Desert Island Tricks
Each week we invite one of the biggest guests in the world of magic to maroon themselves on a desert island. They are allowed to take with them 8 tricks, 1 book, 1 banishment and 1 non magic item that they use for magic! We discuss their 'can't live without' lists and why those items were chosen.
Episodes are uploaded every Friday and are available via all Podcast service providers!
To find out more about the team behind Desert Island Tricks, please visit: www.alakazam.co.uk
Desert Island Tricks
Russ Stevens
Ever wondered who's behind the mind-blowing magic that captivates millions on Britain's Got Talent? Meet Russ Stevens, the unsung hero orchestrating magical moments for one of television's biggest shows. In this riveting conversation, Russ pulls back the curtain on his remarkable journey from reluctant collaborator to BGT's dedicated magic consultant, single-handedly revolutionising how magic is presented to mainstream audiences.
With refreshing candour, Russ reveals how a show that once mocked magicians now dedicates unprecedented airtime to the art form. "We made a big mistake," the show's producers admitted after witnessing his work. "We didn't realise how brilliant magic can be." That pivotal moment in 2013 sparked a transformation that would eventually see Harry Moulding crowned champion with a jaw-dropping 14-minute performance, an eternity by television standards.
The magic of Russ's approach doesn't lie in complicated methods but in his masterful understanding of what truly engages an audience: "My biggest secret weapons are staging and directing." Through compelling examples from his BGT portfolio, he demonstrates how proper timing, thoughtful music selection, and strategic presentation elevate even simple effects into unforgettable experiences. His philosophy challenges conventional magical thinking, emphasising that spectacular reactions come from performance quality rather than technical complexity.
Beyond BGT, Russ shares fascinating stories from his colourful career, from producing magic instructional content with RSVP Magic to his current role as CEO of the world-famous Blackpool Magic Convention. His evolution mirrors the changing landscape of magic itself, moving from performing with live animals (a practice he now opposes) to creating cutting-edge illusions that connect emotionally with modern audiences.
Whether you're a magic enthusiast or simply curious about what happens behind the scenes of television's most magical moments, this conversation offers rare insight into the artistry, psychology, and showmanship that transform a simple trick into an experience that leaves millions spellbound.
Russ' Desert Island Tricks:
- Card Manipulation
- Lions Bride
- Dekolta Chair illusion
- Harry Moulding’s Semi Final Performance
- Slicer Illusion
- Upside Down Burning Rope Escape
- Double Levitation Illusion
- TOXIC+
Banishment. Animals in Magic
Book. David Devant Our Magic
Item. Spotify
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk
In fairness, though, although they made fun of magic a lot of the magic that was on that show was awful, or they had some good magicians on that just chose the wrong material or didn't understand the show. But I remember when we did it and said, well, we'll do it. And it did really well. The audition, I think now has had 90-something million views on their BGT channel. The actual reaction from the TV people was amazing.
Speaker 1:So behind the scenes, scenes, a week later, I got an email from the boss who the boss of the show at the time, amelia Brown saying you know, we made a big mistake. We didn't realize how brilliant magic can be. You know, we've proved that if we listen to each other, we can. We can work and create something that's really good and it was. And so from there it just sort of spiraled. I didn't, I knew I could, but they realized, oh wow, he's working across all kinds of magic here. This isn't just like illusions. That he understands. And I remember I sent them a note on the day of the final, thanking them, and they that was when and said but that's it, I'm kind of done with the show. And they came back and, um, offered me the full-time job in 2017.
Speaker 3:So I've been there quite a while now. Hello and welcome to another episode of Desert Island Tricks. We've actually been trying to get today's guest on since the very first episode of this podcast, which just shows you how long we've tried to get him on now first episode of this podcast, which just shows you how long we've tried to get him on now. Now he has had such a profound impact on magic in general, but also magic on TV. If you have watched, pretty much for the most part, any performance on Britain's Got Talent that has magic. This man has had his input into that routine. He is absolutely phenomenal.
Speaker 3:Now, one thing that you also may not know about Russ is Russ used to work with Alakazam back in the day, many, many years ago now and he used to actually record a lot of the DVDs. In fact, my first ever DVD was filmed by Russ Stevens when I was 19 years old, so it's a very, very long time ago. But he also had his own company called RSVP Magic who used to produce some of the best DVD sets. In fact, professional Opportunist is still one of my favorite DVD sets that were ever put together. He's also a Magic Circle Young Magician of the Year, which is, you know, just shows where his journey was starting and, of course, like I said, now he works on major TV shows.
Speaker 3:He had an incredible career. Again, I remember seeing him on TV when I was little performing his illusions and they were absolutely phenomenal. So I know that this is going to be such an incredible episode. It's going to be great to hear some of his stories. So we are very honoured and privileged to have the wonderful Mr Russ Stevens. Hello Russ, hi Jamie, how are you?
Speaker 1:I don't think I can follow that intro, to be honest.
Speaker 3:Well, it's such an incredible career that you've had all the way from. You know your illusionist days and all of the incredible illusions that you used to do, all of the things that you've done and they've led you to being instrumental in the BGT magic scene.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm pretty much a one-man band down there, which is unusual for any TV show. But a TV show of that size which is, I think, when we're running the staff, is just over 200 people that make that program live. So it's quite amazing because you'd think there'd be more than that, There'd be a team of people working behind the magic, but there isn't. There's just pretty much me on my own.
Speaker 3:Well, and you're doing an incredible job with it all. Seeing some of the things that you've done over the years years, it just feels like the ambition that you have for that show is far-reaching. It's absolutely phenomenal.
Speaker 1:The things that you've done are just incredible yeah, yeah, and we just had a winner again, so that's an amazing thing. Harry mording, who just won the show, um, yeah, it's amazing, like yeah, amazing and amazing that the, the tv company, give magic such a such a lot of airtime as well on that show. I mean, it's one of the biggest TV shows in the world and Magic has become definitely their biggest genre. In the show that we just finished the season two weeks ago when Harry won. So we just did a six week run of live shows and when Harry did his semifinal, his semifinal performance was time-wise.
Speaker 1:Everything's really restricted, obviously for TV, so most of those acts get three minutes, it's the singer two and a half minutes. Harry's semifinal performance was 14 minutes and 15 seconds. Without the, without the pre-video package that they play at the start. The final was 11 and a half minutes, I think. So I mean it's amazing that they give magic such prominence. You know it's got to that point now where you know we're throwing people out of airplanes and going to paris and filming special vts and you know, you know it's great, it's good, but it's been a long road getting there.
Speaker 3:Many, many years ago. I remember when Britain's Got Talent sort of first started, magic was sort of seen. I wouldn't say it was a joke, but it just wasn't taken seriously, not like it is nowadays. So what changed? Was it your impact? Was it the impact of magicians getting better?
Speaker 1:What your impact? Was it the impact of magicians getting better? What was it? You know it's hard to say it myself, but definitely when I got involved I went in, I was used to manage a couple of magicians, so one of them wanted to go on the show. So in 2013, I hated the show and hated what they did to magic because, in fairness though, although they made fun of magic, a lot of the magic that was on that show was awful, or they had some good magicians on that, just chose the wrong material or didn't understand the show. So it was a combination of both sides, actually.
Speaker 1:But I remember when this guy said he wanted to go on and I was so against it, I ended up. We did it. I said, well, we'll do it, but he was a manipulative act. Did it and said, well, we'll do it, but he was a manipulate, manipulative act. And I said, we'll do it, but you're going to do illusion, so we're going to turn you into this illusionist, and which is what he stayed at now. So, um, I did that and um, and it did really well. He the audition, I think now has had 90 something million views on their bgt channel. Just that first. That was the first one. And then we got to the lives. He didn't come anywhere. He came fifth on the live show but the actual um, the actual reaction from the tv people was amazing.
Speaker 1:So, behind the scenes, a week later I got an email from the boss who the boss of the show at the time, amelia brown. She's's now the CEO of Fremantle in Europe, the TV production company. So she's gone to the top top. But Amelia sent me an email a week later, which was when the final was on, saying you know, we made a big mistake. We didn't realize how brilliant magic can be. You know, we've proved that if we listen to each other, we can work and create something. That's really good and it was. It was James, moore was the magician and those there are two videos on YouTube still the live show. So we find are still one of the better things I've done on the show because it was totally live and that was something that arrived on a Tuesday afternoon in London and I got a cast of five plus James and we rehearsed and did it live on the Friday night and it was a table of death, which is a pretty dangerous trick as well. So we had that element and then it was on fire too. So to do it in just a few days, I mean, it's only because of what I've done in the past that we could do it. To be honest, I had that knowledge so, yeah, and so from there it just sort of spiraled. I didn't. That was 2013.
