Magic man…
JOE caught up with Dynamo in Manchester ahead of his shows in Dublin’s 3Arena in March.
JOE: Have to say Dynamo, we’re looking forward to having you over in Dublin for your shows in March. Are there any Irish artists you admire from the entertainment industry?
Dynamo: U2 are obviously brilliant, I love them. They are legendary. Colin Farrell too, who I think is a proper “rock star”, but I tell you who I really like… a guy called Keith Barry.
He came to see my show the other night. He was brilliant and gave me some advice, a great guy and a great performer.
JOE: Would you like to do a show with him, a collaboration of sorts?
Dynamo: I feel like we do anyway, we share ideas, but hey, I would never say no to something in the future if it were to happen. We are good friends.
JOE: How did you two meet originally?
Dynamo: We started following each other on Twitter. We were aware of each other but didnt actually meet untill recently enough when we were both in London. So we hooked up and had a chat and have remained in touch ever since.
JOE: Ireland have qualified for Euro 2016 and, back in 2012, you predicted all of Spain’s results from the quarter-finals onwards.
Can you tell us how well Ireland will do in France?
Dynamo: Well I could, but I’m keeping it to myself, as I might want to put a little bet on it! *laughs*
JOE: So you are looking forward to the Dublin shows? Any hopes or wishes for it besides the obvious of selling it out and putting on a barnstormer of a show?
Dynamo: Well I would love if Conor McGregor came along, I’m a massive fan of his. He’s really cool and I love his style. So can you put out a shout to him and ask him to come along? He’s a proper character.
JOE: Is it true that your grandfather is the reason you do magic?
Dynamo: That’s true yeah, this show is in fact an homage to him.
When I was younger I was being bullied in a pretty rough school in Bradford. I’ve never been the biggest of guys and there two particular kids used to put me in a wheelie bin after school every day and push me down a hill.
One day, my grandad picked me up from school and saw this happening. He taught me this technique which would help prevent me from being physically picked up again. It made me very heavy and I’m only 8 stone when I’m wet!
These guys were big, but they couldn’t move me at all so they start spreading rumours around the school that I had these super-demon like powers to save face! My grandad helped me play on that by teaching me other scary like tricks.
It wasn’t until I went to college before I started to perform tricks for people. I ended up dropping out of college and going to America to live with my great-grandma for nine months.
She was a dog breeder and toured America doing dog shows with her 19 dogs! That was a different kind of tour bus let me tell you!
I’d help her groom the dogs during the day and then in the evening I’d perform a bit of magic at the dog show after-parties and she’d give me a bit of pocket money for it.
We travelled all over America and it was a fantastic experience. When we were in Vegas I went to see David Copperfield do his shows and was blown away, but in New Orleans I saw my first magician street performer.
Slowly the realisation came upon me that I could make a career out of magic. It was America which opened my eyes to the possibility.
My parents were telling me to get a proper job and to go back to college which obviously is the right advice for most people, but my mind was made up and I just wanted to make a career out of magic.
JOE: Has there ever been a stunt or trick where you have questioned your own sanity?
Dynamo: When I did my big walking on water trick across the River Thames, I was scared as it was my first big public trick with lots of people watching.
https://youtu.be/VmYnl7FBEPo
Clip via Possums1754
JOE: Ah yes, how was life after that because that video clip went viral around the world?
Dynamo: It made walking down the street seem very dull because if I can walk on water… But yeah, it did change everything. That was the catalyst to making my profile explode globally.
For me it was a 20 year gradual progression to this point, so I have had time to take it all in. It took ten years for me to get my TV show, everyone shunned me at first. Nobody could believe I could walk on water etc. we just couldn’t sell the idea to TV execs.
You are in a room with these guys pitching the ideas and you tell them the 10 most amazing things you can do, but you cannot tell them what you need the money for as you will give away the secrets.
The catch 22 was that they wouldn’t give me the budget for the show without knowing exactly where the money was going.
JOE: The tour is called Seeing Is Believing, so what do you say to non-believers? Does it frustrate you in any way?
