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Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma

The real fake Stephen Kabakos in New Delhi

Just as our conversation was about to begin, we were interrupted by a middle-aged woman. She was clearly smitten by what she was seeing. “It is amazing. You look just like him!” she said in excitement, before clicking some pictures.

But Stephen Kabakos is not surprised by such reactions. And neither are the onlookers. As a tribute artiste of Elvis Presley, he has mastered the art of impersonating the King of Rock ’N Roll to the last detail – be it the long side burns, the jazzy clothes, the boots or that unique hairstyle. With voice dexterity and mannerisms closest to those of Elvis, Stephen exudes the same high spirit the rock star was known for on stage. “I am his big fan, and that’s where it all started,” he recalls.

“After seeing the performance of some Elvis tribute artistes, I felt I surely wouldn’t do any worse than them. You know, there are nearly 38,000 Elvis impersonators across the world, and if they could, I guessed that I could do it too,” says the 36-year-old, who is on his first trip to India on a nine-city tour, as part of the concert series “The Way It Was” organised by Black Dog.

Stephen’s first stop was Delhi, where he performed for a select audience at the Radisson hotel recently.

For the generation that hasn’t shared the same timeline as Elvis, he remains an enigma of the past. And Stephen feels the advent of new-age musicians and techno genres haven’t diminished the man’s popularity one bit. “I think people are more fanatic about him now than ever before. With each year, his fans are getting younger. Legends don’t die. His music will survive as long as people enjoy good music,” explains the Canadian, who is considered to be one of the best Elvis stylists in the world. It is over a decade since he took ‘the Elvis career path’, but Stephen has ensured his real identity remains intact. “I am a very grounded person. I know how to differentiate between my on-stage image and off-stage personality. There is and will be only one Elvis. I am only offering a physical tribute to this great musician. It is just like any other career for me. I took it up because it gave me the opportunity to travel,” he clarifies.

So what is Stephen like when not playing Elvis? “No one can recognise me when I walk down the road is my usual T-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap. It is not that I listen to only Elvis. I enjoy any kind of good music, be it rock or hip hop. I love Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Celine Dion,” he reveals, but quickly adds, “But I confess that I am not in tune with the latest. Elvis’s ‘Suspicious Mind’ remains my eternal favourite.”

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