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A VICAR left his church all shook up after he quit to become a full-time Elvis Presley impersonator.

Andy Kelso, 64, claimed he received a message from God to spread the word of The King of rock ’n’ roll.

So he ditched his dog collar for a white jewelled jumpsuit and now belts out Elvis classics to packed audiences in pubs and clubs – and even churches.

The married father of five, dubbed Elvis Priestley, said: “One day I was out walking the dogs in between church services and I felt God say to me very strongly, ‘Take Elvis to the Church!’

“It was a shock but after one concert there was a lot of interest from churches who wanted to connect with their communities and my tribute act seems to connect.

“When I play, the venues are packed out and I’ve not looked back since.”

He quit as Reverend at Christ Church in Matchborough, Redditch, Worcestershire, last year after more than a quarter of a century as a Church of England vicar.

But he says his former congregation are fans of his act.

Andy said: “I recently went to a care home where most of the patients had dementia.

"I was wondering how I would go down but as soon as I appeared as Elvis and started singing, the residents came alive and started singing and dancing.

"It was amazing and very humbling.

“When you listen to Elvis’ gospel songs, they’re just so from the heart and they really seem to speak to people.

"It’s true that for many years he went far away from his Christian roots but he never stopped believing the basics of Christianity.”

Andy got stopped by the police driving home from one gig at a Methodist church in Worcester.

He recalls: “The traffic cops asked what I’d been doing and I told them that I’d been doing an Elvis tribute act in the church.

“They asked if I’d been drinking and I said, ‘Hardly – it’s a Methodist church!’ Eventually they let me go.”