Speaker 1:And then I put another magician on a couple of years. The next year a guy called Darcy Oak did it and they approached BGT, approached me then, and he had. He didn't want to do the show but he'd asked if I was involved, he would do the show. And then I was asked if I was involved, he would do the show. And then I was asked to work on the live shows with him. So I did the semifinal and final and then I just dipped away again. And then the following year I put Jamie Raven in and I was managing him. He came second. He did really well out of it, and then I think 2017, I ended up putting my granddaughter on Izzy, who was eight.
Speaker 1:So if you look at those magicians, you've got a stage illusionist, close up magician and an eight year old child who had never been on stage in her life. So the diversity of magic and I knew I could, but they realized oh wow, he's working across all kinds of magic here. This isn't just like illusions. That he understands. And I think from there Izzy's thing ended. She came second and I remember I sent them a note on the day of the final, thanking them, and they that was when and said, but that's it, I'm kind of done with the show. And they came back and um, offered me this full-time job in 2017. So I've been there quite a while now and now it's got to the point, like I said, where, with Harry Moulding, we were throwing him out of helicopters and going to Paris to do stuff, and the time they give it and the scale of what we do is quite amazing. From those days, like you said, where it was ridiculed and made fun of in 2012.
Speaker 3:2011, 2012, they were still making fun of it really yeah, well, when I think back to your younger years as well and seeing you on TV and you performing, so I'm guessing that your time in the industry really helped with where you are now. But I'm guessing, with the way the world is now and social media and stuff like that, it must be a completely different ball game in other respects from when you were on tv and sort of variety shows and stuff like that to this sort of massive major global show.
Speaker 1:yeah, the other thing was at that time, those sort of 2010, 2011, 12, 13 the magic that was on tv. A lot of it was what back of fake magic is edited down. You see, half a trick polished to look way better than it was live, and then then then justify it. So they'll. They'll justify it by saying, yeah, we do, we cut out, we cut out half the performance so that on youtube it can't be tracked back, like no one cares, like, yeah, we've seen there's loads of exposure online. Now, he hasn't killed the magic on BGT, he doesn't hate it, but he doesn't harm it.
Speaker 1:I would say the real reason that people liked that was because it made them look better. It was nothing to do with keeping the secrets and it just made them look better. It was nothing to do with keeping the secrets and it just made everything look better. And when I got involved with BGT, the first performances are recorded, so that the audition, so they're recorded. They can edit those down, and I was very insistent that they try and not edit that first thing I ever did, which was the impaler illusion, which was the thing I used to do, and James Moore did it, and they pretty much showed it as it was. It was very short anyway, but they showed it as it was and I think that was a big key to this. And I was saying at the time just be legitimate. I was getting shouted down by a lot of the younger magicians. You know, I didn't know what I was on about and I was dated and whatever. That was probably half the motivation with bgt as well. Just to say to them, you know, don't judge someone on their age and that I'm like, I know I the one thing that I do know, my big secret of bgt. I'm good with magic, I'm having good knowledge of magic, but my, my biggest secrets or secret weapons are staging and directing. So all those live shows, you'll see I'll nearly the magicians most, I'd say 90% of them I script, it's completely script. You know the script, the staging, the blocking, the direction, the magic, the. You know they. There's input from the magicians, but there's a lot of the other stuff that I've learned magicians don't know Most of the ones that go on the show. A lot of them don't know about staging, blocking, timing, scripting. So that's nothing to do with magic. It is, it's everything to do with it. But most magicians don't consider them important but they are massively important, like massively important.
Speaker 1:And if anyone watches harry's, all of the performances, actually the magic was simple, simplest magic. Well, maybe the semi-final was a little bit more, but it was simple magic. But it was how it was done and obviously he's a great performer, engaging that the punters loved the public, bgt audience loved him. So that was obviously a key to it all. But the actual magic and the way it was done. There's a lot for magicians to learn from those performances and I've seen some lovely comments but I've also seen the odd one of oh my God, three classic. Someone put a three way deck but he wasn't Harry classic. Fours, three cards live on a final. You know a BGT not the simplest thing to do, it's three people in a row and so but the magic was quite simple. But that that isn't really what it's all about. It's about a lot more than that, but I think most magicians aren't really that interested in that side of it. They should be.
Speaker 1:There was a magician this year that actually got to the live shows I won't say who it was and they said they come to Blackpool convention. And I said oh, what kind of shows do you like? He said I don't go and see any of the shows. I don't go and see any of the shows, I just go for the lectures and the Ruskin. And this was someone performing on TV in front of millions, in front of 3,000 people, who didn't seem to think it was very important to go and watch live, you know, stage or any performance of Magic Kind of weird, but that's the way.
Speaker 1:Magic's become a lot now, obviously because of the online content and performance isn't so important, just just. Actually, we've just sort of changed the setup of the thing, but I'm the ceo now blackpool magic convention, so bmc thing is pretty much my thing now. So obviously there's a team that work on it as well. But, um, yeah, that's been a, that's a big part. B, bgt and BMC are the two big things At the moment.
Speaker 1:I'm in Rome, so I finished BGT, I had a week off and then I came here, so I'm here for three weeks working on a similar kind of it's not Got Talent, but it's a similar kind of show for Italian TV. I did it last year and I've come back again this year, so work-wise it's been crazy, but I have got that experience that allows me to be able to do what I do really, like you said I I've got a broad knowledge of, and history of magic and performing and making videos and all that stuff as well well, since you've had such a diverse array of magic, not just on brit's Got Talent but obviously beforehand, and of course you had RSVP, which produced some incredible magic.
Speaker 3:you've been around magic for such a long time I'm guessing reducing your favourite tricks down to eight would be one hell of a task. Now, if this is your first time listening to the podcast, the idea is that we're about to maroon Russ on his very own magical island. When he's there, he's allowed to take eight tricks. Banish one item, take one book and one non-magic item that he uses for magic Particulars like are there animals there? Who's there? All that good stuff, we do not mind. Simon Cowell does not have to be on this island. You'll be pleased to know. Um, but we'll take him there now.
Speaker 1:So, ross, what did you put in your first position? So my first thing is card manipulate. Well, it'd be a deck of cards, card manipulation. So that's the. That was only because that's.
Speaker 1:The thing that got me into magic properly was seeing a magician called johnny hart on tv back in the 70s and he was on. He did a lot of tv shows. He he did a eight minute manipulation act with budgerigars, doves, a parrot and a dog, but he's still to this day does the best. So my favorite kind of magic is his uh, car manipulation. I love the pure thing of it, but I love back palming. I love it, love it. And john Johnny Hart still to this day like is is the best. So anyone that doesn't know Johnny Hart, have a look on YouTube. He's called manipulation Cause it's. It's the best, like even now from shows were on in the early seventies. Without name dropping, but it is a relevant story.
Speaker 1:During COVID I got a call one morning from I just got to sound so nafty. I got a call one morning from David Copperfield and we ended up talking for about an hour, over an hour. He was just talking about magic and I was talking about Johnny Hart and back palming and I know from watching he did it on his first major special, his David Copperfield Badger David Copperfield specials. He did a card back palming routine. It was great, but I knew from the way he produced the cards. I knew that he had watched because he's slightly older than me, but not by much, so I knew he was watching.
Speaker 1:There was one of two people, just from how he produced his fans, and it was Johnny Hart and Jeff Sheridan, who was a New York street magician. We used to be in central park and I said to him I know that you watching your special, I I can tell you I know who you watched, which he thought was quite amusing and I didn't. And it was Jeff Sheridan that he had seen. But he was also a fan of Johnny Hart's. And I said, well, johnny Hart is the greatest exponent of back palming in the world. Like, even now there's no one even close. And his exact words were I don't know about that. And I said well, you're going to have to have a think for a minute. And he said I'm going to have a think and a minute. And he said I'm gonna have a think. And then it went dead for a while and then a few seconds later he said right, I've had a think and I actually think you're right. And I was like I know I'm right, a hundred percent.
Speaker 1:Johnny hart is the boss of back palming, like he, I, and, funnily enough, as a kid, when I was like 12 or 13, he was the thing, and then the last five or six years of his life, I just I ended up. He came back to England because he lived, you know, he worked in Vegas. He did all these huge shows. He ended up in England for the last few years of his life and in Preston, which is not far from where I live. So I ended up.
