that he was very fond of this shirt, which was kept in its original condition over the years and was well cared for, as were all of the items Elvis gave to me".

So, is the shirt genuine? Elvis did possess a blue velvet shirt back in 1956, and while the Presley myth insists that it was made by the singers' mother, that is not so. In the summer of '56, while working on his first movie, "Love Me Tender", he was presented with a gift of matching blue and red velvet shirts by Hollywood actress Natalie Wood, which she had made by her own dressmaker.

Elvis wore the blue shirt a few weeks later, during the afternoon show at a concert in Tupelo, which marked the singer's triumphant return to his hometown. (He wore the red one during the evening show.) A photograph from the show was displayed alongside the shirt, at Christie's auction. A second photo was also on display, taken inside his home at around the same time, and showing him wearing the same blue shirt, But is the shirt in the photo's the same one that Frank Skinner paid a substantial amount of money for?