Number 441 - 6th December 2008
"I
told you not to rub it!" Uri Geller receives The David Berglas
International Magic Award from David Berglas at last weekend's 37th
International Magic Convention in London. Following the presentation Uri
Geller invited questions from the assembled audience of magicians on any
aspect of his life and career. A fascinating 30 minutes ensued, offering
glimpses into just what makes Uri Geller tick. Uri's appearance was a
wonderful surprise, and his candid answers refreshing. His performance
on The Dimbleby Talk-In in Great Britain back in November 1973
caused an immediate sensation at that time. I was one of the lucky ones
who saw it when it went out. When that spoon bent Uri was as excited and
elated with the outcome as his audience, his reaction for me was always
the key to his success. Uri is one of the great showmen of our
time. At the end of the question and answer session the audience gave
him a standing ovation. (DT). This week Magic Circular editor
Matthew Field reports on the whole International convention, including the
Close-up Competition results (many thanks Matt),
Click Here. 6.12.08
Andi
Gladwin and Rob James' The Session 2009 is approaching quickly (17th
and 18th January) and is all set to be another sell-out. Joining Ray
Kosby (USA), David Acer (Canada), John Guastaferro (USA), Noel Qualter
(UK) and John Archer (UK) is contemporary British magician John van der
Put, who recently won 1st place at the IBM Close-Up Competition in
Eastbourne. John's alter ego 'Piff the Magic Dragon' will be performing
in the evening show. Andi and Rob will be announcing at least 4 more
performers in the coming weeks, so register now to reserve your tickets!
www.sessionconvention.com. 6.12.08
Showzam, Blackpool's
Festival of Circus, Magic and New Variety,
returns for the second year bringing a host of shows and entertainment
that will appeal to all magicians including the International Stars
of Magic show featuring Soma from Hungary, Makha Tendo from Japan,
Juan Mayoral from Spain, and more top acts. Plus: escapology stunts, close-up
magicians and incredible circus and variety shows. 13th - 22nd February
2009. For further details
visit www.showzam.co.uk. 6.12.08
Axel
Hecklau is a well known fulltime professional magician from Berlin,
Germany. During his second lecture tour in 2008 which took in over 40
cities in Germany he proudly presented his new version of a classic
piece in magic, The Torn & Restored Newspaper. His Torn &
Restored Newspaper, entitled NEWSFLASH, is simply incredible! You
must watch this video clip!
Click Here, or visit his brand new shop:
www.axelhecklau.com. 6.12.08
Magicians.co.uk
hosted a party for clients and friends on Monday November 24th, to
celebrate the recent announcement of the company’s new name and
identity. Over 150 guests enjoyed a canapé reception followed by a
delicious meal at Mary Ward House, London and were entertained by fire
jugglers, hustlers, mind readers, pickpockets, fantastic live swing
music and of course, magicians. Guests included Alexis Conran, Guy
Hollingworth, Richard McDougall and Chris Power. Media attending
included Event Magazine, Prestige Events Guide and
MagicWeek.
www.magicians.co.uk. 6.12.08
The
Magic Circle Annual Awards Banquet was held on November 22nd at the
Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury. Siegfried and Roy were awarded The David Devant
Trophy for services to international magic. The Maskelyne Trophy was
posthumously awarded to Chris Pratt for services to British magic. A
Silver Wand was presented to Peter Scarlett for services to The Magic
Circle. The John Nevil Maskelyne Award was presented to John Fisher for
his literary contributions to magic. The Carlton Comedy Award went to
Ian Keable and The Cecil Lyle Award was won by Michael Giblin for his
contribution to the Magic Circular.
www.themagiccircle.co.uk. 6.12.08
Wessex
Magical Association presents The Life and Career of David Nixon, a
lecture by Steve Short. Steve has researched David Nixon's life and
career with the help of David's family and many people who knew and
worked with him, including Ali Bongo, his magic advisor and friend.
Using a Power Point presentation Steve will show many unseen photos and
tell stories - some funny, some sad. At the end of the presentation,
Steve will show highlights from David's television shows. The lecture
takes place in Poole, Dorset on Tuesday, January 13th and is open to
visiting magicians (£5 admission). The lecture starts at 8pm. For
further details contact: Derek Roberts 01202 247370
keredroberts@ntlworld.com.
www.wmagic.co.uk. 6.12.08
MagicTricks.co.uk
launch new site for young magicians. MagicTricks.co.uk have just
launched a brand new spin-off site aimed at young magicians –
www.magictricksjunior.co.uk. They have been working on the Junior
site for several months now and have created their own brand of magic
focusing on quality items that really will get children interested in
magic (as apposed to 100-trick sets which are usually a letdown. The
site is also great for parents and adults buying presents for children.
MagicTricks Junior offers a wide variety of the gift ideas for young
magicians, wanting to break into magic! 6.12.08
"Cruise
ship passengers surprised by pirate attack"
Click Here. News media across the globe reported on last Sunday's
pirate attack on MS Nautica (Oceania Cruises). Onboard, magic team Des
and Cherry King emailed: "Yesterday (on the 30th November) while
cruising between the coast of Yemen and Somalia, pirates in two small
skiffs attacked MS Nautica and eight shots were fired at our ship. The
Captain immediately made evasive manoeuvres and managed to outrun the
pirates by going full speed ahead. Also, we were due to stop in Mumbai,
but owing to the terrorist attacks this has now been cancelled and the
itinerary changed; we will now get a visit to the Maldives instead. Our
contract on board is until March 2009. We have been doing nine months of
the year at sea for the last ten years and have visited 115 different
countries but have never been attacked by pirates before!!" "Cruise ship
passengers describe 'pop, pop, pop' of gunfire as pirates attacked"
Click Here. 6.12.08
Ian
and Elisa (Galithia Conexion) have just returned from working
onboard Color Lines flagship the Fantasy. Performing close-up magic
during the day and a stage show in the evening to over 900 Norweign and
German passengers. "It was quite difficult at first due to the language
barrier, but we soon overcame that by performing hard hitting visual
magic" said Ian.
www.ianrhamilton.co.uk. 6.12.08
Laura
London appears on Magic Party on BBC 2 Northern Ireland at 10pm on
Tuesday 16th December in the series that mixes mixing magic and music
(and Sky channel 992).