Speaker 1:We used to meet every week for at least once a week, sometimes twice a week, in a cafe and just sit talking. So he showed me his. I can believe it, you know, like as a kid, he was my hero and he showed me how he does his bat, and it isn't like everyone else. It was a different technique as well, which is why it was so good, but I could dream of being able to do what he even did, with one card let alone. I think he used to back palm 40 or something mad like that. It's crazy, but yeah, so back palming. That's my favourite, that's my number one.
Speaker 3:Do you have like a favourite card manipulation act or performer that you've seen over the years?
Speaker 1:Oh, johnny Hart. And then in the recent years, obviously the big one where I actually, in 2012 2012 I think it was a Blackpool Magic convention they had um FISM and um Yuhu Jin. That was the first. The second time, but that was one of the first times I saw him do his card routine. And I remember my best mate is Duncan Trillo, who runs Magic Week, and we've been friends since we were kids so and he did a similar, similar act we both manipulators and silent magicians, you know and and I remember watching it with him and at the end I was like a bit sort of teary, so I was like I've just seen, you know the best. It's like like an Olympic runner winning 100 metres, his peak, it was like that was it. And I remember Duncan said, yeah, I felt the same. So, yeah, yuhu Jin, amazing, totally different to Johnny Hart. Johnny Hart was all boppy and hey, and it's all smiles. Yuhu Jin's very artistic and serious, but both brilliant.
Speaker 3:It's a great opening gambit. What's in your second spot?
Speaker 1:Number two is an illusion. I used to be an illusionist. I started off with this sort of idolising Johnny Hart and I had an act with doves. I mean, there were a lot of acts back in those days that were doing birds and animals and stuff. So I had a parrot, I had a couple of little dogs and whatever. But I kind of, in the mid 80s, I kind of moved across. I bought a broomstick illusion, which is the simplest, probably cheapest illusion you could buy at the time, and I kind of started getting into illusions a little bit, but not much. And then I heard of the Blackpool.
Speaker 1:Pleasure Beach have a venue called the Horseshoe and every year they used to put on a pretty big show, uh, with 10, 10, 12 dancers, and it was always like a big production show. Viva, las Vegas, or forget whatever Viva, it was always called Viva, something. They were called the Viva shows. And I heard that the owner of the Pleasure Beach was going to want us to do a magic show and and so by complete not by luck, cause I kind of hustled it that that Christmas, which was in 1987, I, um, I was doing a disco, believe it or not, in London called Zenons, which is on. Oh God, it was the same street that Ritz is on anyway, right in central London. And, uh, they wanted to produce a, they wanted me to produce a leopard. So they've got a hold of a leopard from, um, uh, billy smart, circus, circus. Anyway, I had this cage built and, literally that's typical me I turn up literally on the day of a cage that I don't know whether that's gonna. You know how. It was very strong though, I have to say, but I did that, and so that was like.
Speaker 1:The first proper illusion was a cage called lion's bride, but a small version of lion's bride. I don't know why. I'd want that on a desert island. Maybe if the maybe, if the leopard came with it, it could look after me a bit. So, empty, throw a cloth over it and, as quick as you know, an animal appears, or a girl. It's now done. The Pendragons made it popular by producing a girl, and Hans Klopp, the Dutch magician, does it really fast. So it's the same effect, same trick, same method, but back in the day we didn't produce a girl, bizarrely, it was. Everyone did it with a semi dog or a. Well, I did it with a bloody leopard, and then Siegfried and Roy did. Las Vegas Illusionist obviously made it popular before that, but, um, they were producing a lion so you could do whatever animal you wanted and it was fast as well, but not without its danger when you're using those kind of animals obviously.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was the first proper illusion I did and I have a soft spot for it because they filmed this show that I put on. Well, because it was New Year's Eve in London, central London. It wasn't a UK audience, it was like people from all over the world. So when I sent this video in, they thought that that was in the States, that I'd filmed it in some sort of hip sort of nightclub in Vegas or something. So they had this complete misconception very positive one that I was some successful English magician working in the States and so that was my in with Mystique. And I went there and had the meeting and I remember the producer and the producer director and the choreographer there they said the only reason we're doing this show, yeah, we hate magic. That was their opening thing. We hate magic. The only reason we're doing this show is because jeffrey thompson, who owned the pleasure beach, jeffrey thompson, wants to do a magic show.
Speaker 1:Wasn't the best start, but then as we started working together, I had all these mad ideas. And that was the first time, creatively, I was given sort of free reign, pretty much free reign, because I didn't have any ideas, they just take it magic. So I came in with these vampire, this vampire routine, but not a vampire with a cloak and thing, it was a vampire with a long trench coat and it was. There was a movie out at that time called Fright Night and it was a sort of semi-comedy, sort of hip, considered hip, sort of vampire movie. And that vampire used to be sort of good looking guy wearing a long coat and he was in place of a cape and I thought that's really good. And I'd read Interview with the Vampire, the book this way before the movie, and there were bits in that I thought that would be really great on stage. And so, because the show is 10 o'clock at night, um, it meant that the boss, jeffrey, had said just do whatever you want, and if you offend people like, I'm happy because they'll talk about the show.
Speaker 1:And we opened in beginning of june 1988 and we did this vampire routine. So I did a thing with a girl, with a bride, and biting her. I mean it was pretty blood and for that time it was. And then we ended on the impaler, where I ended up getting impaled at the end. Don't know if anyone knows that illusion, but it's a the magician's lifted onto a sword and you visibly drop through the sword and it comes through the stomach. But that was all, with blood spurting out of my mouth as I'm spinning around. It was full on.
Speaker 1:And I remember the following year a lady called Frankie Glass who's married to Jim Steinmeier, the illusion designer. She was the producer of a new TV show called Secret Cabaret and she they came in with David Britland, who's still around, and I remember they came in afterwards. They asked to see me after the show and they said we were a bit shocked, surprised. I said why? And they said well, we, we're working on a new TV show called Secret Cabaret and we thought we've come up with something quite original here and it's not really been done like this, but you're doing a sequence in the show that's very similar.
Speaker 3:I'm imagining your island's going to be like Life of Pie. You've just got this lion on the island with you. Yeah, or a leopard.
Speaker 1:I remember it was really vicious as well. They had a handler that loaded it in the cage and when I did the rehearsal I pulled the cloth off and the handler said when you do it tonight, don't pull it off there, pull it off on the other side because he'll be waiting. And sure enough, as I pulled it off, the leopard is there waiting in that corner. And as I pull it off on the video you can see the leopard spins around and with his claws. As I pull it off the video, you can see leopard spins around and and with his claws as I pull it off. Yeah, it's mad, but actually look back.
Speaker 3:That's mad. It takes away my fear of getting a paper cut from a deck of cards. Really, that doesn't it? Uh, I think I'll stick to card tricks. Well, that brings us to number three. So what did you put in your third spot?
Speaker 1:well, it's one of my favorites, one of my favorite illusionists is a illusionist called richiardi, who's a magician from the 50s and 60s from argentina, I think, south american anyway, and I love it much stuff. I love these. You can see him on youtube. Richiardi and um he used to do an illusion could decode a chair, which is one where the magician sits in a chair on an open stage. They throw a sheet over, pull the sheet off. Really fast, the magician vanishes. He did a really popular version of it where a girl sat in the chair. She was still on stage. They wheeled a box on. He tipped the box, banged on the inside. You saw it empty. He shut the box, threw the sheet over her. She vanished and appeared instantly in the box.
Speaker 1:It's on use this on youtube that I love all that magic and the way he did it. He used to. He used to throw his props so he'd have like a stick that would be banging their trunk and then he'd just throw this thing, like really, and there would always be the guy there to catch it. It was always it looked. It looked so, not random, but it was so slick, like without being slick. Do you know what I mean? And, yeah, many great magicians, especially illusionists, I know, would cite Ricciardi as their big influence, and he used to make little story, tiny little story vignettes as well, you know, and obviously this was pre-Copperfield as well. So what I would do with it on a desert island, I have no idea. But that's my next one, and that's mainly because of the magician that I first saw do it, who's Ricciardi?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's great. Now, am I right in saying have you ever used one of those on Britain's Got Talent?
Speaker 1:Yes, a couple of times. Actually, yes, yes, actually, yes. I'll tell you why I did. I did it with darcy oak on the live semi-final. I did it with my granddaughter, izzy, on her semi-final. Uh, I did it with a guy, a scottish magician, science science guy. We did that during the covid lockdown. I did it. So I've probably done it three times now over the years, obviously spaced apart from each other and done in different ways, but still that effect, you know.
