Number 650 - 8th December 2012
Piff
the Magic Dragon plays the O2 Arena (that's the 20,000 seater one!). Piff
and sidekick Mr Piffles are currently supporting Mumford & Sons on their UK
tour. Originally just scheduled to appear with the band on their theatre dates,
those dates went so well that they've extended the contract to include larger arena dates too. Which
means Piff and Mr Piffles, the Smallest Dog in Showbiz, will now be opening for
them at the O2 and other mammoth venues all over the UK. All the shows are in
fact sold out, so that's roughly 150,000 people who'll be seeing the act live
over the next couple of weeks. Here's a clip of Piff & Mr Piffles with the band
at the Princess Theatre in Torquay, from November:
Click Here.
Mumford & Sons 'Tour of Two Halves' Part Two: 4th December - Metro Radio Arena,
Newcastle; 5th - SECC, Glasgow; 7th - LG Arena, Birmingham; 8th -
Capital FM Arena, Nottingham; 10th - Manchester Arena, Manchester; 11th
- O2, London; 13th - Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff; 15th - Odyssey Arena,
Belfast; 16th - O2, Dublin; 18th - O2, London.
www.piffthemagicdragon.com.
8.12.12
Steve
Truglia's The
Card Shark Show opens next Saturday, December 15th... An interactive multi-media show
from award winning
close-up magician Steve Truglia at the Mayfair Theatre, Mayfair Hotel,
Stratton Street, London W1. Opening night 15th December, with
performances on 26th and 31st December, and then Fridays and Saturdays
from 11th January throughout 2013. Shows start at 7.30pm and some dates
have a 9pm show too. Running time: one hour. For bookings, more
information and audience comments from a preview night, visit
www.thecardsharkshow.com.
8.12.12
Luke
Jermay Psychic Cabaret... Magic, Mind Reading, Weird Stuff. December 13th,
14th & 15th. An evening of mind reading, telepathy, comedy and mystery at Smoke
& Mirrors, Bristol. "This uplifting, witty and highly interactive show is an
expert display of intuition and mind reading developed to amazing razor sharp
accuracy. Jermay impossibly knows you, your memories, your past, present and
future; sometimes even better than you do. From the name of your favorite school
teacher, childhood pet, even the colour of your underwear, Jermay seems to
impossibly know all, see all and tell all. Jermay believes everyone has the
potential to develop their intuition and in Psychic Cabaret, he even
teaches how to develop your intuition and psychic powers!" Smoke & Mirrors, 8
Denmark Street, Bristol BS1 5DQ (Map).
www.smokeandmirrorsbar.co.uk.
8.12.12
Bill
Abbott: Pack Smart Play Anywhere. Bill Abbott returns to the UK in
January with a brand new lecture. The ‘Pack Smart Play Anywhere’ lecture
includes 6 complete stand-up routines that feature General Magic, Geek
Magic and Mentalism, all performed as a full show and then explained.
The theory of ‘The Pack Smart Play Anywhere’ approach is discussed,
examined and demonstrated during the performance. Plus how to develop
your own ‘Pack Smart Play Anywhere Show’ to take with you on your next
flight, throw into the glove box of your car or perform at your next
paid function. See What's
On for tour dates. (Note: There are just a few dates still
available. For more details contact tour organiser Sean Lobban
mistertall@mistertall.co.uk).
8.12.12
Tommy
Cooper Jus' Like That! A Life in Jokes and Pictures by John
Fisher. For the first
time, Tommy Cooper’s biographer, writer and producer, John Fisher,
collects between two covers the cream of the comedian’s personal
archives, with photographs, memorabilia and documents that have never
been seen before. Had Cooper kept a scrapbook, this is what he would
have produced. Souvenirs from his many stage and television triumphs
jostle side by side with candid shots of him at play with his family,
many revealing a side to the man the public never really saw. Here is
the authentic side of Tommy in the forces, the early show business
struggle, the backstage world of his magic, the newspaper coverage of
the most recognisable man in Britain, the crazy japes at home with wife
Gwen, and so much more. This book, with its brilliant colour images and
hilarious text, puts the successive stages of Tommy’s life in full
context. And if you don’t want to follow his life in biographical
detail, just sit back and relax by laughing at the many jokes that crowd
the pages. They tell their own story! This is a large-format (21cm x
29cm) hardback crammed full of Cooper theatrical memorabilia and
never-before-seen private photos. Roger Woods reviews Tommy Cooper
‘Jus’ Like That!’ this week,
Click Here. To order via Amazon.co.uk
Click Here.
