ELVIS Presley died in 1977 when Jon Fleming was just three years old, but even at that young age the King was always on his mind – so much so that he is about to make the trip of a lifetime to Graceland, Memphis in a bid to become the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist of 2015.

And if he scoops the title Fleming, whose stage name is Johnny Lee Memphis, is likely to be singing Viva Las Vegas – the first prize is $20,000 (£12,800) and a Vegas Legends contract, which he said would be a life-changer.

“I won the European Elvis Championships in Birmingham in 2014. But this is like the Elvis World Cup and to win it would be a dream come true.

“I’ve been trying for this contest for the last seven or eight years. Every qualifier I’ve been in I came second and some folk were starting to call me the Jimmy White of Elvis contests,” said the former fitness instructor.

However, that changed one night last week when he won a qualifying competition in Canada, picking up a £2,000 prize, a £4,000 Elvis jumpsuit – to add to his burgeoning collection – and flights to Memphis.

“The place where the qualifier was held is called Penticton between the two lakes Okanagan and Skaha in British Columbia in Canada,” he said. “In the Okanagan [Native American] language it means a place to stay forever – it’s absolutely beautiful and I fell in love with the place and the people, and not just because I won.”

The Guitar Man, from Coalsnaughton, Clackmannanshire, blames his love of Elvis on his aunt Helen Clark, who babysat him when he was a child.

“She called me her little Elvis doll. She’d comb my hair like Elvis with Brylcreem, the full works,” he recalled.

“I’d listen to the music and watch the movies and sometimes when I hear the songs or sing them it’s like a nostalgia trip – they take me back to when I heard them for the first time.

“She’s the biggest Elvis fan I’ve ever met when it comes to knowledge and trivia about Elvis.”

Fleming sang in a rock band Mojo Rising for a decade before he started his Elvis career 12 years ago.

He said: “We travelled round for gigs and I threw in some Elvis songs and people said I sounded a bit like him. Then on holiday in Cyprus I met this guy who was selling a jumpsuit for £400 so I bought it and took it back.

“I ended up throwing on the jumpsuit and doing some tracks with the band and they went down a bomb. So I entered a few competitions with a little bit of success so I decided to build up my repertoire and before I knew it I was doing it full time.”

He became a full time “King” in December because he could not balance the work-life commitment between “Spinout” in the gym and playing Elvis.

“I sing for 20 people or 2,000. A few weeks ago I was singing to 20 residents in a nursing home – and got paid in steak pie and chips!”

Fleming – the first Scot to reach the final – leaves for Graceland on August 9, and arrives for the start of Elvis Week, which marks the anniversary of the death of The King on the 16th.

Johnny Lee Memphis can be seen at Perth Concert Hall (August 22), Falkirk Town Hall (September 5), Edinburgh Corn Exchange (October 3) and Alloa Town Hall (November 21).