World-renowned magician to headline Guernsey show

Wednesday 31 August 2022

A magician and illusionist who Simon Cowell credited for making him believe in magic will be performing at St James in October.

With a string of appearances and accolades under his belt, including headlining The Illusionists, which broke The Shaftesbury Theatre box office record, it’s no surprise that Jamie Raven is one of the most-watched magicians in the world.

Jamie became a household name in 2015 after his Britain’s Got Talent (BGT) audition aired. His audition has since been viewed over 25 million times on YouTube alone.

WATCH: Magician and illusionist, Jamie Raven, is one of the most watched magicians in the world. 

“I had been approached by BGT every year since the show started, but it took me until its ninth year to agree. The majority of applications for the show are from singers and dancers, so they are always looking for more variety acts,” said Jamie.

“Initially it was a complete unknown as to whether the show would be successful. I was hesitant each year because the format didn’t lend itself well to magic acts. If you’re a singer then you can prove you can sing after one or two notes, but with magic it takes time to build up a convincing trick; that delay didn’t seem to do well with TV audiences. 

“Slowly magicians started doing better and better on both America's Got Talent and BGT. A very good friend of mine, Darcy Oake, reached the finals of BGT in 2014, so by 2015 I felt like it was the right time for me."

Pictured: A photo of Jamie alongside boy band One Direction at a charity event received over 29,000 comments on Twitter after he was mistaken for Zayn Malik's replacement in the band. Despite being posted in 2016, the photo still receives daily comments. 

Jamie continued: “Although I could have done a show performance, I decided that close-up magic would be a better option. One of the benefits of doing the trick right under the judges’ noses was that the cameras would be on them to capture their reactions and, consequently, I knew I would also have more screen time because I’d be next to them.” 

Jamie finished BGT in second place behind a dog dancing act. “I like to say that I was top of my species that year,” joked Jamie. 

“My hope was that my audition would be successful and get maybe one million views. It was at a time where social media videos were just starting to take off, as well as YouTube remaining popular. The video took off even more than I could have imagined. A radio station in Malta was one of the first to share it on Facebook and it had 50 million views within a couple of days."

Pictured: Jamie performed at HRH Prince Charles' private Christmas celebrations. HRH commented: "Your magic is quite simply, breathtaking. Your star is destined to shine for a very, very long time”.

Jamie continued: “The audition had aired on Saturday and on the next Monday I had a call from the Daily Star saying they’d worked out how I’d done it and could I comment. I simply said ‘thank you’, because I knew that anyone seeing that coverage would watch the video, realise their guess at how it was done was wrong, and then watch the video again to see if they could work it out. So that only increased the views.”

Jamie said that he “never tried to work out” how other tricks are done when he watches magic.

“I’m a 39-year-old geek; I just love magic. I love to watch magic, but because I know a lot of the skills, I sometimes can understand what’s been done, but it doesn’t detract from the trick being performed well. I love it twice as much if I have no idea how a trick was done” he said. 

“I would never steal a trick, but I do sometimes steal aspects of a performance that I think were brilliant and then adapt that. I read a great book called ‘Steal like an Artist’ [Austin Kleon] which is all about stealing parts of performances that you like.” 

Pictured: Sir Richard Branson jokingly threatened to have Jamie thrown off his plane if he didn't reveal how a magic trick was done. 

Since his Britain’s Got Talent debut, Jamie has performed all over the world, including for HRH Prince Charles and Sir Richard Branson. 

“I’m still the same person with the same process for coming up with material, I just get to entertain more people now. I always would, and sometimes still do, perform magic for free because I get so much enjoyment from it,” he said.

“When I was 18 I met an event organiser and started doing close-up magic at various events. One night, the comedian who was meant to perform didn’t show up and they asked me if I could do a stage performance. I had never done one before, but I knew I could get away with it, so I said yes. Once I had finished, the event organiser said they had never seen anything like it; 15 minutes before, neither had I. 

“The joy I get from performing from those early days to travelling the world now is exactly the same. I don’t get nervous because nerves are for when you aren’t sure what you’re doing and I think it’s important to make that distinction. I just get excited.” 

Pictured: Alongside close-up magic, Jamie is also known for illusions. 

While Jamie could be forgiven a certain level of arrogance, in talking to him it seemed his feet have remained firmly on the ground and his interest lay heavily in the psychology of his act. 

“I like people, I’m fascinated by them. I have never studied psychology, but it’s something that I have learned through performing,” he said. 

“A big part of magic is going up to people, interrupting their conversations, showing them a trick and, ultimately, asking for money. You don’t ask for money for the trick, but you leave your card with them and hope that they will book you in the future. 

“I quickly realised that if you go up to a group of people and ask if you can show them a trick, that there is a chance the answer will be ‘no’. So, instead of asking the question, I started approaching people and just saying I’d love to share a magic trick with them. I would always apologise for interrupting conversations, but never for being there."

Pictured: Magician and illusionist, Jamie Raven, will perform at St James on 28 October, alongside Steve Gore and Steve Legg.

Jamie continued: “My job is to make you enjoy the time I spend with you more than if I hadn’t been there. I am fascinated by the fact that I, an average person, can convince another person that what they're watching is real, when it isn’t.  

“Misdirection is hugely important and distraction is a big part of that. If someone’s mind is distracted then, even if they’re looking right at me at a crucial part of a trick, they won’t see.”

Jamie will be joined by magician Steve Gore and escapologist Steve Legg at next month’s show. 

“The show lined up for Guernsey has something for everyone; it will tick all the boxes. There will also be opportunities for the whole audience to participate, which is something I love because, usually with stage performances, you can only include a few people from the front row. 

“I’ve been to Guernsey a few times for private shows, so I’m really looking forward to being back in the island and performing on a larger scale.” 

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