Speaker 3:Yep, well, that's a great one in at number three. So we've got two sort of larger illusions and then card manipulation. So where are you going to go with number four?
Speaker 1:Uh, any of Harry Moulding's acts, cause if I was doing any of those, I'd be 250,000 pound richer. So, doing any of those, I'd be 250 000 pound richer. So, yeah, any of the acts have just been on bgt that he did. Yeah, definitely, because then I can have like a pile of cash. It wouldn't be of any use though, would it, unless someone came and rescued me. I could use it to get off the island. Maybe if someone popped it popped by, I could wave the cash at them, but yeah, spell out sos um.
Speaker 3:So when you say you would take any one of them on this podcast, we like devil's advocate. Devil's advocate always comes out. So if I was to hold you down to one of them, which one of harry's acts would you pick, and why one?
Speaker 1:would be. There would be two, but the one that I would say is the semi-final one, which is the marriage proposal thing. And anyone that knows me will know that I'm the most cynical sort of probably unromantic person in the world. But I had that idea about four years ago and I would pitch it every year. You know, a lot of the teams sometimes change, so you'll get like a new exec producer in and they're nerdy before. So I'll be like I've got this, I've got this idea and it was so ridiculously over the top but perfect bgt, like perfect bgt, um, and then finally we did it. So like that was four years in the pushing to end up getting it done and in fairness, I'm glad it never happened because Harry was the perfect person to present that routine Like perfect Cause he had an energy and there was a, if you add, there's another thing, so watch, if you watch that performance, he said 14 minutes and 15 seconds long, with the judge comments, but and if you watch it, there's not, there isn't a magic trick. That happens probably 10 minutes, it's all process, it's all the judges making decisions, the, then the audience making decisions, then one of the audience getting randomly chosen, um, and then from that moment the magic kind of kicks in. But it just shows you that if it's an engaging performer and an engaging premise, it's that alone is enough to hold the audience. You know, when you watch it you're like you know it's just watching a man process, it's just people making decisions. But you also, if you watch the performance he says at the beginning I always believe it's a great thing, make a big statement and that's your hook. And if it's a big enough statement and it's an engaging enough performance, the viewers will stay with you because they want to. So the statement was tonight I'm going to make there's going to be one person in the audience. Tonight I'm going to create a life-changing to be one person in the audience tonight. I'm going to create a life-changing moment for one person in the audience tonight. That's the opening. I think that's the first thing he said. And as soon as that happens, the audience, straight away. It's a big promise, right, big promise. Where's that going? So they'll stay engaged. You know, and they did, because he got a golden buzzer and he got straight into the final with it. So, yeah, that one, that one, I suppose. But then also on the audition, we were in Blackpool, which is where I live, just outside, and, um, we were filming in Blackpool and I had the idea of they have the towers lit up nowadays, so it would be good playing hard on the tower, as naff as that is.
Speaker 1:If you watch the performance, the best part about it wasn't the magic trick. The best part about it was the presentation of that, which was him doing a video prediction thing, which is what we did on all three rounds on a rollercoaster. But the best part was that's not it. And he goes down with a deck of cards and he just, ksi, chooses one and the staging was that even no one sees it. So KSI puts his hand on it and no one sees, including KSI, and then Harry says, yeah, this is BGT, if you're gonna do it, you've got a big. And he just runs off stage and the mute when we did it live, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Uh, he runs off stage and the music's going and literally, when's that happened on the got talent? You know where the magician runs off and nothing happened. There's nothing. He runs off stage, apart from the music is carrying on and you know it's going somewhere. And then, 30 seconds later, the video screen on stage came on and it was. It's going somewhere. And then, 30 seconds later, the video screen on stage came on and it was an outside camera which shot him running down to the front seafront where the tower was revealing the card on the tower lit up, genuinely lit up on the tower and then saying to KSI, ksi, I don't know what your card is, the judges don't, none of the audience, even you don't know. For the first time, take the card, hold it high in the air and you hear the reaction. The reaction was nuts in the theatre, absolutely nuts, like nuts To magicians. We'd watch that and go God, so basic. But it isn't about that.
Speaker 3:We won't say anything more about that, but go and see it. So that was his semi-final performance. Go to YouTube, watch it.
Speaker 1:It is phenomenal, and even the logistics of something like that must be crazy, yeah, and also we had there was a really interesting thing online that I noticed this year, which hasn't been before any negative comments like a good 90% of them were. The negative were oh it's a fix, oh, it's set up and it's like. It was like. That was their justification. It wasn't always using that method to make these choices. It was oh, it's a fix. Well, all magic's a fix, do you get me? So it's like they couldn't figure it out. And then, and then it would be with a girl who was basically the effect is a guy on a video proposes to a girl that's randomly chosen in the audience. That's the basic thing. The guy obviously knew we went out and filmed it in Paris. Clearly it was set up it's not hidden that but everything else wasn't, so she had no idea. Imagine the logistics of that for us. We're on a live show. I knew it was going to be the big one of the big ones of the live show recordings and we're like god, I hope she turns up. I hope she hasn't figured this out. You know there were so many variables of um, of what could have gone wrong from that side as well. Do you know what I mean? So, yeah, watch it and you'll see. Everything about it is magically legit and it's obviously live as well.
Speaker 1:And that's where I score, like all these magicians back in the day. I want to see them do it live. I want to see you do a 10 minute thing live. Under those conditions. Under those conditions, no pre-show. That's another thing. On bgt, we don't allow pre-show, we don't even allow pre-show. Not allowed a I absolutely hate it with a passion. And b is not allowed because of the um fact. There's a quarter of a million pound prize and the act is it starts when the act starts, not not before they go on stage. You know, it would be deemed as being a bit unfair.
Speaker 3:Okay, well, there we go. So do go check out that video. And that leads us to number five. So what's in your fifth position, ross?
Speaker 1:Number five oh, it's another illusion. You're going to be bored if you're not an illusionist, I have to say so. One of my favorite just I love it as a prop. It was a trick called the slicer illusion, which is created by an American illusionist called Franz Harari in the yeah, like 87, 86, something like that, 1986.
Speaker 1:And I was lucky enough to work with Wayne Dobson when he was doing his TV series in the early 90s and Wayne was in the position at the time to have this massive budget and he and I would order these ridiculously expensive props from America for the show. They would be wheeled in. We'd arrive from the States, we'd open them up, rehearse them, wheel them out in the studio film. It once put it back in the case and then Wayne would be given them basically. So he saw thousands. I mean that was $30,000 in 1990. Anyway, so I've always loved slice illusion and Wayne one day, you know, would use it a bit and then he was like, do you want the slicer, do you want to buy it? And I remember I had that.
Speaker 1:So it's just one of my favorite illusions really. That was the only reason really that I'd have it there, because it was so expensive. It was the most expensive prop I think I've ever had. So it was like a car, you know, like at the time you could have bought a brand new kind of BMW for the cost of the slicer illusion. It's 30 grand, but plus the freight, plus the tax, import duties, plus the V8s, you know all of the stuff. So it was a crazy amount of money. And yeah, I think now the Twins FX down in Dorset, I think they've got that prop. Actually it's got a proper history to it. It's definitely traveled around the world. So, yeah, that would be another one that I would have. I'm gonna have a lot of boxes here, you know, and there's gonna be no one to show them to and I can't even perform them because I've got, I haven't got a girl.
Speaker 3:Maybe I could put the leopard in yeah, that's that sounds like a good plan. Uh, now correct me if I'm wrong. Is this the one where, um, someone would be placed inside the box and then, it would be revolved.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's like an upright box and it's revolved to horizontal and then blades are put in and then it's pulled apart and it divides into nine sections and then it all rotates around. I mean, it's a real, it's like a James Bond magic prop. To be honest, I just love the mechanics of it all, although it was a nightmare to maintain. But yeah, it was brilliant. The best performance of it is Copperfield. He did it on one of his specials, I suppose if you look up Slicer David Copperfield, I did it on a BBC show called Tricks and Tracks, but it's not quite the standard of Copperfield, but I did have the same builder. That's the only thing I've got in common with that. I've got the same builder as david at the time.