"Magician Laura London makes an impression at a party thrown by Belfast
rock band Nocturn, creating some personal magic illusions while DJ Joe
Lindsay plays some head-banging tunes."
www.lauralondonmagic.com. 6.12.08
Quick
Change Artists – Keelan Leyser and Charlotte Marie just days away from
being caught in India. Quick Change Artists Keelan Leyser and
Charlotte Marie were in the Taj Palace, Mumbai, India, only a few days
prior to the awful terrorist attack. They were there performing for the
75th Anniversary of Unilever, India. 6.12.08
JezO’s
Magic and Laughter Show. “An exciting children’s show is continuing
to tour the UK. Featuring the rising star of comedy magic JezO (Jeremy
Bond), this show will appeal to children from 4–10 and, importantly, to
their parents and grandparents too. JezO’s great comedy skills, together
with a thorough grounding and understanding of magic and illusion, put
the emphasis very firmly on entertainment.” Thursday 19th February 2009
at 2.30 pm. Tamworth Assembly Rooms, Tamworth, Staffordshire Box Office:
01827 709618. Further dates to be announced shortly. A
PMB
Productions presentation.
www.jezo.co.uk. 6.12.08
Jayne
Corrigan was featured in Thursday's Mirror, "Meet the full-time female magician who lives out her Harry Potter
fantasies for real"
Click Here, "Mirror Works: I really love this job.. now that IS
magic!"
Click Here, Mirror Works: Tricks of the trade
Click Here. www.magicbyjayne.co.uk. 6.12.08
Nick
Einhorn and David Penn entertained dozens of the UK’s most talented
songwriters and producers at a truly memorable event at the Tate Modern
last week. The Society of Distinguished Songwriters includes
members Gary Barlow, Don Black, Gary Kemp, Sir Tim Rice, Guy Chambers,
Marty Wilde and King SOD David Arnold (Photo). A special performance,
blending magic with music, created a dynamic opening to a unique show in
which each artist sung their most famous songs. 6.12.08
Look
out for magician Zane this Christmas, but in a different role...
Zane, the proprietor of
www.zanesmagicshop.com, also entertains as 'Joe Swing- The Singer
With the Magic Touch' singing the songs of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin
and Bobby Darin. Joe Swing can be seen performing for ten dates at
The Hop Exchange
in London during December. Joe Swing also uses magic in his routines,
visit:
www.joeswing.co.uk. 6.12.08
Mist
(Sean Alexander & Vanessa) have just arrived back in the UK following a
ten-day day run in Dubai. The show was a great success, wowing audiences
at the Mall of the Emirates.
Click Here to read a review in the City Times. 6.12.08
News
from Lots of Magic: "To celebrate the launch of Lots of Magic
auction web site, you are invited to the party on 7th January 2009
in Ealing, London. This is going to be a fantastic event with close-up
magicians and a full stage show including performances from John
Archer, Mark Shortland, Tim Shoesmith, Michael Pearce, Kerry Scorah,
Romany (Diva of Magic), Richard Pinner and Amethyist. To apply for
tickets, to be there for free, please contact
launchparty@lotsofmagic.co.uk, we have limited seats available. Only
open to magicians and entertainers please, we do not have the space for
wives and family." 6.12.08
Wolverhampton's
Top Talent Show 2009. "Wolverhampton’s Top Talent is the Black
Country’s answer to a high profile talent competition, giving gifted
individuals a chance to shine, while at the same time raising money for
the local charity ‘Promise Dreams’. The competition will see 1000’s of
contestants battle it out over audition heats to earn a place in the
grand final, where they will stand a chance of being crowned the Top
Talent, at a glamorous, celebrity hosted event, winning £2,500 prize
money." March - June 2009, visit
www.wolverhamptonstoptalent.com for details. 6.12.08
Disney
brings Mickey's Magic Show to city... "Mickey Mouse will be casting
his magic wand over the Trent FM Arena next year when Disney returns to
the venue with a brand new production. Mickey's Magic Show will feature
buddies Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Daisy Duck and a host of
world class magicians at the venue for four shows on March 24 and 25."
To read the full story in This is Nottingham,
Click Here. 6.12.08
Congratulations
to Peter Roberts, winner of the George Powell Trophy for Comedy
Magic at the Leeds Magical Association on November 25th, and well done
to Joe Moore and Donna in the runners-up spot, an excellent competition
and a thoroughly entertaining evening. Graham Roe.
www.leedsmagic.co.uk. 6.12.08
Kerry
Scorah snaps a good 'un. "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"
and so they didn't, but who are these three monkeys spotted at Ron's
Day? • "Blyth family sharing their home with 74 pets"
Click Here • "Seeing is believing"
Click Here • Max Somerset: An Evening of Magic, reviewed by
Elliott Hodges,
Click Here • "Magician says trick to success is support"
Click Here • "Magician Joshua Jay Wows FOX 4 Anchors"
Click Here • "Update: more bad news for 'Criss Angel Believe'"
Click Here • "Are you happy? Kieron Kirkland, mentalist and
magician"
Click Here • That's it for another week here on planet Earth.
See you next week, Duncan.
6.12.08