Dynamo: It doesn’t frustrate me, it’s part and parcel of what I do, comes with the territory. One of the things I like about magic is that it forces people to question their beliefs.
No matter how old you are, magic has the ability to make us all feel young again. When we were kids, we didn’t know how things worked, we looked at the world in a different way and everything is fascinating.
You get older, you become more sceptical and people tell you that you can’t do this or you can’t do that, and you become a conformist.
However, when someone witnesses their child being born, that right there is a magical feeling because it’s something so pure and to all ends and purposes is a miracle.
Even though we know all the biology behind childbirth, we still can’t properly explain it and is something which takes your breath away.
When I do magic, it does have that ability to make people for a split second, to think like a child and become fascinated. Most people dream of being young again which is why I think magic can be so powerful as it proves escapism to some people.
JOE: So can we expect any big celebrity cameos at the Dublin shows?
Dynamo: Well if there are big celebs in, I will certainly look into doing something with them. Who knows?
JOE: How about doing the trick your great-grandfather taught you and see if Conor McGregor can lift you up?
Dynamo: Well I did it to David Haye before and he’s not exactly small or weak. He couldn’t move me at all.
JOE: Have you ever completely freaked out any celebrities with your magic tricks?
Dynamo: I was doing a show for Taylor Swift’s backing dancers after one of their shows. Taylor came in and they all summoned her to watch me do my tricks, saying I was amazing etc., but apparently she is really scared of magic, it freaks her out.
She was chatting to me and very nice, but she just wouldn’t allow me to do a trick as she was petrified.
JOE: When you were a kid growing up, who was it who inspired you in the entertainment industry?
Dynamo: There were no really high profile magicians when I was a kid, I had just missed the Paul Daniels era….
JOE: What do you think of Paul Daniels?
Dynamo: He’s the godfather of British magic, he really is. I don’t think people give him the credit he deserves. He did so much for magic in Britain, but by becoming an entertainment personality, doing gameshows etc., people forgot what put him there in the first place.
Paul Daniels is a master magician and is one of our greatest ever magicians, hands down. People tend to remember his catchphrases rather than his magic which is a little sad, but he is absolutely amazing at what he does.
Another great magician was a guy called David Berglas who came long before the Paul Daniels era. I’ve been fortunate to meet him and over the years he has given me some great advice. It’s like he has passed the torch down to me.
JOE: You have levitated a lot of celebrities, but has there ever been one where you thought “I’m going to drop them!”
Dynamo: There are probably people I’d like to levitate and then do that, but anyone who has agreed to working with me has been great, so no, not any of the ones I’ve done.
Rather than drop anyone, because that’s not nice, I’d love to use those levitation abilities to create a hover-board. I think that would be the coolest thing ever.
JOE: Obviously you’ve had enormous success, but how do you handle it all, the fame etc.?
Dynamo: As I mentioned earlier, it’s the gradual success thing, but also I surround myself with great people who keep me grounded. My grandmother would say to me, “here lad, we are from Yorkshire, we cannot afford an ego!”
My wife keeps me in check too.
JOE: You’ve met all the big celebrities, you’ve got your own TV show and now this is your first major solo tour, so what’s next for Dynamo? What’s left?
Dynamo: Well the TV show has been on in 187 countries so I’d love to take this tour further afield into those countries. After that, definitely a holiday! But I want to do more TV shows and think outside the box a little, do something very different to what’s been done before
JOE: Would you ever do one of those Vegas residencies like David Copperfield does or Celine Dion?
Dynamo: Not right now, but maybe in the future, however, I wouldn’t want to be there for years. I’d miss England too much so maybe for six months or a year at the most. I’d love to do a residency here in the West End or maybe on Broadway in New York.
JOE: Thanks very much Dynamo, it’s been a pleasure and we cannot wait to see the live show in Dublin.
Dynamo: You’re very welcome and I cannot wait to bring it to Dublin.
Dynamo plays the 3Arena in Dublin on March 16, 17 and 18. Tickets available here.
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