Many magicians have said they have found the background information on selling oneself and simplifying their magic to be of immediate benefit and the bonus of a selection of practical John Derris routines that have been presented around the world for the past 16 years really worthwhile. Particular favourable comments have been expressed about the production of a bowl of goldfish from an executive briefcase! “Worth the price of the book alone” said one magi.

Big news. Following favourable reports the book is shortly to be launched in the USA!

Check out magicderris.com for further details or contact John Derris direct.

I’ve been aware of him for some time at conventions but perhaps have  regarded him as yet  another of the hundreds of  younger magicians who consistently parade their repertoire of card moves and flourishes as proof of their claim to be a magician. In his tv programme he did add some headline grabbing stunts such as walking across the Thames (?) but again…I don’t know.

However he clearly has some smart marketing management behind him for on the football coverage on national tv he appeared performing an excellent parade of card flourishes, changes etc with playing cards bearing the pictures and names of top football clubs and players. This was imaginative and perfectly fitted into the format of national football coverage with very high viewing figures. And now I see he has a DVD with national distribution in shops with excerpts of his first shows on tv.

Whilst I raise an old fashioned eyebrow at the endless and  mindless display of card and coin flourishes, I was thrilled to see such skill adapted to modern media presentation that clearly has impressed a large audience and created an excellent awareness of Dynamo on a national basis that will quickly project him to national recognition.

Selling oneself and not just ones digital dexterity was the basis of my recently published book KISS. As I said in the book “people pay you for what they see – not what you do” Best wishes and good luck to Dynamo and congrats to whoever is steering his career.

COLIN ROSE: DEALER AND FORMER PROFESSIONAL MAGICIAN.
“I toured as a professional magician all over the world for years and appeared in the Richiardi show for much of that time. The information on presentation that John Derris gives in his new book KISS is the real thing for real magicians in the real world. Common sense information that many magicians overlook that you can’t buy in a magic shop. Not only on performance but the excellent visual effects and routines that he gives in detail that has taken him round the world for the last 15 years. I was inspired by this book”.

IAN KEABLE: PROFESSIONAL MAGICIAN:
“John Derris has a straightforward philosophy when devising his commercial magic; it is to make sure that all his tricks are simple and easy to do. He calls this the KISS principle. Although nothing especially new in terms of effect, his methods and presentation of the eight tricks are universally excellent. You can tell that all of them are thoroughly practical and have clearly been used by the author with great success. I was particularly impressed with his “Welded Bliss” a real stunner. And a great addition to someone’s professional repertoire. My advice is buy the book for the excellent tricks”.

BOB YELLAND: IBM UK & IRELAND MARKETING MANAGER AND MAGICIAN
“I have just finished reading your book and I really enjoyed it. The essence of KISS achieves both clarity of effect and elimination of complex handling – this delivers a strong visual trick whilst enabling the performer to focus entirely on presentation. The effects and routines you provide at the end of the book are excellent examples of this technique. The book is an easy read and very well illustrated.”

TOM WHITESTONE: PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN AND MAGICIAN
“This is a very well produced book of common sense practical information and extremely visual and practical magic routines. I have seen John perform all of the effects for the past years with much success and I was completely sold on his “no load” routine for the coin in the bottle which in my personal opinion is the finest version of this classic which I now use.”

ROY WALTON: DEALER AND OUTSTANDING CARD MAGICIAN
“I have now read the book and enjoyed it very much and I think the advice given and the tricks explained are both excellent.The quality of the book is well produced and clearly the contents are invaluable to any performing magician”.

MICHAEL BAILEY: FORMER TOP CORPORATE MAGICIAN AND PRESIDENT OF THE MAGIC CIRCLE
“John Derris’s philosophy of keeping it simple works in advertising (his former career), works in business and can work for you as a magician if you follow what he calls his common sense approach.I’ve always believed in simplicity of both plot and method so that the focus is on presentation and personality. But the great bonus in the KISS book are the tricks that John has originated or improved upon which he explains so well in these pages. No pipe dreams here -they have been well tried and tested in the real world of commercial entertaining. They are good. Read the chapters carefully and practice what John preaches. It will pay dividends”.

MARCEL BURN: MEMBER OF THE NOTTINGHAM GUILD OF MAGICIANS
“I have performed the “Staggered” routine and got a great reaction; this has given me confidence. I’ve now got a purse and a wooden coat hanger and am looking forward to doing that routine as well. Thank you for a really inspiring evening when you came to see us in Nottingham and I hope we can talk again in the future.”

The spectator picks up the glass, shakes it and on tipping out the two rings onto their hand – they are seen to be joined together in permanent union. The rings can be examined. You will get an outstanding reaction from the bride and groom appropriate to the occasion with comments about a long life together etc.

I’ve done this many times and on one occasion I performed it at a cocktail reception at The Crown Jewellers dropping them into a half full, cut glass champagne flute. The impact was amazing.

