May 2011
Equity – The Performers Union
Those of you who keep up to date with me on Facebook will know that during May I became a proud member of Equity, the union for performing artists all over the UK! Aswell as offering legal advise to performers regarding contracts, performing conditions and payments, Equity also gives me Public Liabilty Insurance for up to £10 million – which I hope I’ll never have to claim on! (I’m hoping it will offer my clients peace of mind though!). Equity also reserves my professional name so no one else can use it, so now my fans really can sing “There’s Only One Christian Fletcher.” Altogether now….
Footballers and Pop Stars
May is always a particularly busy month for Football clubs. As the 2010/2011 season came to a close, I provided match day entertainment at the home stadiums of Birmingham City and also Aston Villa. As a huge football fan, it was great to be part of the match day hospitality, and have the best seat in the house for two crucial games! On May 1st I entertained at Birmingham City’s derby match against Wolves, and on May 24th I was at Villa Park for the final game of the season between Aston Villa and Liverpool. During both matches I entertained top clients from companies including Nike, FxPro, Heineken, F&C Investments, Budweiser, and Barclays in the hospitality suites before the game and during half time.
Birmingham City FC’s Big City Event was held on May 16th, and this brought players, club staff, and fans and sponsors together to celebrate the success the club had achieved during the 2010/2011 season. Despite being relegated from the Premiership, the club won their first major honour by defeating Arsenal at Wembley 2-1 to win the Carling Cup. There was also success off the pitch with the Conference and Events enjoying a successful season. The Big City Event itself incorporating the End of Season Player Awards ceremony and live entertainment from local headliners Ocean Colour Scene and X Factor’s Treyc Cohen, aswell as table magic from myself! It was great to be a part of it, and you can see the Big City Event photos by clicking this link.
I had the pleasure of entertaining students at Newport University’s Summer Ball towards the end of May. What a night! I was part of the entertainment which included top acts Tinchy Stryder, Chase and Status, The Hoosiers, and Funeral for a Friend and Chase along with top ventriloquist Paul Zerdin (left). Add to that a fair ground, a silent disco, a jazz band, a fun casino, and some amazing food on offer and I think it’s fair to say the students were spoilt! It was an enjoyable performance and I was captured in some great photographs from designer and photographer Adam Palethorpe. After you’ve had a look at this website, head over to my Facebook page and you can see some of the photos taken by Adam, and some of the great reactions I caused!
Britain HAS Got Talent!
A massive congratulations to David Penn and his performing partner Karen Tomkins for their efforts on this years Britain’s Got Talent! Although they didn’t make it into the final, they were the first magic act to appear in the live semi finals, and the judges had nothing but high praise for them! It’s great to see magic finally be given a chance on prime time television and in David’s own words…Magic is Back!
I’d also like to say congratulations to Pip Langhorne who along with her dog Buddy, made it into the Britain’s Got Talent Final. After David and Karen said goodbye in the semi final, I sided with Pip who is from my local area! She did everyone from Bromsgrove proud, and will no doubt go on to have massive success.
I performed with Pip in May at a charity bingo night at Cadbury World, to raise money for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Military Department. The night was a great success, and with some great prizes on offer (including an all inclusive family holiday for 7 nights to Majorca!) we managed to raise over £2,000. Unfortunately because the function rooms were in close proximity to the food production area, Pip wasn’t allowed to bring her dog Buddy but we were still treated to her amazing vocals. I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot more of Pip (and Buddy!) in the future!
Penn and Teller Return!
You may remember at the start of the year Las Vegas headliners Penn and Teller graced our screens with their show ‘Fool Us.’ Hosted by Jonathan Ross, the idea of the show was for Penn and Teller to be fooled by up and coming magicians. If any of the acts were successful, then they would get the chance to perform live in Las Vegas in Penn and Tellers show. A once in a lifetime opportunity! The one off show was a massive success, going down well with both magicians and muggles! Due to popular demand, the duo have returned for a whole new series! I took the journey down to London to watch 2 of the shows being filmed and while I can’t say if anyone was successful or not, I can say that the viewers are in for a real treat! Some of the best magicians not only from the UK, but from all around Europe were on the show, and it’ll be great to have magic back on prime time Saturday night TV. The new series starts on June 18th, at 8pm on ITV and ITV-HD.
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