8.12.12
The
Anglian Magic Society is presenting A Christmas Magic Show on Tuesday 18th
December from 8pm to 9.30pm at the White Horse Inn, Trowse, Norwich NR14 8ST (Map).
Adults £3.00 children 16 or under £2.00. The show is being held by club members
to promote the society and have a fun evening of entertainment. Steve Majes.
8.12.12
New
release from Paul Gordon for December 2012: "Paul Gordon’s Gold Dust
has been four years in the making. It’s Paul Gordon’s very best writing, very
best production and very best magic. 150 worker card routines, 352 jam-packed
pages, 140 photos. Gold foil-embossed cloth-covered saddle-stitched hardback. It
looks glorious! This is the very best of Paul’s thirty-five years of creating;
and all under one great-looking cover! There are tricks for every skill level;
beginners through to advanced. Gold Dust contains many new gems, too. And
all the older material has been updated, re-written, changed and improved.
Gold Dust is only available directly from Paul Gordon and that’s the way it
will always be. And there is a price promise inasmuch that the price will never
be dropped. See the webpage for contents, video promo and pricing. Also see the
reviews of Paul’s magic by Boris Wild, Aldo Colombini, David Regal, Harry
Lorayne & others." Visit
www.paulgordon.net/golddust.html today! Roger Woods reviews Gold Dust
this week,
Click Here.
8.12.12
MagicNevin.com's
Crazee Christmas Sale... "MagicNevin.com are having a
Crazee Christmas Sale, with discounts of up to 50% on selected items. With
items such as
Complete Card Magic 4 DVD Set now only £17.24 it is an ideal time to grab
some great Christmas presents while stocks last. Remember to keep checking the
new items page with many items arriving daily. Now shipping
Ellusionist’s Purple Artifice Deck and
Sultan Republic Deck with the new
Karnival Zray and
Earthtone9 decks shipping from 10th December. Free UK standard shipping
applies to all orders over £10."
8.12.12
Sherlocked:
Mark Elsdon. “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains,
however improbable, must be mindreading…” Mark Elsdon has just released his
all-time favourite playing card effect, Sherlocked. This is the one which has
fooled everybody who has ever seen it. It is a demonstration of direct
mindreading where you seem to be walking around inside the head of not just one,
but two stunned participants. All capped with a totally impossible prediction.
For full details of the effect and ordering info visit the only place this is
available from, Mark’s blog:
elsdon.blogspot.co.uk.
8.12.12
The
latest free download from Magicseen is now available: "Taster Issue 17
features some of the content from our current issue (issue 47 Nov.12) as well as
items from our increasingly large back catalogue. So this time you will find the
full article on our current cover star, pro mentalist Paul Stockman, the second
part of an informative piece on how to approach a group in a mix and mingle
situation, there's a selection of the product reviews, the Masterclass featuring
two ideas from Gary Jones, plus a round up of the 30 worst/most cliched patter
lines - we dare you to read them and say that you are not using any of them!
Then to round up the Taster Issue we offer you a comedy strip cartoon (Deputy
Editor Graham Hey has way too much time on his hands!) and a really nice feature
on top international performer Tony Chapek. All the above is yours simply for
the asking as a free download from
www.magicseen.co.uk."
8.12.12
Wayne
Dobson's Christmas Gift for you! A copy of Wayne Dobson's 'Six Masterpieces'
featuring Best Friends, Amnesia, Only Joking, Every Time,
Perspiration and Once upon a Time will be sent free with every
order (excluding downloads) in time for Christmas... Visit
www.waynedobson.co.uk
for more info and to see what's new.
8.12.12
Origins
of Magic: James More Removing A Chicken's Head! "Earlier this year James
More took a trip to Germany and Egypt to film a short documentary on the first
magic trick ever performed. It's an exciting and interesting watch for anyone
interested in the origins of magic. You may recognise James from the first
episode of ITV's Penn and Teller: Fool Us and the gala show at the
F.I.S.M World Championships of Magic. Take a trip back in time with James,
Click Here."
8.12.12
BigBlindMedia
have a brand new mega release for Christmas 2012: "Cameron Francis and Liam
Montier have collected together their favorite twenty-six card tricks from their
mega successful run of eBooks and crammed them all together onto a project
called Kapow. It's spread over two DVDs and two eBooks, and is truly amazing
material. These are card tricks that hit hard and are as easy to perform as they
are fun! Click Here to
watch a trailer and performance of Cameron's kick-ass 'Subtle Soto'. You won't
need gaffs or hard moves for any of these routines. Just a deck of cards and an
audience to blow away! You can buy the cool double DVD set (for a ridiculously
low price) or you can grab the BBM exclusive V.I.P. package (photo). This
contains the Kapow DVD set, a wicked Tshirt (featuring the Kapow Robot/Dinosaur
fight!) plus a deck of limited edition Karnival Carnage Playing Cards! What a
Christmas pressie! Who wouldn't want that in their stockings? And if you order
now, Liam and Cam have provided a fabulous four trick eBook to send you
immediately. So you'll have something to work on right chuffin' now!
www.bigblindmedia.com."
8.12.12
Bicycle
Butterfly Deck by RSVPMagic.com - New and in stock: "This deck has been
custom designed from the ground up and made for us by The United States Playing
Card Company on their famous Bicycle Card stock. With air cushioned finish, they
are simply beautiful to use and perfect for all magicians and collectors. Each
custom designed deck comes with 56 cards and includes two jokers (one with a
hidden prediction printed on its face), a double-backer and one blank-facer,
allowing magicians to incorporate this deck into their usual routines. This deck
handles as good as it looks and will be something you'll be proud to use time
and time again. This deck is a limited edition and numbers are restricted."
Order from
www.rsvpmagic.com.
8.12.12
Dynamo's Beats and Magic, 12 noon on Saturday 8th December
on MTV Music: "We're off to the casino with urban magician Dynamo as he unleashes some
of his mind-bending sorcery on you the viewers, and spins some tunes
from the likes of Wretch 32, Kanye, Ed Sheeran and Angel." See
TV Magic for details.
8.12.12
Frankly
Disillusioned: A True Saga of Mystery, Magic & Mayhem by Dean Metcalfe. From
the publisher: "Frankly Disillusioned is the crazy, 'rats an’ all' tale of
master magician, Dean Metcalfe and his sometimes hilarious, often chaotic,
globetrotting adventures with his glamorous assistant and wife, Claudine. Dean
explains with honestly and humour, how his and Claudine’s lives turned from a
world of dazzling illusions to a world of bitter disillusionment. He candidly
tells how their glamorous (?) lifestyle took them at times, to the edge of their
endurance and had them sleeping with rats, dropping through the skies and
plunging over ravines. This must-read book also offers a revealing insight into
the secret world of magic and raises a colossal question mark over the curious
and intriguing issue of life after death. Download the book online from Amazon
at a special price for 1 week only at £2.99. Also available in paperback late
February 2013." Frankly Disillusioned [Kindle Edition]
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com.
8.12.12
Liam
Sheehan writes: A new book out by Randall Sullivan in the USA features the
story of myself living with and entertaining Michael Jackson and his family on
their somewhat secret visits to Ireland. As a corporate magician I had the
pleasure of living with them for a few weeks and performing magic. The book is
called Untouchable.
www.liamsheehan.ie.
8.12.12
Playtime
Balloons Christmas orders: "Christmas is almost here and the last posting
date within the UK mainland is Thursday 20th of December. To avoid any
inconvenience please place any last minute orders by Friday 14th December.
Playtime Balloons will be closed from Monday 24th December and will re-open on
Tuesday 2nd January 2013. We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our
customers a Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year and thank you all for your
continued support. To place your orders go to
www.playtimeballoons.com or call Stuart on 01704 534363."
8.12.12
Tom
Owen. Derek Lever, President Blackpool Magicians Club, writes: I am very
sorry to inform you that Tom Owen passed away on Sunday after a short illness
which created severe breathing difficulties. Tom joined Blackpool Magicians Club
in 1954 and was a Past President and Honorary Life Vice President. He was a
Joint Convention Organiser for many years and received the prestigious 'Murray
Award For Services To Magic'. He was a Past President of the British Ring of the
International Brotherhood of Magicians and held the degree of 'Member of The
Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star'. He will be greatly missed by the magical
fraternity.
Mel Harvey writes: I went up to see Tom about two weeks ago and even then he was struggling for breath and on a nebuliser. I have many happy memories of Tom from the time he booked Presto the Magic Rabbit and myself to promote the Blackpool Convention in the Seventies to stunts we pulled together over the years both in this country and America. I started my magic dealing career with Tom as his assistant at various conventions until one day he tripped over a large bag of my puppets and he "suggested" (he was from the North) that I had a stand of my own! On one occasion we were at The Kennedy Hotel on one of Ron's Days and I said I was going home and Tom insisted I stayed and we ended up dragging a mattress from another room to his in the middle of the night! On another occasion at Southport we were seen to be enjoying the "sun" (from the arc lights) outside the Prince of Wales Hotel in deckchairs complete with knotted handkerchiefs at about 1.30 in the morning. Tom was one of my mentors for comedy magic and he gave me the opening gag of my act which I have used to good effect on many cruises. Tom will be surely missed, magic has lost one of its characters.
Elizabeth Warlock writes: When Tom Owen died after a long
illness, magic lost one of its most colourful characters. A dealer, comedy
performer on stage and in close-up, and past president of both the British Ring
and Blackpool Magicians Club, his association with the latter going back to the
late 1950s when with Bill Lamb and Harry Dewhirst, he helped to organise the
annual convention when it was still in its infancy. Later Tom and Bill would
take over as joint organisers of the convention bringing in big magic stars from
around the world, and they continued until 1994 when the mantle was passed to
Derek Lever and Steve Eastham. It was at the 1962 convention that Tom first
appeared as a dealer under the name of Universal Magic. He was a popular
performer not only in his home town of Preston, but nationally and in Europe
particularly in Malta where he was a regular visitor. His wife Margaret
predeceased him, but to his surviving family we offer our condolences in their
great loss. He will be sadly missed.
The funeral will take place this Wednesday, 12th December, at 11.15am at Preston Crematorium, Longridge Road, Preston, Lancashire PR2 5BP, and afterwards at The Barton Grange Hotel, 746-768 Garstang Road, Barton, Preston, Lancashire PR3 5AA. 8.12.12
"Shocking pictures reveal burns to American magician after his head was set on fire on Dominican TV show" Click Here • "Dominican judge orders arrest in US magician case" Click Here • "Arrest warrant issued for TV presenter after magician's face set on fire in botched stunt" [Warning: The following article from the Mirror contains images and a YouTube video that readers may find distressing] Click Here. 8.12.12
"Northern magician Dynamo on fooling Snoop Dogg and Kim Kardashian, and why he 'never grew up'" Click Here • "Limerick magician casts spell on the Discovery Channel" Click Here • "Magicians wow crowds in Beijing" Click Here • "Incredible magic tricks in China" Click Here • "Magicians wow crowds in Beijing" Click Here • "Cyber-Illusionist Marco Tempest Delivers Keynote Address at ISE 2013" Click Here • "UK Floods: Paul Daniels Tweets Picture Of Deluged Garden In Berkshire" Click Here • Christmas iPad: Click Here • "Stardom beckons for magician Rodd" Click Here • "Illusionist Drew Thomas puts tricks up Atlanta Ballet’s sleeve for ‘Nutcracker’" Click Here • "Illusionist and perfectionist: Alex Ramon learns magic's ropes with Disney, Ringling Bros." Click Here • "Black and Jewish Music, Kentucky Cabinets, Magician Posters" Click Here • Many thanks as always for your UK magic news submissions, they're always welcomed. See you next week, Duncan. 8.12.12