HE IS NOW officially the sixth-best Elvis impersonator in the world, but Coalsnaughton’s Jon Fleming has vowed to become the king of the tribute acts.

Having travelled all the way to Memphis for the 2015 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist competition, the 40-year-old made a big impression on the Graceland faithful.

Performing under the Johnny Lee Memphis monicker, the Wee County singer just missed out on landing a top-five position and with it the chance to perform in the contest’s evening finale.

But Jon — who was the first Scot to ever qualify for the event — insists he is more than capable of leaving Memphis as king sometime in the future.

He said: “It was a great experience for me but I’m not finished. I’ll be back next year because I’m determined to win that contest.

“After being in the mix and getting to where I got this year I feel I can do better.

“I got a lot of respect and positive feedback from my peers and I felt I done really well.

“In the end, there really wasn’t much between myself and the winner in terms of voice and style.” Jon was one of 25 contestants who each won individual regional qualifiers to earn their place at this year’s competition.

They went up against each other in the semi-final, with Jon joining another nine in the final ten.

That round came with an added measure of just how Elvis they were, with the judges arranging face-to-face sitdowns.

Jon said: “When you get into that top ten it seems your character has a bearing on the judges’ minds as well.

“They took us all in for a one-on-one which was a lot like a job interview; they sat us down and asked us how we are like Elvis in our real lives.

“I said that we were both Capricorn and we both liked music. I wasn’t able to prepare for it so I just thought I would try to make them laugh.

“I also had to talk a lot slower as well so they could understand me. I reckon I came off sounding like Mel Gibson in Braveheart.” And in an effort to stand out to the judges in his top ten performance, Jon decided to offer up a more unusual Elvis show.

He explained: “Elvis went through a phase of wearing his karate gear on stage in 1974 so I thought I would do that for my final performance.

“I wanted to do something a bit different because it was such a tough and unusual competition.

“There were a couple of big shocks early on with a few of the favourites going out early and a lot of the performers were not too sure what the judges were looking for.

“Evidently, not the karate outfit because I think it went over their heads. I think if I get any feedback from them, it will be that they didn’t like the karate jacket.” Jon added: “One of the guys in the competition gave me a metaphor afterwards saying: ‘They like their coca-cola; don’t add cherries or anything, just coca-cola’.

“I think when I go back next year I’ll have to give them the coca-cola performance they are looking for.” Johnny Lee Memphis will be appearing at Alloa Town Hall on Saturday 21 November for a “lively, loud and energetic recreation of Elvis’ classic Las Vegas style concert shows”.

Tickets, priced at £16 (£14), can be obtained by calling 01259 213 131.

He can also be seen at Perth Concert Hall (August 22), Falkirk Town Hall (September 5), and Edinburgh Corn Exchange (October 3).

For more information, visit www.absoluteelvis.com.