A house in Santa Venera is awash with every conceivable item of Elvis Presley memorabilia. It will be open for public viewing today and tomorrow and over 460 items will go under the hammer on Monday and Tuesday at the Obelisk Auctions Gallery in Attard. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

One can be forgiven for feeling All Shook Up when setting foot inside a house in Santa Venera dubbed as Graceland – the ceiling and walls are awash with every conceivable item of Elvis Presley memorabilia.

From commemorative prints to statues to one single hair which once graced the King of Rock n’ Roll’s head, the collection was lovingly amassed by the late Alfred Vassallo, who also served as the president of the Elvis Presley Followers Fan Club Malta.

The house will be open for public viewing today and tomorrow and over 460 items will go under the hammer on Monday and Tuesday at the Obelisk Auctions Gallery in Attard.

The prize pieces include an authentic piece of a scarf that Elvis tossed to a fan during his final concert in 1977 and a hair which was originally obtained by Homer Gilleland, who was Presley’s personal hairdresser for 20 years. They each have a pre-sale auction estimate of between €200 and €320, although they are expected to fetch more.

Mr Vassallo’s daughter, Mary Grace Borg, explained that her father’s fascination with the singer was unleashed 10 years ago, when she and her brother Carmel both got married.

“When I left the house and the rooms became empty, my father found the space to collect and display Elvis memorabilia.

“He was always thinking about what his next acquisition would be. He was very creative and would find ways of hanging pieces of memorabilia even in the most hard to reach nooks and crannies of the house.”

Unfortunately, none of his two children or four grandchildren turned out to be particular Elvis Presley fans. His eyes, however, would light up whenever someone showed a little bit of interest in his collection.

“He never told a lot of people about his collection though – what he did was purely for his own personal enjoyment and appreciation of the singer.”

Didn’t his wife, Pauline, mind that her house was transformed into an Elvis Presley shrine?

“Not at all – although I was more of a fan of Ricky Nelson,” the 71-year-old smiled.

“He always took care of his collection himself – regularly cleaning and dusting them.

“I even prompted him to buy his most expensive item – a life-size figure of Elvis playing the guitar with a retro microphone on a stand. It cost Lm1,000 (€2,300) at the time.”

Ms Vassallo has fond memories of listening to Presley’s records in the sitting room with her husband. Mr Vassallo had never seen the singer and the couple were planning a trip to Graceland for this year. Sadly, he passed away eight months ago.

An Elvis Presley aficionado in the eyes of some, for his family, Mr Vassallo was a kind-hearted, gentle and dedicated family man.