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My first 'big' show was with the 'Stars of Tomorrow' concert party, at the Gaumont cinema. It was on a Saturday morning to howling kids. I did the two and a half inch Linking Rings on a huge stage to a massive audience. Oh yes, I had a lot to learn.
I did about three years with this dance troupe trying many different types of magic. When I see our juniors working today, I cringe at the stuff I used to do. This is why I love to give every encouragement to our young members.
I used to buy my props from Ellisdons catalogue, the Boys Magic Service and a model / joke shop in Leeds called Skycraft.
At about age twelve I started to make my own props from library books and 'stealing' ideas from catalogues.
One of my favourite effects was 'Wrong Again', a sucker effect that really gave me a liking for comedy magic.
On this months cover of the Billet you will see the original advertisement for Wrong Again. It cost 1/9d, which is about 8p today. Dealers eat your hearts out.
I moved on to an adult concert party called 'Bandwagon Paraders'. We did hospitals, OAP clubs and the like. I can recommend this kind of training to all new performers. I had to learn dance routines and sketches. The dancing was more comic than the act but we had laughs. Under the wing of a semi-pro director, I was beginning to feel stage presence and practice projection, even with my high pitched voice. Those were the days my friend, I thought they'd never end, but they did and I'll tell you how next time.
Keep smiling...
