Prestwick singer Debbie Campbell is set to release a new song “A Short Stop Off” this March, marking the 65th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s legendary stop at Prestwick Airport.
On March 3, 1960, Elvis was flying back to America after finishing his military service in Germany when his aircraft stopped to refuel in Prestwick.
It is the only place in the United Kingdom visited by the King of Rock and Roll.
Debbie, together with her husband and songwriter Robert Neil and fellow musician Scott Nicol, wrote a new song as a love letter to Elvis.
Debbie said: “Robert is always writing and I believe the lyrics to ‘A Short Stop Off’ came to him fairly quickly.
“Both myself and Scott worked on the melody. Robert had an idea of how he wanted it to sound and I wanted to embrace the rockabilly sound but also have a feel of a gospel song, as that was Elvis’s roots.
“I did listen to more of Elvis’s songs to immerse myself in his music but I also wanted it to sound fresh and modern. I would also often walk near the airport, enjoying the fact that Elvis had been there, even at one point walking down the street named after him, Presley Street. Sadly the street name is missing, perhaps due to a fan stealing it.”
Debbie added: “Working with both Robert and Scott has been good fun and being able to surround myself with like-minded creatives is a true blessing. We just seem to know what works and what doesn’t. Some of our best songs have been written within a few hours.”
Robert added: “I was writing a lot of stuff at the time which was Ayrshire-based. It was after I had written a song about Glasgow I thought, there needs to be more Ayrshire based stuff.
“I started researching a lot of local history being from Galston and now living in Prestwick a lot of things I remembered or researched didn’t have a lot of information. Elvis is everywhere however and I felt there was also universal appeal as he was music’s first true global superstar.”
‘A Short Stop Off’ was recorded at Limelight Media Studios in Irvine earlier this year.
Debbie said: “The song is just everything I had imagined. It truly captures the essence of the excitement from the point of view of the fans gathered there.”
She added: “We’ve heard good feedback from people who have heard our new song and we hope fans of Elvis will approve.
“Photographer Colin Hyslop also helped us with artwork and I am very thankful to him and everyone involved.”
‘A Short Stop Off’ by Debbie Campbell will be released on Sunday, March 2 on all streaming platforms.
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