Cups and Balls

[Tarotist]

This sentence of Alfred's made me laugh! "my first obligation is to be gracious and respectful". You have to have worked to drunks in the middle of the night in London or the working men's clubs to understand why! Or sold svengali decks for decades on end!

As for Gay Byrne I was on that show too and to my great delight it caused all hell to break loose among the Irish magicians that I was booked and they weren't! I might tell the story if anyone is interested (or maybe even if they aren't!). It was my first taste of fame since for an entire week I was recognised everywhere I went. It turned out to be a disadvantage since it somehow hampered me for abusing the public in my usual manner when I was selling svengali decks that week.

[BarryAllen]

If you're interested in seeing what the Working Men's Clubs were like, back in the 70s there was a TV show with a fictitious one called The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club. Daniels did a couple of spots in 1975:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl_lPkB9Eps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1sOw3y3Nv0

That was a great show - produced by Johnnie Hamp; and followed on from his successful show 'The Comedians'; a stand-up comedy show with the top comedians from the early 70's. Some were good - others were pretty dire.

Hamp wanted to create more of a working-club environment rather than a tv studio audience. Thus The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club was born. As you say, it wasn't actually a real club; it was a set built within the Granada TV Studios in Manchester. It certainly looked the part though!

Do places like this still exist?

Absolutely! I'm typing this whilst sitting in my local Working-Mans Club - Stockingford Sports & Social Club. It used to be Stockingford Labour Club - but they changed the name to include 'Sports' around 17 years ago - as the EU was chucking out money to any 'Sports Clubs' that needed a refurb. Sitting here now and looking around, I'm not too sure just how much of the grant was actually spent on paint and carpets!

[Tarotist]

I have a strong suspicion that Johnny Hamp made a post on this forum once. I will see if I can find it. OK. Here we are: Look at the fifth post from the bottom.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=30874&p=357702&hilit=crackerjack#p357702

[Ian Kendall]

Phoenix Nights is another place to see a more contemporary depiction of clubland...

[BarryAllen]

I have a strong suspicion that Johnny Hamp made a post on this forum once. I will see if I can find it. OK. Here we are: Look at the fifth post from the bottom.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=30874&p=357702&hilit=crackerjack#p357702

Brilliant!

Peter Glaze - about as much talent and usefulness as a one-legged bloke in an arse-kicking contest!

[BarryAllen]

Phoenix Nights is another place to see a more contemporary depiction of clubland...

That series, which despite being yet another Peter Kay masterpiece, has flown under the radar somewhat.

It is pure British comedy gold - in my honest opinion, his best ever work.

It epitomises the British working-mans club - an establishment that has forever been oh so very close to my heart.

[Tarotist]

I have a strong suspicion that Johnny Hamp made a post on this forum once. I will see if I can find it. OK. Here we are: Look at the fifth post from the bottom.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=30874&p=357702&hilit=crackerjack#p357702

Brilliant!

Peter Glaze - about as much talent and usefulness as a one-legged bloke in an arse-kicking contest!

Yes indeed. And I have known Ronnie Mcleod personally my entire life. Brilliant chap.

[BarryAllen]

I have a strong suspicion that Johnny Hamp made a post on this forum once. I will see if I can find it. OK. Here we are: Look at the fifth post from the bottom.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=30874&p=357702&hilit=crackerjack#p357702

Brilliant!

Peter Glaze - about as much talent and usefulness as a one-legged bloke in an arse-kicking contest!

Yes indeed. And I have known Ronnie Mcleod personally my entire life. Brilliant chap.

Not so sure about that!

I've heard that Ronnie McLeod believed that the Cups & Balls, Dotty Spot Paddles, Sponge Balls, Coins Through Table, McDonald's Aces, the Dutch Looper and a pack of Svengali Cards impressed people - rather than a trick with a Rubik Cube.

No doubt, he also believed that Palm Reading was popular with people. What planet was he seriously on?

Don't even get me started with that useless out of date book 'the Royalist Path to Card Games' (or something). I've never read it - I prefer tutorial videos on YouTube.

He also probably thought that Blackpool was a decent place to reside. Heaven above knows what this bloke was thinking.

[Tarotist]

People either love Blackpool or they hate it. I loved it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuN7HkQoS3E

[Tarotist]

But back to the subject under discussion. I actually have FOUR cups and balls routines. Maybe I will write them up one day. One is the pitch routine with the small cups. It has been devised only for selling purposes and I have already posted a video of it. The second routine I have has no large loads at all and is used in certain circumstances when I have no need for them or when it is more convenient to do without. I open by producing them out of nowhere and I finish the routine by making them disappear! It is actually the John Scarne ball routine which is the first trick in Stars of Magic. However, I split up the routine halfway by doing the cups and balls and return to it when I have finished. I simply put the cups aside and continue with the balls only.