Speaker 4:so hey guys, harry here from alakazam magic. I hope you're enjoying the podcast. I'm just here to interrupt and tell you a little bit about the alakazam Magic Convention. It has taken us 35 years to get to this date. However, May the 9th 2026 will be the very first Alakazam Magic Convention. Now I know you guys are super excited, maybe just as excited as we are. First of all, the venue is a 37 minute direct train from central London. The venue is then literally a 10 minute walk from the train station. There's hotels within a stone's throw, there's restaurants nearby and there's incredible food and drink on site. That's all without even getting into the magic side of things. We are going to have four incredible lecturers performing throughout the day, including one person who's gonna be flying over to their very first uk lecture. We are buzzing to announce who those four are. Not only that, there'll be dealers on site and a place for you guys to jam and session and meet new friends.
Speaker 4:Where are the lectures going to be held? This is my personal favorite bit about the alexander convention. They're going to be happening in one of the cinema screens. That means fully tiered seating, comfy seats, a drink holder and there will be a close-up camera on the jumbo cinema screen that will be giving you close-ups of all the little nuances that you're going to need to see when the lecturers are performing. There will, of course, be a full gala show to end the evening off. You guys are not going to want to miss it. The great thing is as well on the Sunday, the day after, Alakazam Magic Shop, which is a two-minute drive, will be open. So if you're heading down to the convention, why not stay overnight and come and visit our magic shop? Remember May the 9th 2026. Tickets on sale now at alakazamcouk.
Speaker 3:See you guys soon. Yeah, it's a great, great illusion. I remember seeing it when I was younger. I think it looks absolutely phenomenal, but it does lead us into number six. So what did you put in your sixth spot?
Speaker 1:It's another illusion. I've always avoided genuinely dangerous things, although I did used to do the water tank escape back in the day, but the one that I've always loved, but I would never do because I have a massive fear of height. Just standing on a building and looking over the edge, no matter how high, if it's high enough to die. So if it's like two stories up, I'm absolutely I can't. I can't stand and look over the edge of a building even. But it's the upside down burning rope escape. Uh, and that really is because back in the day when I was a kid in london I used to live in london there were there was davenport's magic shop, ken brooks magic shop and alan allen's magic spot on Southampton row, and I used to go into Alan's and Alan came up with the idea of doing upside down rope escape in a straight jacket, but what he came up with was setting it alight. And then since then, some amazing magicians like Hans Moretti Copperfield's done it his version of it as well. Um, I just I really like the um dynamic of it all, but it's something that I could never, ever think of doing, but it's amazing, amazing bit of magic, and mainly because my memories are about Alan Allen and he owned.
Speaker 1:It was a joke shop, magic shop, but jokes and huge window and he had a catchphrase. If someone came in and went what's that? And he behind, he used to stand with them. He used to stand with a dead three-piece suit very smart and he used to stand with a um, a bolt through his head. You know, like a comedy, tommy cooper bolt through his head and just chat like everything was normal. And if anyone came in and went, what's that, what does that do? And he'd go, go look in the window. And that was his, that was all day go look in. He'd hardly ever demonstrate anything, he'd just tell to go look in the window. And yeah, so my memories of alan allen. That's probably why I think in the burning rope escape, because it's something I probably wouldn't do. But well, no, I wouldn't, but I've always admired people that do it in. Copperfields is excellent, as usual.
Speaker 3:Well, I think what's interesting about illusions like this is like the whole thing can be done to music. There's no, there's no explanation needed. They're going to see the straight jacket they're going to see hung upside down. The danger is apparent at that point and then, as soon as that fire comes out, you have the time element that's put on there. You don't need to have. I mean, you can have a clock I've seen it done with the clock before but you don't need to have that. It's apparent straight away what's going to happen and people have died doing it.
Speaker 1:you know, I remember back in the seventh, late sevens, early 80s I've forgotten the name now he was a fire eater and he stupidly did the effect with a nylon rope. I mean you can't believe it, can you? So the muslin and everything around it, but the actual rope was nylon and he went up and of course it snapped. He died. So that was in the UK, but I think there's been a few accidents with that as well. So, yeah, in the UK, but I think there's been a few accidents with that as well. So, yeah, genuinely dangerous, Genuinely dangerous.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, I think anyone that does any of those sorts of tricks are ridiculously brave anyway, but it does lead us to the tail end of your eight. So we had card manipulation, lion's bribe, we've got the Dakota chair, we've got Harry's semifinal performance, we've got the slicer illusion, up down burning rope escape, and now we're on to number seven. So what's in your seventh spot?
Speaker 1:The seventh one is my favorite performance of an illusion is the double levitation illusion, which, again, I probably have to do this with the leopard and I could only do it at night as well. But a double levitation illusion is a stage illusion performed by, mainly because it's performed by a magician called Rick Thomas, and the reason I'm naming that was because I booked him this year to do the Blackpool Magic Convention. So he closed the Sunday night with his full show. We brought it over from the US and midway through his show he does the double levitation and I think he closes his show with it. Still, he closes his show with the double levitation and the girl floats up really fast, but she floats up about 20, 30 feet but then he floats up behind her and she vanishes. She's got a sheet over her at some point and at the end he flies up and pulls his sheet away and he vanishes.
Speaker 1:A lot of magicians love David Copperfield's flying, but I love Rick's double levitation that little bit more. It's a fantastic illusion. Again, I think you can see that online. Just do Rick Thomas double levitation. It's amazing. And doing what I'm doing now blackpool magic convention I'm in this mad position. I can book these people that saw heroes or people that I've like looked up to over the years and we I can bring them over and and that's the most enjoyable part of doing that convention is bringing things in that I love and hope that everyone else loves it too, and it looks like most people are kind of going with what we're doing, because the numbers are increasing year on year rapidly since we, since we took over. So, yeah, double levitation, that's another favourite.
Speaker 3:Now, how many of these sorts of tricks and illusions do you do on BGT and TV shows like that? Do you have to sort of hold yourself off, or do you find that there's a perfect performer for it or the perfect performance?
Speaker 1:You know, garcia did a burning escape called Jaws of Death. It isn't quite as dangerous as the upside-down straight jacket, but it's upside-down in a straight jacket with two jaws either side and when the rope burns through it they snap and basically where your body is. So it would definitely hurt you. So he did that. The double levitation has been done on BGT Not by me, I wasn't across it, but it was by a girl magician called Chloe Crawford who was then married to a magician called Murray, who's a magician in Vegas, who's an online influencer type magician, and he came over and they did double levitation. So I think most illusions we've done, you know, on BGT. The ones we won't do are rip-offs or, you know, everything is very legit. That's another thing with BGT that I kind of insisted on from the beginning that we don't book any acts doing. You know that I'm working across. Anyway, they're using snidey rip-off illusions, though Normally badly built, more, more worse is the bad design of them and everything. So everything's done legitimately on BGT as well.
Speaker 3:So yeah, Is there an illusion that hasn't been done on BGT to date that you wish you could do? I can tell you.
Speaker 1:Now the one I'd love to and I wouldn't copy is in the wrong word because I'd never do it, but it's just the most perfect illusion I think most magicians would probably agree is the death saw, copperfield's death saw. I would love to do that, like not me, but I'd love to present it. But I don't think the problem is with it is I honestly don't think you could better it like in any. You know the staging and the direction. I mean, everything about that was just perfect, like, so, like smart on many, many levels, like many, many levels.
Speaker 1:And when I think he started doing that in 86, 87 and it's still not been topped, there's a lot of copperfield stuff in those early specials or the specials that even 40 years, 30 years later, no one's bettered them, which is quite an amazing thing really when you think about it. So yeah, the Death Saw that's on my list, that's like. There you go, that's the one, that's the illusion that I would love to have to stage in a different way, but then I wouldn't have to stage in a different way, but then I wouldn't want to do it a different way because he came up with the perfect presentation. It had like a plot to it and a logic to it and the theater of it all, and obviously a brilliant illusion as well.
Speaker 3:Now, there you go. So maybe one day we'll see a version of it on BGT. We don't know, we'll see. But yeah, I'd love to Well, that brings us to number eight. So what's in your final spot? Well, I, think.
Speaker 1:Is this a trick? Yeah, actually it is. So it's a non, it's a. Is it close up stage really? But it can be done close up. I love Toxic Plus, which is can of toxic, plus, which is sound. Can't give it away really, can I? But anyway, I I love a trick called toxic, and it's where where all of the audience can follow along. Basically, a number is generated using the calculator on everyone's phone, so the magician switches his calculator on, all the audience switch their calculators on and a series of random numbers are made.
