Memphis Mansion
Eventually, backed by the town’s mayor
and key investors, Graceland Randers- as Knudsen says he “naively” called
it – was opened to great fanfare, in 2011.
Copyrighting the name in Denmark,
Knudsen’s next obstacle was countering
a lawsuit issued by Elvis Presley Enterprises.
Not wanting “to fight someone we wanted
to work with”, he settled out of court.
On 1 January 2016, his building’s name was
changed to Memphis Mansion.
Over the past 10 years,
a remarkable one million fans
have flocked to Memphis
Mansion – from New Zealand,
China and all across Europe.
“The Americans are the
most flabbergasted,” chortles
Knudsen. “I think they’d
understand the concept more if
it was based in a world city. Yet
by being located in small-town
Randers, maybe it parallels Memphis. We
even have a river to rival the Mississippi!”
As he said in a 2015 interview with CNN:
“Is it tacky? Is it cool? Is it a joke? Most
people who come here get it, we think.
We think we’ve done this in good taste.”
Along with educational projects and
guided tours, the Mansion hosts TV and
radio shows, photoshoots, book signings,
gigs and lectures – as well as famous
names from the Elvis world. These include
Presley’s original Vegas TCB band, The
A gift shop, US-style diner
and performance space
are just some of the
attractions that have
encouraged one million
fans to visit Memphis
Mansion in 10 yearsHenrik Knudsen’s Elvis
archive now extends to
80,000 photographs,
20,000 LPs, master
tapes, personal
artefacts, contracts
and lettersMemphis Mansion is twice the size
of Graceland, and houses a
lovingly curated museumARM
K^ DFFU
ETTHenrik, pictured right,
welcoming UK Elvis
author Mark Duffett to
Memphis Mansionaccompanied Knudsen to
Memphis to view Graceland up close, while
Danish architects Smærup and Wessman
started to survey and photograph
the property. With the help of vital
floorplans available on the internet,
construction commenced. The
final cost, including the plot of land,
escalated to around £3 million.
However, Knudsen’s version of his
hero’s home was never envisioned as
an exact replica: “We knew from the
outset that we were walking
a thin line,” he states.
“With the interior,
we wouldn’t be
able to find the
exact furniture or
decoration. Had
we got it wrong,
the fans would
have found fault.
It wasn’t meant to
be a direct copy.”
Instead, the
Danish landmark is twice the
size in square metres of the
original. Inside, there are no
recreations of the famous
living room and white piano,
nor the TV den or Jungle
Room. The extra space
has been used to feature
a unique museum,
American-style diner, merchandise
store, extensive bookshop and first-floor
performance/function space.