My third routine is that at a certain point I say. "the reason you are getting confused is because I am using too many cups and too many balls and I talk a lot. I will therefore take away two cups and two balls and leave us with just one cup and one ball" I then do a sort of chop cup routine only without using a magnet and I finish with the double big load as usual.

My last routine is the one with the most skill and is the standard loading of three large loads. However, I try to make all the aforementioned routines easy to follow but most important with an element of humour. I like to amaze AND amuse!

[MagicbyAlfred]

Esteemed members: For your entertainment enjoyment, I present to you, Pete Wardell, Magic Circle Close Up Magician of the Year 2009, performing his Cups and Balls. Quite an amusing and engaging chap, I would say, and some nice magic. I like that he magically produced the balls instead of just taking them out of a pocket or case, although he did drop one during the production (proving, once and for all, that he's human), but he recovered nicely. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the teeny tiny little wand that he used. If you're going to use a wand (and I highly favor it), then make it a wand. (Crocodile Dundee: "That's not a wand. THIS, is a wand!" if you haven't seen the movie, BTW, I recommend it). Anyway, here's Pete. The routine begins around the 2:20 mark, following his coin routine opener:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zp8XOkGfY4

[Tarotist]

First time I have seen or heard of him. I bet he is or has been a street performer. They tend to shout when they come indoors.

[MagicbyAlfred]

First time I have seen or heard of him. I bet he is or has been a street performer. They tend to shout when they come indoors.

Good observation. He does appear to have that street magician demeanor and ambience.

I enjoyed his performance nonetheless.

[Ian Kendall]

Pete's great. Yes, he's a veteran of Coven Garden, but spends most of his time at sea these days.

Have a look at his DVD set Crowdbuilder from Russ Steven's RSVP. A very good breakdown of street performing and the cups in that.

[Tarotist]

This chap is a very fine street magician. One of the best in the world in fact. When he was young he sold svengali decks for me and he actually drove me nuts! He did say to me in his later years that he learned a lot from me when he was young and that made me feel good considering his status as a performer. He once said that I was "as charming as a rattlesnake" but I shall forgive him for that. Anyway, here he is at work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k03Pf3XKXz4

[MagicbyAlfred]

This chap is a very fine street magician. One of the best in the world in fact. When he was young he sold svengali decks for me and he actually drove me nuts! He did say to me in his later years that he learned a lot from me when he was young and that made me feel good considering his status as a performer. He once said that I was "as charming as a rattlesnake" but I shall forgive him for that. Anyway, here he is at work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k03Pf3XKXz4

WOW! What a showman! It seems like what he does (or did) on the street would be easily transposable to the stage, as well.

He puts such passion into what he's doing, and uncompromisingly commits all the way. Definitely something to be learned from watching a performer like that...

[Tarotist]

I am not even sure he works the street any more. He would be getting too old for it by now. He seems to be promoting or teaching Tai Chi nowadays according to this website.
https://tai-chi-peter-snow.weebly.com/
Come to think of it I think I see elements of Tai Chi in that video I posted about him. Since I don't know anything about Tai Chi I may be imagining things but some of his movements in the video looks like it.

[MagicbyAlfred]

Tai Chi promotes calmness and tranquility and reduces stress. According to various studies (including at Harvard) it can be a significant means for prevention of serious health issues, and even promote healing in the wake of such issues. When i lived in my beloved San Francisco, I would sometimes join the group, comprised of mainly Asian people, who would gather at Golden Gate Park for an early morning Tai Chi session. It was beautiful way to start the day, and I would always leave feeling energetic, refreshed, relaxed and in a positive space. It had a tendency to quiet the often chattering mind and the turbulent sea of concerns that can rob us of our peace.

In addition to being fantastic exercise, Tai Chi promotes a smoothness and fluidity of physical motion and a corresponding sense of inner tranquility. I wish I hadn't gotten away from it. I think any magician (or, indeed, anybody) could benefit from it, and Peter Snow has surely recognized this. People don't just watch what we do, they "feel" it, picking up on our energy. When we have an inner harmony and an outer grace, and there is a smooth flow, people will pick up on it, and that is sure to enhance our magic (whether the cups and balls, or anything else) and to influence the perceptions of those experiencing it in a positive way. While I don't currently do Tai Chi, I have been developing the habit of going for a morning bike ride, and I think that this, like most forms of exercise, and being out in nature, provides a panoply of benefits similar to those which can be gained from Tai Chi. And, I am hoping that soon, I can remove the training wheels...

[Tarotist]

Houdini once remarked that to be a good magician you should know how to do a cups and balls routine despite the fact that I never heard of him doing one However, just in case he is correct I thought I had better learn and devise one before I drop dead. This is what I came up with. Even though I can't do my own routine properly people seem to like it in the comment section.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJBM0Q4-sYg

[Richard Kaufman]

Just met Pete at The Session last week in London.