Influences

Influences

A lot of people have asked me about my influences in magic. So I thought I'd start my blog off by telling you a little about them.

In all honesty many of my influences are non-magic. For example. Dean Martin is an all time hero of mine and when it comes to good, honest entertainment its hard to beat Dean. Especially when he teams up with another hero of mine, Tony Bennett. Have a look at one of my favourite clips.

However, when it comes to magic influences, I'm a big fan of some of magicians less well known to the general public.

Fred Kaps has to be one of my biggest magical heroes. In fact, I would describe him as the "Dean Martin" of magic. He was suave and sophisticated but at the same time had a great understanding of comic timing. He was both an amazing stage magician and close up magician. Have a look at this clip of Fred Kaps performing his famous "homing card" routine and other magicians talking about their respect for an absolute master of magic.

If we were to talk about comedy heroes I would have to say that Morecambe and Wise are timeless. If you aren't familiar with their work, have a look at this clip. In my opinion this was their best sketch and I don't know anyone who wouldn't find this hilarious.

So there you have it. My influences are quite old fashioned. However, there is a saying in magic that "the classics are classics for a reason" and I think it is the same with entertainment in general. I also believe that, as my friend Wayne Dobson says, when done correctly, magic is one of the best forms of entertainment that there is.