Speaker 1:And the way that I staged it was, one person is genuinely randomly asked to the exact hour and minute what time did you wake up this morning? To the exact amount of steps, how many steps do you think it took for me to get to the theatre today? And I think the third one was to the exact hour and minute what time do you think you're going to be going to bed tonight? And then the basic thing is I'm going to create a unique moment of magic in everyone's own hands where you'll experience the magic, but it'll only last for a few seconds, and then, at the end of all these questions, the magicians, as I wrote it was. I told you I was going to create a unique moment of magic that you'll experience in your own hands. Um, and it's only going to last for a very short time. Um, because that's what this has all been about. And then he says you know, this morning, this afternoon, tonight, today, uh, this evening, and then the number that's been randomly added and created is the, the date, the month and the exact time to the minute. At that moment. It's brilliant, it's a brilliant bit of magic, brilliant. So, yeah, that's my, that's a, and that most magicians I kind of work with outside of bgt that are doing like live shows and stuff with any kind of audience. That's one trick. I just say you gotta do it because it because the trouble is you'll have a job following it, because the reaction it gets is absolutely nuts.
Speaker 1:The biggest mistake I made ever was my granddaughter, who did BGT in 2017, I put her and some of the kids from BGT opened one of the gala shows, I think in 2019, and she did Toxic that version of it and I had, with the whole and most, I had, after the show, some very well-known magicians coming up to me saying what is that Like? Where? And I mean now everyone, everyone's doing it. You know, back then no one really knew of it, I don't think, just a few people. But I still think it's an incredible piece of magic and I don't like magic using technology. Yet that again you're making an engaging presentation out of it by talking about them and their day and creating magic in their own hand. So it takes. You're not doing a trick with a phone. That makes sense. You know what I mean. And what other kind of magic is there where, up to you know, 3,000 people can experience the moment themselves?
Speaker 1:Yeah, in fact, I've got the app and the guy who created that version because it's not his effect, but he created basically a thing that does it all for you, and I'd wanted to do it on BGT for two or three or three years or something, and I'd spoken to him and it was a lot of money for the TV rights and we were going to do it, and each time I was going to do it, the magician would. I always wanted to do it in the final and the magician would get knocked out. So be like, right, I want to do it and you, you know, and it was all set up to go, and then eventually, no, and then it was decided by this guy he didn't want anyone doing it on tv using that version. So, um, I then, a year later I was like I just really want to do that effect and and then I worked out a way of doing it without using the system that's normally used. So same effects on everyone at home. So the version, the version that's done on bgt, doesn't use that and I thought it was really good.
Speaker 1:And I remember saying to my boss put it in the semifinal. I said the big boss, sort of Simon's right-hand man. I said you know, if we do that he'll go through. And they were like, no, I don't think so. And well, he did, he went through. And I remember he was on the Friday night.
Speaker 1:We used to do the live shows in a week, so Monday to Friday, sunday to final live shows in a week, so monday to friday, sunday, the final. And he was on the last night, the friday, and literally I walked back to the hotel and I've got the guy ringing me saying what we, what are you going to do? No, act like no act, no act at all. There you go. That's you know tv. And that's just me on my own, kind of going back to the hotel and the guy called Jez who helps me as a magic tech, jez Bond, and I just sat there just like thinking what am I going to do, and I worked something out and then two days later the guy does it on the live final. I think he came sixth, which was amazing, like in the final with something that was created a day earlier. Quite amazing. But anyway, yeah, there you go?
Speaker 3:how do you decide what tricks to do on bgt? How do you work out if you're using a close-up trick or a stage trick, what ones to put in that show what ones are going to work like an instance this year was um, I came up with an idea which there's a trick called Hacker.
Speaker 1:There's a trick called Hacker. Basically it's a trick called Hacker and basically you can take over the close-up trick and the people you're doing the trick to in a bar you can basically take over. So they think of something you switch on your phone, open the wi-fi and it's the real wi-fi and the phone glitches and all the wi-fi, all the wi-fi connections, turn into the word they're thinking of or the playing card they choose, whatever you want. Yeah, um, but I wanted to do it where I could do a on the whole audience, you know, and the two magicians that created it, the invented it, kind of managed to make it for me to do that. So we did it on BGT this year. So that's like an effect that magicians can buy. But I've never seen it done like that. It was done.
Speaker 1:Thaton thought of a word, the word. He wrote the word down, never showed it to anyone, no one went near it. He folded the paper up and then the magicians talked about connecting. You know we're connecting with people just verbally, but the best way, the most popular, the biggest way. Now we connect with our phones and blah, blah, blah. Simon, you and I are going to try and make a connection.
Speaker 1:And then he switched on his phone, asked simon to close his eyes and then the thing statics and simon never said the word. The word appeared on all the wi-fi and then the magician said keep your eyes closed. But for the first time, what's the word you're thinking of? And it was charming. I remember charming and then so that got a massive hit reaction from the audience. Then simon opened your eyes. That then simon reacted, so that's a second hit. And then it's like well, let's try and take this up another level. Simon, see if you can connect, just concentrate on the words, if you can connect with everyone. And it was like everyone switch your phones on and everyone in the audience switch their phones on and it's got charming on on their wi-fi system. It's really cool. Yeah, so that comes from a trick you know, like a commercially available trick, but it's not sold or done like that.
Speaker 3:But I kind of came up with that presentation for it to make it a bigger and b make it more of a mind reading trick rather than a card trick so sometimes, even when you have quote-unquote off-the-shelf tricks a lot of the time, you're still having to edit them and create them so that they're unique to the show, so that you can perform them in a different way yeah, and if you want that 15-minute Harry Moulding semifinal, the wedding thing, I'll give a link.
Speaker 1:I bought the flashcards from Alakazam and it's the greatest way of doing that kind of effect. It's the greatest way. You give a stack out to each judge. They've all got a different list written on, genuinely four items, a list of four items. On every single one.
Speaker 1:There's 100 flashcards. You split them, the judges genuinely mix them up, look at them genuinely and then they look at one. The magician piles them together and the judge just opens to one and looks at one thing on that list and the magician can kind of go from there and it's brilliant and the whole routine was made from that and up until that point we've used on BGT a thing God, I don't want to give anything away, but it's a system of doing a magic prediction but it uses technology and on video and it costs thousands of pounds to use on tv, thousands of pounds and basically what I bought from alakazam for I think it's 30 quid, for 25 or whatever. But those flash cards actually gave me, I think, a better effect and a more genuine looking effect because of the process involved. For what would that be? Three, six, nine, 120 quid? You know, nothing is amazing.
Speaker 3:Well, I think that's a great list, but it does bring us onto our three curveballs. So, obviously, we've given you eight tricks up until this point, but you're only allowed one each of these. So let's go to the controversial one russ the banishment. So if you were to dig a big sandy hole on your island and get rid of something from the industry, what would you get rid of?
Speaker 1:well, yeah, I think everyone would agree with this, actually, and it's something that we implemented at the blackpool magic convention when I took over seven years ago, and we've only had one, anyway and that was animals in magic, as in. When I say animals, so Rick Thomas used a dog, like a big German shepherd dog, for his erudage illusion where the girl turns into an animal. But, um, I hate the use of birds in magic, and that's from me, someone who used to do it, and I kind of feel really a bit shitty, to be honest, when I look back now at the stuff that we did with the, with doves. Even now people are still doing it and it's pretty, pretty, bad, pretty. It's not good. I've kind of and you know, as I've got older, you obviously you're young, you do things, you don't. You grow up, don't you? So russell brown, who works a convention with me, and myself are big dog lovers, so you know that's my big thing. Um, we made that conscious decision no animal acts.
Speaker 1:So I wish that people wouldn't use animals in magic, as in animals that don't have any choice. Do you know what I mean? You put a parrot in a box or put a bird in a, and some of the stuff, the bare hand dove productions, and I did them, you know. I've done them in when I was in my early twenties, you know, and I look back I'm kind of ashamed, actually. I just wish that that would stop completely. It is stopping, though. The animal performances of animals are not allowed in most TV shows, like, obviously, dog acts, because a dog's got a choice. You know, a dog can run off. A bird hasn't got a choice. Putting a harness on it that no one can see and then hiding it in the dark and it being pulled out at 200 miles an hour with no say in the matter, oh, it's horrible, oh God, yeah. Anyway, I say that out loud.
Speaker 3:I used to do it terrible well, yeah, I think it's like a change in times at the time of recording. We're recording this today, but this week we have an episode going out with oliver taber and he says that so he still does his bird act. But he's so worried about the repercussions from an audience now because obviously audience attitudes are changed as well to using animals in a show, so it's even from the publicity point of view that there's a danger.
