We’ve previously had ‘Frost/Nixon’, now we’re getting ‘Elvis and Nixon’, as the story of how those two era-defining figures once met for a conversation in the Oval Office is brought to screen.
The comedy-drama follows Michael Shannon as a weary Elvis, who in a strange but true tale picked himself up out of his Graceland TV room in 1970 and flew to Washington, where he delivered a letter to the Commander-in-Chief, Richard Nixon, played by a hunched Kevin Spacey.
Despite his reluctance, Nixon was persuaded to meet with the King, and thus followed a surreal conversation about the Beatles, drugs and Elvis’s tireless campaign to earn himself a federal service badge, even if it meant going undercover - yes, really - to support Nixon’s battle against narcotics.
Proof of the unusual encounter can be found in the US National Archives, with the picture of the Chief and the King still the most requested piece of nostalgia ever.
The marriage of politics and pop has proved enduringly fascinating, with its mutual benefits to both parties. The musical stars get to look respectable, pillars of towering influence with concerns beyond the colour of their M&Ms, while the pollies instantly prove themselves as down with the young folk and their needs. It generally works well, unless you’re John Prescott and Chumbawalla gets you in their sights…
‘Elvis & Nixon’ is in UK cinemas this week. In the meantime, here are 17 other politicians who enjoyed their brush with pop royalty:
