A comedy video made by council gritters about their battle with the snowy elements has become an online hit.
In The Depot features Elvis impersonator Darren “Graceland” Jones singing about the trials and tribulations of clearing the roads in Torfaen, South Wales, to the tune of Presley’s 1969 song In The Ghetto.
Since last Friday, the Welsh valleys have been covered in snow so council bosses in Torfaen decided to come up with a light-hearted yet informative way of offering advice to members of the public – with a helping hand from the King of rock’n’roll.
A snow-covered Pontypool Park, Cwmbran bus station and Torfaen Council depot all feature in the two-and-a-half-minute music video spoof – which has so far proved a hit with YouTube users.
It was filmed in just one hour last Friday, when parts of South Wales were subject to a rare red warning of snow, and saw Elvis impersonator Mr Jones give up his time free of charge.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=G6UerjFCLdI%3Frel%3D0
The re-written lyrics in the song include: “When the weather turns / Blaenavon is a little more north and cold / Spread grit thick on iced-up roads / In the depot”.
A Torfaen Council spokesman said: “We are bombarded with queries about the weather and anything we can do to make the message stick we’ll try.
“The reaction we’ve had to it has been brilliant.”