Speaker 1:I haven't got a problem with trained animals. You're like a trained animal. There's a big difference between that and a dog. So there will be a magician doing bmc who's going to probably use a dove it's a big part of his act but the dove does nothing. It sits on a perch. I have no problem with that. I have a big problem, though, where you, where you're brutalising an animal or treating it badly. Do you know what I mean? Like, obviously, obviously. I mean there's a couple of acts that I would have you know years ago in a heartbeat. I would want to book for Blackpool, close the show. There's one that I could think I would close the show and I can't book her. I just can't do that, I can't. So, yeah, anyway. So, booker, I just can't do that, I can't. So yeah, anyway. So, yeah, animals in magic I mean that's being a generalization, it isn't all animals in magic, but that kind of magic with animals definitely okay, I think that is 100 fair enough and that is banished.
Speaker 3:So I mean, you do have a rather large cat on your island with you, so we'll allow that one, but that's more of a companion, companion, companion. I think you'd have to stay in the cage, though he's doing so much in your list now I'm hoping he's on the payroll, yeah well, yeah, actually yeah, no one will see it though let's go to your book. So what did you put in your book position?
Speaker 1:David Devance Our Magic. I don't read much at all. I'm real philistine. I'm not a reader at all. My magic book library is very, very low and I but the one I actually ended up buying a first edition of Our Magic really good copy of it actually. I love it because if you read it isn't about magic, it's about, um, the performance of magic. It's written in kind of victorian, old language but you kind of get the gist of it all and I love some of the things that he says.
Speaker 1:You know it applies today as well, like putting a meaning into your magic or it more making. Making it more than just a trick. It does have to be like david copperfield of a romantic story boy girl, but just an engaging presentation. That's more than just doing a bloody magic trick on the street and going, you know, think of a card and oh, it's on my phone. You know, yeah, it's on my phone. You know what I mean. Does that make sense? So there's an example. Actually, look at what I did on bgt with that effect and then look at how it's normally performed. It's totally different. Give it like an engaging presentation and that's our magic is all about that making magic more engaging and giving it more than more, than make you know it being more than just a trick. The the thing is the sum of many parts, not just a magic trick, and that's, to me, the key of great magic.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think that's great, and normally I never put our guests on the spot. Russ, I'm not going to lie, but when are we going to get the Russ Stevens book which teaches us all about the performance and structure and performance and staging?
Speaker 1:Because that would be a phenomenal book, have a theory that most magicians have no interest in that stuff, like absolutely none at all, like I genuinely think most magicians don't really care about that stuff. I mean, I remember I worked with magician James Piper in 2019, I think BGT with his son, and he's a wedding magician. You know, like close-up magician like Harry was up till two weeks ago, but he's a wedding magician. You know, like close-up magician, like harry was up till two weeks ago, but he's a wedding magician. You know, going around doing close-up, and he worked with me and I kind of had this sort of system that I how I do things and rehearse and do it. And he went away and he applied, he sent me a thing and he sent me a video and he sent me a message saying I've just all this stuff I've been doing for years, I've just applied those silly, little silly, these things that you told me to do, and the reactions are like 10 times better off the charts and and also, you know, slowing things down a lot. Most close-up workers, they work at like three times the speed they should and I know that because of my experience working on bgt, and that isn't just because what works on tv needs to be slowed down. I just think, generally most of them are so rushed, you know, probably because they're too busy thinking about getting onto the next table and getting home. Do you know what I mean? So there's probably a reason for that speed as well, but the magic is all about timing and and performance, you know, and if you're doing it at that speed, there is no performance, you know. But yeah, so yeah, I don't know if it is, it's a thought actually. I mean, I don't know, it's like case studies, like I think if, if ever, there was a book written about that, I'd be able to do it in the way that I could put a youtube link and go watch that. And now I'll talk through how that all happened and why that's done like that and why that will get that reaction.
Speaker 1:And remember, bgt, a lot of the stuff. Those magicians aren't going out doing it five days a week. It's been created for the show and the first time it's done in front of Simon Cowell is the first time it's ever done in front of an audience. So I need to have that skill of knowing what will work for an audience and I guess I do have that skill because I'm doing that job. So yeah, and it's bizarre because I'm here in Italy, I don't speak Italian and I'm booked purely on the basis of I'm the guy behind the magic on BGT and they want me to kind of help them. So I'm currently working with two Italian magicians, so with their acts and, yeah, it'd be interesting to see how that goes. But I think it'll be amazing because I'm teaching this same stuff that I've done at bgt, it's just a different language.
Speaker 1:But the timing, the music I love music. So the music, the timing, the scripting, the everything is. Every word, every movement is important, like a dance number. You know, if ever you speak to harry, harry was a you know, he is and was a jobbing close-up magician. Done some stage stuff before, but not a lot, um, but he's a jobbing close-up guy and he kind of listened. He was one of the ones that soaked up everything I said and did everything that I asked him to do and you can see, with if you apply those rules, just how well it can work and he won the show.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, that's something that I would like to see anyway, and you know, we're pulling Alakazam exclusive rights to that book already, before it's written, because I think it would be great. Now another thing. So a second ago you mentioned about applying rules. So you give advice on applying rules, and one of them that you just said was slow down, which I 100% agree. I think that people performers get so repetitive it becomes like a robotic act in some cases. But if you were to give one piece of advice, then act in in some cases, but if you were to give one piece of advice then other than slow down, um, what would that be.
Speaker 1:Um, just think less about the trick and more about the presentation is not the word just and more about how to make it more engaging with the audience and every. There is no set rule to a performance, is there? Every effect has a different thing. So, yeah, I, I also have learned that. I think I've done so. I mean, how long now?
Speaker 1:So the years of BGT and then my own stuff, and I think where I really blossomed like creatively was BGT, because it gave me. I wasn't performing, I'd retired, I had no interest in being on stage. I stopped when I could still have done it probably another five years, I reckon, if I wanted, but I just didn't want to be that person. You know, I did, I just and I didn't want to do it anymore. I just decided I didn't want to do it anymore.
Speaker 1:And, yeah, it's a, it's. It's that. It's like making an engaging. It's hard to say there is no rule. It's just like making about more than the magic, whether that's about you or the way you do it or the emotion that you can create from it, cause there are more emotions to create from magic than wow. You know, and if you watch Harryry's semi-final with the proposal. It was a bit sledgehammer in your face, but there you go kind of thing. There you go. That's kind of how to get an emotive reaction from an audience. You know that's the way to do it kind of thing. So, yeah, and you could do that with any magic, to be honest with you yeah, well, that's great advice and leads us to your item.
Speaker 3:So what's your non-magic item that you use for magic?
Speaker 1:spotify, that's it. So I need my phone, though, but I wouldn't use the phone to call anyone. I just need a wi-fi signal on spotify so that I can listen to music, because music's like my thing, like that's the most inspirational thing for me music, I love music. Like, yeah, I don't know what I'd do without music. I think I'd be able to, I think I'd be able to manage without magic, but I wouldn't manage without music. Music's the I love music. So, and you, you, you'll see a lot of that on bgt, so a lot of the well, all of the music choices for the magic.
Speaker 1:I work across the mine generally, um, and if you watch again, watch harry, watch harry's thing, listen to music. That's like months, months of finding tracks. And I saw some magician pop on Facebook about the semi-final oh my God. And he had this awful bloody music that was just drowning him out. It was a distraction. You know, and I'm looking at it, even on the performance, I'm looking at it. What I imagined in my head was how it came out, which is generally how I work. I'm generally kind of pretty correct on my imagination, is pretty spot on to what it'll end up being, and, you know, I'm generally kind of pretty correct on my imagination, is pretty spot on to what it'll end up being. And, um, you know, I'm watching it going. It's great bit of music. But then music subjective and some people like, so, you know, I in fact a bit of BGT.
Speaker 1:I was rehearsing Harry semi-final, funnily enough, a few days before and one of the producers, a girl, in the empty apollo theater empty just except for us and a few crew, lights and stuff, and I was rehearsing with harry and there was a track that copfield used to use by phil collins as an instrumental opening and I was the end of harry's. No, it's for the final, is it for? Yeah, it's the final, the final was. He made this word appear on stage and it was under smoke and I had this track and she said oh my God, russ, don't use this. So, so old fashioned, so old fashioned. And I said, you know, says the producer who's opening the show in a couple of nights time with a bloody ABBA medley.
