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In The Beginning...
(Reproduced by kind permission of Keith Pickles from the November 1988 Billet from a talk given by Hassan Noor to the Bradford Magic Circle on the 4th March 1988.)
Once upon a time in India there lived a young schoolboy. In those days in the summer months schools opened from 7a.m. until midday. This left the young schoolboy the afternoons free to do as he pleased, which was mainly to follow around an lndian magician who performed in the streets such effects as the linking rings, misers dream and Hindu basket penetration.
From following this magician, the young schoolboy learned how to classic force and classic palm coins (little knowing at the time that that was what he was doing).
Upon his arrival in England, Hassan Noor, our young schoolboy, now a young adult, looked around for other magicians to meet, but to no avail. However, in hospital one day, having his appendix out, Hassan read in the Telegraph and Argus an advert for a show being put on at the Queens Hall, Morley Street, by the Yorkshire Magical Society. So full of hope he wrote off to join this Society. Like many other hopefuls of the time, he was rebuffed.
In lvegate at that time was a young man called Ken Brooke, who also failed to be accepted into the Yorkshire Magical Society, so at least Hassan felt he was in good company. Instead he found, and joined, the Leeds Magic Circle. Unfortunately, the Leeds meetings were at 12 noon on Sundays; and, in those days, the lack of transport meant Hassan had to walk to Stanningley to catch the tram to Leeds!
Dante had always been Hassan's hero, and in 1946 he wrote to him asking if he might join Dante to learn the business side. Luckily he was invited to join, and spent a profitable period with his hero. He discovered many of Dante's secrets, even the fact that he employed two carpenters to cut trap doors at each theatre.
After leaving Dante, Hassan organised many shows in the Bradford area. Then in 1947 he went to India with the intention of bringing Indian acts to Britain to tour a Ia Dante. However, the acts he saw appeared totally unsuitable. Undeterred he returned to England, and put together his own Indian mystery show. This included a hypnotist and Hassan and his future wife lrene's own mind reading and memory act (the memory act working on the same principle as revealed by Paul Daniels in a BBC1 Q.E.D. programme of several years ago).
For two years Hassan ran the show, doing his own publicity promotion, etc. Throughout this period, Hassan continued to harbour the idea of forming a magical society in Bradford. So in 1948 he put an advert in the Telegraph and Argus (after enlisting the support of Ken Brooke) asking anyone interested in getting together to ( discuss magic to come to a meeting. This was held in November 1948 in Hassan's office at 2 Fountain Street, Manningham Lane. Thirteen people became members at that first meeting. Five of them attended the 40th birthday celebrations which were held at Raphael House on Friday 4th March 1988. They were: Harold Boyd, Tommy Hargreaves, Hassan & Irene Noor and Bob Eaton.
The other survivor at that time was Malcolm Davison, who lectured to the Circle later in that year. The first subscription was 1 guinea, and meetings were held bi-monthly. Bob Eaton only paid once, then being in the army he was excused from paying. Some things never change! By this time the magic shows were starting to decline, and profits turned to losses. Hassan decided to get out, so he left the full-time magic business. Regular meetings of the Bradford Magic Circle continued at Fred Snowden’s in Norfolk Street, the Morley Street Cafe, Alexandra Hotel (where the head waiter was a member), Raphael House and now the Morley Street Resource Centre.
In 1950 Hassan left Bradford for business reasons and settled in Barnsley. In 1951, he and his wife were made life members.
