Dynamo

photo: Andrew Timms

What's an average day in the life of Dynamo?
When I’m not performing, I spend a lot of time with my dog, Bessie. She’s the one who wakes me up each day for her morning walk. She’s a big German Shepherd, like a big teddy bear. After the shows, I’ll end the day going for a walk with her. I was trying to get her incorporated into the show somehow, but unfortunately her agent – my wife – drives too much of a hard bargain.

So where is home for you at the minute?
I’m based in London. My family still live in Bradford and then I’ve got my wife’s family in Birmingham. So I spend most of my time driving between Bradford, Birmingham and London.

I hear you like driving fast cars too...
I like going to track days to race, but while on tour, our insurance guys won’t let me drive at all. I’ve got to wait until it’s over before I can get back to stunt practice. If I wasn’t a magician, I’d like to be a stunt driver. Like James Bond. That would be a dream come true.

You’d make a great Bond baddie with all your magic...
Yeah, but I’d rather be a great James Bond. Why not? I look alright in a suit and I’ve got all the skills and gadgets to catch the bad guys. I’d rather be the good guy.

Tell us about the tour. It must be your most ambitious project to date...
By far. When we first put it out we were only doing ten shows, but demand exploded and there are now 100 in total in the UK and Ireland. I’ve done a third of those, so I’m taking it in my stride and I’ve really enjoyed meeting the different audiences. Before this, I’d never really been on stage and only done close-up street magic, so it’s a whole new world. I feel my tricks have been made stronger because of what I’ve learned on stage.

photo: Andrew Timms

What other magicians and illusionists inspire you?
David Copperfield is obviously one of the greatest that has ever lived. Also, David Berglas, a British magician from back in the day when there were only three channels on a black and white TV. He was getting twenty million viewers every episode, which is bigger than the X Factor now – and he was actually in a few early James Bond films too. Obviously Derren Brown is a phenomenal performer too. Having done my own live tour I have even more respect for him now, I can understand how much work goes into what he does. Then there’s David Blaine who pioneered street magic in America and got it back on television. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to showcase my magic if these people hadn’t opened the doors.

The great Paul Daniels is playing Nottingham in February. Got any questions you'd like us to ask him?
What does he consider to be his greatest magical moment in his long outstanding career? He’s one of the best magicians we’ve ever had in this country. People haven’t given him enough credit, probably because they saw so much of him after the magic. He did a lot of chat shows and became a personality rather than just a magician. They don’t remember the amazing tricks he did, but he is still one of the best. In my eyes, he’s the godfather of British magic.

Do you have any inspirations from outside of the magic industry?
Yeah, there are loads. I’m doing arenas and venues that big musicians are doing so I don’t really feel like I’m competing with magicians anymore. People could go and see Taylor Swift, Peter Kaye or Kanye West instead. I watch a lot of performances and Kanye at Glastonbury was awesome. He was brave and took it in a different direction to what most acts there would have done. It didn’t go down well with everybody, but I thought it was brilliant. One of the biggest all-time inspirations for me is Michael Jackson. He incorporated a lot of magic into his performances and they were electrifying. When I created my show, I thought about how he would do it.

Do you ever get scared that people might actually start to think you are a god?
At the end of the day, I create a form of entertainment and hopefully it brings smiles to people's faces. If I can help to inspire people then that’s an amazing thing, but I’m just one man on stage who loves magic. I’m making my dreams a reality and deep down I’m just thankful for all the support people give me.

photo: Andrew Timms
 

Is it hard to balance a personal life being as famous as you are. Do you get hassled when you go out?
I wouldn’t say ‘hassled’ because that sounds negative. I get a lot of attention and people always want to see me do some magic. Obviously, sometimes it’s more appropriate than others. It’s not ideal when I’m halfway through eating my dinner in a restaurant and someone asks me to perform, when all I want to do is make a burger disappear.

I’ve always loved movies. My first ever job was working in in Wyke Video Centre in Bradford, so I’ve loved them from a young age. I get a lot of my inspiration from film; I’ll see a special effect and want to recreate that feeling live. There’s a trick in my new show which is heavily inspired by The Matrix. I’ve learned to lean back at a crazy angle like Neo did in the film. I do that live on stage every night without the use of wires or special effects. The greatest thing about going to the cinema is, although I might be asked for a few photos before I get to my seat, once the movie starts, everyone is quiet and we all get lost in the movie.

What was the last thing that made you laugh?
Bessie, about half an hour ago. We went for a walk and the weather was really bad, it was completely pouring it down. So when we got back to the suite my wife was drying her while I was drying myself. She put a towel around her, which looked like a sarong and Bessie was walking around the room looking like she was on a spa day. It’s all about those little personal moments.

You’ve just won the Gold Star from the Magic Circle, an honour held by only 300 magicians worldwide. How do you feel about that?
That and the David Berglas award are the two highest honours I could ever hope to receive. I was overwhelmed by it. It goes back to what we said earlier – for me to receive an award that David Copperfield and Derren Brown have both won is amazing. Personally, I think I’ve got my work cut out for me before I can really class myself among that group.

One of those other 300 magicians with the Gold Star is HRH Prince of Wales. Is that an honourary position or does he have any tricks?
He actually does know some magic; I’ve seen him do a few bits and bobs. I’ve met him a few times as my first company actually started out with a loan from the Prince's Trust. Whenever I see him at his house parties, he always greets me in the same way, “Hi Dynamo, how’s tricks?”

Dynamo, Seeing Is Believing, Nottingham Arena, Wednesday 3 – Sunday 6 December 2015.

Dynamo website