My Start in Magic & Pete Firman

This is going to be a bit of a strange blog post as I’m going to be talking about a few things that all involve Pete Firman in some way. I recently saw his show at the Edinburgh Fringe which prompted this.

I’m not really a fan of when magicians answer “How did you get started in magic?” by saying they got a beginner’s magic set for a Christmas or birthday. I’d be willing to bet that at least 80% of children got a set growing up, but its only us sad bastards that continued it. Therefore, I think most of us had another moment where it “clicked”, and for me that involved Pete Firman and 3 other magicians. It was a TV show called Monkey Magic, broadcast in the UK in 2003. Aside from Pete, it also starred Ali Cook, Johnathan Goodwin and Pete McCahon. I always remember my Gran telling me to watch it as she knew I had an interest in magic and without it, I doubt I’d be doing magic today. I remember how they would show you a trick before the ad break and promise to reveal it afterwards. As a ten-year-old this was great, a chance to learn some really cool magic. I was only slightly disappointed as the secret to eating a goldfish (which before the break they told you, it involved a carrot) was to really eat the goldfish, it would taste horrible which is where the carrot came in to take away the taste. Another trick was how to levitate, with the solution being to jump to your death off a building while getting someone to record it and then play the tape backwards after your death.

After Monkey Magic I remember watching him in Dirty Tricks, another UK TV show, which also introduced me to Barry and Stuart and another series called the Secret World of Magic. This was when Pete and Ali would travel the world meeting and showing off other magicians. This show was my first exposure to magicians like Rene Lavand and Juan Tamariz. He’s also had a few guest spots here and there and starred in the Magicians on the BBC recently too.

So what’s the point in all this rambling? Well aside from telling you one of the main reasons I got into and stuck with magic, I seen him live for the first time the other night. I went through to the Fringe with my girlfriend and when deciding what shows to go to, I wanted to make sure I took her to see a magician she might actually enjoy. I mean there’s so many magicians out there that I know I’d enjoy but I know for a fact that she wouldn’t. Thankfully she loved the show, as did I, and wondered why he was performing to such a small audience when Kevin Bridges is selling out 13,000 seats at the Hydro for 16 nights, which is high praise indeed. Was one of the highlights of the fringe for me. Finally getting to see Pete live and he didn’t disappoint. He’s incredibly funny and you can tell he is confident with great stage presence. Can only hope that one day he is selling out that many tickets, because he definitely deserves it.