who is a magician and owner of the Illusions and Smoke & Mirrors Magic Bars in Bristol

What sparked your interest in magic?

I was in my late teens working for a defence company in Southampton. While on a day-release course at the polytechnic I came across somebody doing magic tricks in the cafeteria. I wanted him to tell me how he did a particular trick, but the guy goes, “No, I’m a magician, we don’t expose our secrets. But, tell you what, if you go off and learn two tricks, I will teach you this trick.”

So I taught myself a number of illusions from the ‘bible’ of card magic, The Royal Road to Card Magic, by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue, which I found in WH Smith’s. About six months later I bumped into the same magician again and was able to show off the tricks I had learned, including the one that had impressed me originally.

My actual career in magic started unexpectedly in 1992. The company I was working for went into receivership. I went to a nightclub in Portsmouth on the day I was made redundant looking to drown some sorrows. With just the nine card tricks I had taught myself, I started to perform to other guests at the club. The manager noticed and asked me what I was doing. I just told him that I did this for a living – walking round nightclubs doing magic. I was immediately offered a spot, which turned into a very handy year’s employment. Within a day I had changed my job and my career!

What happened next?

I made fast progress. Within a year I was offered a spot on BBC TV’s Tricks and Tracks, the children’s magic show. I added impersonations of famous people doing magic tricks to my act, which they liked a lot. I appeared alongside comedian Paul Zenon, a Gold Status member of the Magic Circle, who remains a good friend. And it was good money! I got 485 quid for four and half minutes! I should really reinstate some impersonation into my current act. [As if to accentuate the point Mark goes into a perfect rendition of Michael McIntyre].

At that time I was doing openings and closings of nightclubs up and down the country. I had no residency then. Most nightclubs were owned by only a handful of companies and you could be sent anywhere – London, Newcastle, Cardiff, even Penzance. One company alone had 900 nightclubs, so there was no lack of work.

In the 90’s, nightclubs were open five nights a week – they were really busy. Student nights didn’t really exist then. No one wanted students in as they thought they had no money. It was eventually Bass who came up with the ‘It’s A Scream’ concept, opening up student bars. Nightclubs quickly followed suit.

To keep regular money coming in I took a residency at a restaurant called Bojangles in Southampton, Dock Gate IV. I just walked in and said that I was a bar magician and barman, that I’d serve drinks but I’d also do magic for people. We’ll call it Magic Mondays, the day the QEII comes in. We’ll have a really good time! The guy goes… er…um…OK then! Then, I didn’t really know what bar magic was, I just said it! Later I found a book called The Magic Arts Journal by Michael Ammar, an American magician who wrote about award-winning magician Doc Eason and the Tower Magic Bar in Aspen, Colorado, owned by the singer John Denver. Magicians would gravitate to the ski resort and literally busk behind the bar all season and have a great time. When I read about that I thought I really want a magic bar! That’s what I’m going to do. I wrote a business plan – this was something I really wanted.

What got you to where you are today?

I carried on performing magic for another nine years, practising on drunk people! If it went wrong… ah well, we were all having a good time anyway! When they’d come back I’d do the same trick again and it would be better!

But around 1998 work started to dry up in nightclubs – things got more dancey, less talky and magicians were slowly pushed out. I had to find something else to do so I sent my CV to a company, Glendola Leisure, who were opening an entertainment bar. I was employed as the assistant manager.

While I was at Glendola, I won a trip to Austria thanks to me selling impressive amounts of Red Bull at the bar! On the trip I performed some magic tricks and I was spotted by someone from Virgin who eventually invited me to set up the Pure Magic Bar in Manchester, in 2006. I ended up running the adjoining 3,500 capacity nightclub with 120 staff, as well as the magic bar, with its 11 magicians.

I was getting itchy at this point to set up my own business; my original idea for running a magic bar was clearly working. I was looking for a suitable venue, in Cheltenham to start with, before visiting what was then called the Baroque Bar in Bristol. I liked the layout of the room, went home and plotted what I remembered on a little 3D home design software. I signed the lease and opened the Illusions Magic Bar in 2007. Of course I hadn’t anticipated the recession of 2008. Over the ten years I have been in business there have been some really challenging times. But I’m still there, fighting hard to keep the area in Bristol known as the Triangle, where Illusions is based, as a competitive alternative to the popular Whiteladies Road strip and the new venues by the docks.

So why Smoke & Mirrors as well as Illusions?

At Illusions you can reserve a table, but not the magic – you can just pick and choose to watch that. For some people the magic could even be intrusive, which was very disheartening. I eventually cottoned on to the idea that some people might prefer to choose to sit down and pay to see a show, so I looked for a second venue to offer that option. In 2012 I launched the Smoke & Mirrors Magic Bar, opening with John Archer, a former winner of the Magic Circle Stage Magician of the Year Award, on stage.

I am just about to celebrate the third year of Smoke & Mirrors. When we hit three years at Illusions we had Paul Daniels and his wife and assistant Debbie McGee come to the venue. Paul told me, “If you hit three years you’re there, you’re set.” At Smoke & Mirrors there is a new line up of local magicians, the House Magicians, all ready to go for 2017 in what will be my fourth year at the venue.

Have there been any memorable moments at Smoke & Mirrors?

The world of magic is a small one, good things are noticed. A few months ago Mark Shortland did a routine that was filmed at Smoke & Mirrors, only to find that mega magician Dynamo had adopted it for his live show not long afterwards.

Do you have a personal style of management?

What I learned from The Royal Road of Card Magic was that you have to entertain first, trick second. I have always encouraged my acts to be very personable, loud and lovable. If you’re boring no one is going to watch the trick.

What are magicians really like?

Magicians have massive egos! The day they get told they should be on television, they really believe it! There is a sense of professional community amongst us. The biggest magician’s convention occurs every February in Blackpool, with 3,500 magicians descending on the city for three days from all over the world, to sell tricks, watch magic, and make, and sometimes lose friends!

What do you like to do outside of magic?

I paint. I’m a copyist really, working in acrylic. My wife’s an amazing artist and my grandfather was a brilliant watercolour artist. I have a baby now so there isn’t much time to indulge myself at the moment!

Has magic always featured in your family?

No, football was the thing. My granddad played for Plymouth Argyle, and my great-grandfather played for Plymouth as well.

Have you got a favourite magician?

A Vegas magician called ‘The Amazing Jonathan’, who retired two years ago. His comedy, his bad/good magic was hilarious. I was really lucky to see him perform live before he closed his show in Vegas.

Do you have further plans for expansion?

Yes. I have a name for it (secret for now) and I’m looking for the right venue for it, maybe somewhere between Bristol and Bath. It will be a blend of what Illusions and Smoke & Mirrors do best – somewhere where you can have a good meal, watch a great show and enjoy a drink in the bar afterwards.

 

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