Today was
completely overshadowed by booking Glyn’s and my childhood hero Paul Daniels
for November’s Hitchin Mostly Comedy.
So was yesterday,
to a certain extent. It was from then that we knew he might say yes (Paul). I was on tenterhooks until noon today, waiting for the confirmation
email. When it came through, I didn’t know what to do with myself (other than
text Glyn so we could share our excitement). It was genuinely thrilling – and a
solid reminder of how much Mostly Comedy has grown since it started in 2008.
Paul Daniels was
one of the main reasons I decided to become a performer. That’s no
exaggeration. Before I set my sights on being an actor, comedian or musician, I
wanted to be a magician. I was obsessed with conjuring as a child, snapping up
every book or trick I could find. While my junior school friends were busy
wrestling with their Rubik’s Cubes, swapping Garbage Pail Kids cards or
attempting to create some semblance of a discernible image on an Etch A
Sketch (I’m creating an Eighties backdrop), I’d be at my mum’s bedroom mirror,
trying to master the linking rings. I was egged on by watching 'The Paul Daniels
Magic Show' on television religiously each week, with a little 'Every Second Counts' thrown
in now and then to cleanse the palate.
Like most
children of the time (including Glyn) I started out with a Paul Daniels Magic Set.
This was swiftly followed by the Wizbit Magic Book. I eventually progressed to
more professional props from Davenport’s or by flicking through the pages of Goodliffe’s
Abracadabra Magazine, but it was Daniels’ box of tricks that kicked things off
and made magic accessible. His TV show essentially introduced me to live
entertainment. It was also through learning his tricks that I discovered I
liked to act, so he’s got a lot to answer for.
If you told
Childhood David he would one day book his hero to perform on the same bill as
him, it would have blown his mind. He’d also wonder why I was suddenly being referred
to in third-person, because he's pedantic like that.
I once made Paul Daniels laugh during the filming of an episode of Wipeout, though I doubt he'd remember. I hope he'll give me and Glyn a private showing of the cup and balls trick (which is not a euphemism).