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Elvis Presley would have been 65 on Saturday. What that means is that the King of Rock and Roll - who died Aug. 16, 1977, at the age of 42 - never got to settle into old age as a gospel performer, oldies act or retired millionaire living off past glories.

What it also means is that fans would never know a less-than-iconic Elvis.

Enter Elvis: The Concert.

First staged at the Mid-South Coliseum on Aug. 16, 1997, to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Presley’s death, the multimedia event - a blend of video and digital technology with live performance - has become a hit on the road.

It’s played some 50 concerts in America, Europe, Asia and Australia, selling out dates from New York to Japan. This spring, the show - presented in conjunction with Elvis Presley Enterprises, the company that manages Graceland - returns to Europe where extra nights have been added at Rotterdam and Wembley Arena. France, Germany and Scandinavia are part of the 20-date tour as well.

“I still watch the show all the time,” admits producer Stig Edgren, who says he’s surprised that Presley - even as a 20-foot video screen image - continues to enthrall international audiences.

Edgren coordinated the 1997 show, capped by a live-meets-film duet between Lisa Marie Presley and her late dad, an illusionary stunt similar to Edgren’s Unforgettable video with Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole. Edgren also helmed the Presley tribute at The Pyramid in 1994.

The difference this time, says Edgren, is scale. The ‘97 show - a $500,000 spectacle - had nearly four hours of music with more than 80 musicians including Scotty Moore, D.J. Fontana, the Memphis Symphony Pops and Presley interpreters Ronnie McDowell and Terry Mike Jeffrey.

The concert as it plays now is stripped down to 2 1/2 hours, backed by what was essentially Presley’s touring, TCB (”Taking Care of Business”) band of the ’70s: a 16-piece unit with guitarist James Burton, drummer Ronnie Tutt, pianist Glen D. Hardin, bassist Jerry Scheff and music director Joe Guercio. The Stamps, the Imperials and the Sweet Inspirations provide harmonies. The TCB ensemble, also present at the premiere, stayed on for the world tours.

“The first one was a four-hour marathon with all the parts and players,” says Edgren. “It was a big anniversary night, more like a TV show - big pageantry. This is scaled down to the real meat: It has the real peaks and valleys of a concert.”

“The fact that there’s less people (means) there’s more Elvis,” says Guercio. “It’s exactly how we used to tour, which makes it really roll along . . . Once we start, we’re not following any kind of digital track. We’re just going with his voice. And the only reason that it can happen is because we spent so many years with him.

“The only (bad thing) about it is he never got old and we did!”

Guercio says the 32-tune set list consists of his “favorite hang-out songs,” ones that he enjoyed performing most, like Bridge Over Troubled Water.

“There’s so many great songs in the show,” says Burton, who has also played behind Ricky Nelson and Jerry Lee Lewis and is considered one of rock’s great guitarists. “When the show’s over, those two hours went by so fast. The fans are screaming and hollering. It’s just like Elvis being here . . . I’ve had fans come up to me and say, `Man, I caught myself looking around on stage for Elvis.’ You get that close, personal feeling that he’s really there. It’s the closest thing you’ll ever get to seeing an Elvis live show.”

And what would Elvis think of all this?

“We did Radio City (Music Hall) and some dude from a radio station hated the show from the beginning,” says Guercio. “He said, `What do you think Elvis would say to you today if he knew what you were doing?’ I said, `He’d probably come up and say, `Joe, slow it down.’ “