Elvis visits Scotland
Witness History
BBC
4.5 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 3 March 2026
⏱️ 12 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
In 1960, as he headed home from military service, the King of Rock ’n’ Roll made an unexpected stop at Prestwick Airport.
It's believed to be the only time Elvis Presley is known to have set foot on British soil.
It was only a brief visit, but for 16-year-old Anne Murphy, watching him walk down the airplane steps is a memory that has never faded.
More than six decades later, she tells Megan Jones what it was like to see Elvis up close.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.
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You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.
(Photo: Elvis at Prestwick Airport, with Anne Murphy looking up at him. Credit: The Hollywood Archive/Alamy)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | Hello, I've just nipped in before your BBC podcast starts to tell you all about |
| 0:09.4 | You're Dead to Me. We're the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Also from the BBC |
| 0:13.9 | and presented by me, Greg Jenner. I should have told you that at the beginning. Sorry. |
| 0:17.9 | Anyway, like many other BBC podcasts, such as Desert Island Discs, Evil Genius, or In Our Time, your dead to me is available first on BBC Sounds, |
| 0:26.3 | a whole month earlier than anywhere else, in fact. So if you can't wait another day to hear |
| 0:31.2 | the very latest in history and loads of other good stuff, then listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:40.5 | Hello and welcome to witness history with me, Megan Jones. |
| 0:44.6 | Now, if we're already always on your mind, feel free to skip ahead a little bit. |
| 0:49.5 | But if you're listening for the very first time, then welcome. |
| 0:53.1 | I want to tell you a little bit more about us. |
| 0:55.7 | We look at a moment in history told by the people who were there and we have new |
| 0:59.9 | nine men episodes dropping every weekday. So if that sounds like something you'd like, just hit |
| 1:05.8 | subscribe wherever you get your BBC podcasts and turn on your push notifications so you never miss |
| 1:10.8 | an episode. |
| 1:11.9 | But for now, I want to tell you a really amazing story. |
| 1:17.5 | I'm taking you back to 1960, to the only time it's believed the king of rock and roll set foot in the United Kingdom. |
| 1:25.6 | The stopover was brief, and yet for the people who saw Elvis Presley, |
| 1:29.5 | it became a night they would talk about for the rest of their lives. |
| 1:33.0 | I thought I was dreaming all this. |
| 1:34.7 | I thought it was a dream, and it wasn't a dream, it was reality. |
| 1:39.2 | And to think it was impressed with my hometown. |
... |
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