Speaker 1:So I absolutely hate ABBA, absolutely hate it. I can't stand ABBA. Everyone loves it. My wife loves it, my wife, those movies. I'll be off upstairs watching the telly Like I can't stand ABBA. But everything's subjective, isn't it do? You know what I mean? So, but luckily, a lot of the music I use kind of most people seem to go with. So yeah, spotify is my thing. I'd be on that all day. I'm here in, I'm here in rome and there's a lot of downtime, so uh, and the tv. I don't understand the language, so there's not a lot of uk tv over here, so spotify is my thing amazing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you have such an affinity for picking music, even to your earlier performances when you were younger. You always pick such incredible music that just captured the moment of, of the illusion, I think.
Speaker 1:I think copfield was always good with that as well. He had some great music as well. I was always because we were that era. So you see, his specials there was a couple of times because obviously it's pop culture as well. So you know, you feel college, you know copfield user phil collins, and I might you know, I remember saying to ali bongo I remember when it was it was 1981, and I bought a microphone stand suspension, which is a broomstick suspension, which I mentioned earlier.
Speaker 1:But I decided I wanted to have a mic stand and and just to make it a little bit different, and I wanted to use a track called In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins. This is 1981 and, in fairness, the album had just come, came out, and I asked Ali Bongo at the Magic Circle so how old was I then? 21? And I'd said, said to Ali, I don't understand why, why don't magicians use songs like lyrics? And he just was because you can't, because you can't.
Speaker 1:I remember that vividly. There was the most silly answer because you can't, it doesn't work. And I remember thinking, well, it does, I know, it does you know? And then, sure enough, copperfield comes along and sort of shows everyone just how to do it kind of thing. But yeah, music is a big thing in my life and it is with the like, the stuff here in Italy. Um, you know, the music for these acts is to me what creates the emotion, or not the emotion, but maybe the build to the trick or the emotion to the trick, or the music can do so much, you know, if you use it correctly yeah, well, I'm glad that you took that.
Speaker 3:I would expect nothing less. So let's go back over your list. We started with carb manipulation. Lion's bride to dakota chair I can't even say that one. Um, harry molding semi-final performance, the slicer illusion upside down, burning rope, escape, double levitation illusion, a toxic plus. Your banishment is animals in magic. Your book is david event, our magic, and your item is Spotify. What an excellent, excellent list. Good, good, not bad. It's pretty, pretty darn good. Now, if people want to find out more about you, russ, obviously you are one of the guys behind the Blackpool Magic Convention, the world's biggest magic convention, so they can't escape you too much. But if people did want to find out more about you, where can they go to?
Speaker 1:I have a site, russstephensillusionhirecom, which has got some bits and pieces on there. It isn't something that I really do nowadays anyway, to be honest with you, because just everything else has taken over, but it's got some of my work on there and a little bit about me Not a lot. I'm kind of more of a nowadays. I'm sort of this hidden in the. You know, on BGT, you know you don't really know that there's a guy. The public Do. You know what I mean. So it's kind of your back room now and I like that because I don't want to be on stage performing anymore. So that allows me to any great ideas I've got. I haven't got a problem going. I've had this idea, harry, to do this proposal, and this is and it's going to be amazing. I love it and I love the thing of giving it. Harry's really lovely guy when you, when that happens to someone as nice as harry, it's brilliant. You know what a great feeling.
Speaker 3:It's lovely, good for magic as well so, uh, I guess the next thing that you've got coming up, uh, well, not the next thing, sorry, but uh, of course you got the blackpool magic convention 2026 coming up, and it's going to be the first year where it's a slightly longer convention, um, but I'm guessing we've got some pretty incredible things in store yeah, four days, and we deliberately we never announced things until just before, but we, because everyone was a bit hesitant about the four days and it was going to be a bit of a soft opening and, and you know, it'd be the bit of dealers, bit of an auction, maybe one or two lectures and it'll basically be a cash grab.
Speaker 1:But it never has been in my head. We knew we had to put the price up and we were going to even do. The price was going to go up no matter what. And I realized that, um, this year I was in the theater and I realized at noon on the thursday we're all the tech is up and ready in all the rooms and all our crew cost of fortune, all the crew are there. So I was like, why aren't we open on a Thursday? It feels like madness and we need to put the price up. Why don't we just put the price up? Take a bit of a hit on the fact we're going to have to book acts for that Thursday. Little did Mike Shepard, who's the chief financial officer at BMC, know that that Thursday was going to be. Let me remember who it is. So the lectures these aren't all of the lectures, so headline lectures upstairs in the Circle Hall are Paul Gertner, richard Sanders and Banachek, the show in the arena is Robert Zabrecki and the show in the Opera House is Jack Rhodes' full UK tour show. He did a little bit of his show this year which was a massive hit, but it was only probably about 50% of it, probably a bit less than 50% of it actually, and obviously it will change and develop anyway between now and February. But we're doing the full show and because he uses so much video tech, the place upstairs is great but the Opera House is the place, dream place for that show. So Jack's in there and then on the.
Speaker 1:When I realized I wanted to do this Thursday, I thought wouldn't it be great? Circle Hall is our second venue. We've seized 900 people. I don't know if you've been up there, but it's a stage and it's a purpose-built stage so it's not like the Opera House. So we have to build the stage, we have to put the lighting and we have to put the wings in, we have to put the curtains in and it's a real pain. But I thought wouldn't it be great to put a show up there that you wouldn't put in there normally, that you'd normally have in the opera house and give 800 people because we'll probably lose some seats 800 people times two, two performances.
Speaker 1:Wouldn't it be great to give 800 people an experience to watch a show that they're never going to see like that, ever, ever, ever. And what kind of show could that be? And it's got to be something spectacular. So I thought, being an ex-illusionist, I was like I wonder what a dynamic, in-your-face illusionist that would work in the opera house, done in such a small space on a huge stage, though. And it was Hans Klok. So I contacted Hans Klok on the Monday after Blackpool and said I rang him and said I've had this really mad idea. And he was like I absolutely love that. So he's embraced it fully. So Hans is on the Thursday night in Circle Hall doing two performances of his touring show called Face the Future, which is a show he's been touring Europe, and Jack is in the Opera House doing his full UK tour show in the Opera House. And yeah, uk tour show in the Opera House. And yeah, that's just the opening, that's the opening day. And then we've still got some mega lecturers in the arena those three that I named, they're just the ones that are up in Circle Hall. We've also got lecturers in the arena, foyer Hall and Spanish Hall and they'll all be really strong lecturers as well big names, people that would normally headline a convention will be in those other rooms. We haven't even mentioned them yet. So it's gonna be a great convention.
Speaker 1:Be different to, heavily different to last year, because everyone said you're not going to top last year and I don't think we can, but let's make it different to last year. So you can't compare, you, you know, make it, yeah, different. So, yeah, it'd be great if people went. I didn't think they were top last year, but you can't really compare this year. But this year was amazing too. Do you know what I mean? That's my plan, that's what I've got in my head anyway. So, yeah, all going well, all going well.
Speaker 1:Ticket sales have been excellent. I think the VIPs we went on sale on 2nd of April. The VIPs, 500 of them sold out in eight minutes. They just went. I think we're 20, sales-wise, we're something close to 20% up on last year at this point and our ticket price has gone up by 25% because of the extra day. So even allowing for the ticket price rise, our sales are quite considerably up again. We're definitely doing something right that the registrants enjoy. Do you know what I mean? And I hope it's this kind of thing, that they get to see things, some of the stuff at the convention done differently each year. Not all of it, but just some of the odd bits and pieces that are just mad that you wouldn't see again and you wouldn't see at any other convention either.
Speaker 3:Well, I cannot wait. I think it's going to be so much fun. And thank you again, russ, for your time. I know that you've literally been in the studio all day. You've come back to your hotel room and you've jumped straight on to do this, so thank you so much for your time Good. Thank you, jamie, it's been good, and, of course, thank you all for listening. We're going to be back again next week with another episode. Do go check out all of Russ's socials and do go check out Harry's recordings and his auditions. Watch all of them, because they're all excellent, in absolutely honesty. Do go check them out and, of course, we're going to be back next week with another episode of Desert Island Tricks. See you then, bye-bye.
Speaker 2:Hi, peter Nardi here and I really hope you enjoyed that podcast. I just wanted to make you know that Alakazam have their own app. You can download it from the App Store or the Google Play Store. By downloading the app, it will make your shopping experience even slicker. At alakazam, you'll also get exclusive in-app offers and in-app live streams. So go download it now and we'll see you on the next podcast.