Elvis left the building, but his spirit may soon return

[Carol]

IT ISN'T Graceland. But if psychic Uri Geller has his way, another Memphis house once owned by Elvis Presley will become a museum honouring the king of rock'n'roll.

The four-bedroom home Presley owned in 1956 ? the year Heartbreak Hotel and Love Me Tender hit the charts ? is for sale on the eBay online auction site, and the Israeli-born, spoon-bending paranormalist is among the bidders. Geller, who met Presley in Las Vegas in the 1970s and owns a collection of Elvis memorabilia, said he wants to turn the 280-square-metre home into a museum with a twist.

"It will have all the bizarre things that Elvis Presley believed in," including his fascination with UFOs, said Geller.

According to the listing on eBay, Presley bought the ranch house at 1034 Audubon Drive with royalties he earned from the hit song Heartbreak Hotel.

Geller faced a setback on Friday when his $US300,000 ($A407,600) bid for the property was topped by someone willing to pay $US300,100.

But Geller said he was unbowed and would increase his bid substantially. The auction ends on May 14.

Source: http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/elv ... 20529.html

[VincenzoV]

Spoon bender scoops up Elvis' home

Tuesday, May 16, 2006; Posted: 11:43 a.m. EDT (15:43 GMT)


Elvis Presley in picture dated 26 March 1958 in Fort Chaffee at the beginning of his military service CHICAGO, Illinois (Reuters) -- Psychic Uri Geller and two partners have bought the Tennessee house Elvis Presley lived in before moving to Graceland, with a winning bid of $905,100 on eBay, he has said.

"We are unbelievably pleased. This is a piece of history," Geller said by phone from England on Monday.

"We intend to restore it to its old glory. We would like to bring sick children there (for tours), Palestinian children, Israeli children, American children," the Israeli-born Geller said. "Hopefully one day we might get approval to turn it into a museum."

Presley bought the four-bedroom, two-bath house at 1034 Audubon Drive in Memphis in 1956 with a down payment of $500. He lived there for 13 months before moving to Graceland, the now-famous Memphis estate where he died in 1977.

During his time in the white, ranch-style house with an outdoor swimming pool, Presley's career took off with hits such as "All Shook Up" and "Don't be cruel."

Geller identified the sellers as Mike and Cindy Hazen, who bought the house some years ago, though not from Presley, for about $180,000.

Geller had original bid $300,000 last month but a bidding war ensued and the price ballooned, he said. During the process he was approached by dozens of people wanting to go in with him, he said. He chose two, New York lawyer Pete Gleason and Lisbeth Silvandersson, a Swedish-born jewelry maker who lives in England, as equal partners.

He had set a ceiling price of $1.11 million, said Geller, who acknowledges a paranormal fascination with the number 11.

"As the clock closed on the bidding Sunday," Geller said, "I felt intuitively I got the price. I was text messaging Gleason and it was exactly 11 on my mobile phone and suddenly the radio started playing an Elvis song. That was Elvis telling me we got the house!"

Geller met Presley in Las Vegas in the 1970s after the "King of Rock and Roll" asked him to perform his "spoon bending" trick for him, he said. Since then he has amassed a large collection of Presley memorabilia, he said.

Copyright 2006 Reuters.