Where can I get this stunning close-up effect I hear you ask? It’s one of the very visual routines described in my new book “KISS” (Keep it Simple Stupid). It not only includes a number of performance-proven routines that I’ve done for the past 15 years, but gives a simple business strategy that I adapted to re-evaluate magic presentation which can lead to a higher level of performance, creativity and fees. It’s a system that got me bookings in Athens, Copenhagen, Istanbul, Marbella, Osaka, Paris, Rabat, St. Petersberg and Buckingham Palace!

For further details check out www.magicderris.com

Club President Graham Harper said “It was a stunning lecture and members gleaned a valuable lesson in getting back to basics in magic and keeping the effects and presentation as simple as possible. The value of the evening and the information disclosed was proven by the fact the 50% of the membership purchased this new, unique book on the spot”

“I’d recommend John Derris’s KISS lecture to any magic club where members are seeking to lift their magic to a new level. Excellent!”

That said, here I am again witn a promise to keep you up to date with occasional items that I recently said would be of real interest and value rather than pumping  out a blog everyday.

In my last announcement I touched on an effect I’ve done for some time at wedding receptions which I am thinking of putting out. The truthful reaction I’ve had from laypeople tells me that in real, visual terms it’s a stunner and I’m glad to pass it on. For those that missed the first news item – quite simply you show a ladies diamond wedding ring and a gentleman’s gold signet ring in each hand, drop them into a glass of champagne, handed to the spectator who, after drinking the champagne tips out the rings which are now seen to be – joined! A truthful description. Everything can be examined and the magician’s hands are empty. The gimmick has to be specially made and so it will be made to order for each request. Price? I don’t know but I think it will be in the region of £40.00. to be advised. I’ll be putting out announcements on the internet – Magic Week and this web site plus possibly some press ads. It’s called “Welded Bliss” (blame my advertising background for that awful pun.) Keep a look out or contact me if you’re interested.

Keep looking.

However, since then my nephew who’s a whiz on computer technology advised me that from the stats on this site I was getting around six hundred people a time tuning in and at Blackpool and beyond many magicians have come up and asked if I’d closed down and was I going to resume. Well, thank you and yes.

But rather than continue to belt out something everyday and knowing that people’s time is under pressure generally speaking I’ve thought it fair to resume with news, ideas, reviews and the magic scene from a viewpoint that’s been observing the changing world of magic for the past sixty years. I hope to give you recollections and magic memories from the days when most magic was performed on a stage and close-up was called “pocket tricks” But I will do this on a casual basis, from time to time as events and  news emerges.

Hope that suits the many magicians who have shown keen interest in my blasts from the past! Nothing much at the moment but there was a terrific surprise 80th birthday celebration for Patrick Page at the Brick Lane Music Hall in London where he was booked for what he thought was an afternoon Old Time Music Hall Show and on walking on stage was greeted by the biggest audience applause and standing ovation he’d ever received – and even before he’d performed his first effect.

Shading his eyes from the footlights and knowing absolutely nothing of the celebration that his children had arranged, he espied over one hundred members of The Magic Circle, friends and wives. They had gathered to celebrate the birthday of one of magic’s greatest performers and gentlemen. Pat doesn’t usually show emotion but there is no doubt he was touched by this warm display of affection to celebrate his special day, that a hundred people had managed to keep a secret under wraps until the show. It was one of the great moments of magic.

Post you some more later. Thanks for your interest.

I hope to get it on film shortly and show it to you on this website and thereafter we’ll be putting it out for sale. It looks like tremendous digital skill but it’s a dream to work and I’ll keep you posted as to further details. It’s called “Find the Phantom“

The stage show at the International was very good but I was particularly taken with an act from Holland –  Robert and Emiel who presented a mental telepathy act. I’ve seen some great ones over the years – “What have I here?” “A comb” “And here?” “A long balloon” “Well, near enough!” and so on. A sheer demonstration of skill and speed with a pace and pzazz.

But Robert and Emiel took their act to a different level. The curtains opened with no announcement and seen centre stage is a young man, dressed in what appeared to be white pyjamas, sitting on a stool by a microphone and fidgeting with his hands. An off stage announcement told that here was a five year old boy in the body of a grown man who nevertheless has amazing powers beyond the ken of others. He was then blindfolded  and demonstrated some quite amazing revelations about items held up by members of the audience and numbers of banknotes, sometimes without any apparent oral prompting.

All the time the boy on stage was fidgeting with his clothing as perhaps a young child would and engaging in a brother to brother conversation as if seeking approval. The act finished to great applause and even as the young Emiel walked off stage holding his brother’s hand he did not drop the persona of a handicapped child. And all his impaired mannerisms were minimal and did not create any embarrassment with the audience. It was a masterful presentation that left the audience wondering, with echoes of Raymond in the film “Rain Man” - was this really  a handicapped man with special powers?

It was a different presentation that for me was excellent in it’s concept. Even as the two walked off stage the young “savant” was heard to quietly say to his brother “Can I have the ice cream now” Sheer theatre.