Dirty Tricks, Ali Cook, alistair cook, monkey magic, psychic, psychic secrets revealed, ali cook, street magic, close up magic, magician, magician uk, magic, channel 5, TV magic, TV magic shows, Magic videos, Magic DVD, sleight of hand, card tricks, party magic, corporate events

Psychic Secrets Revealed::

First aired autumn 2003 on Five with a one hour special where Alistair replicated psychic performers' most famous feats from bending spoons to contacting the spirits. In order to duplicate the feats Alistair studied hours of archive footage. Then, using psychological skills and sleight of hand he gave demonstrations to the public of his 'psychic' abilities. Could he convince them that they were in the presence of a psychic? This one hour special was followed by a six part series of half hour shows, featuring the original archive footage upon which Alistair based his performances. Plus commentary from experts in the field of parapsychology including Dr. Richard Wiseman, Dr. Christopher French and psychological illusionist Derren Brown. Extracts from What's On in London interview with Alistair: "Way before I turned professional, my mum had a big influence on my interest in magic. She ran a New Age bookshop selling all sorts of books on every imaginable aspect of mystery and I'd spend my Saturdays devouring anything to do with trickery or sleight of hand, although I was always into it from a performance point of view." "Another of the all time master showmen was Harry Houdini and my new Channel 5 series follows in his footsteps. After his mother died, he went around trying to find genuine psychics but came across a lot of trickery. I perform a host of psychic phenomenon, from mediumship and tarot reading to spoon bending and thought transference. Is it trickery or paranormal? Personally, I am neither a believer nor a sceptic, but people who really do believe in psychic phenomena will at least be made aware of the tricks used." Since the age of fifteen I've had a strong interest "in search of something "and have had an unusual life in that I've been surrounded by avid believers due to my New Age background and also avid skeptics due to my association with magicians.

Monkey Magic ::

"The four performers did two things that Paul Daniels could never do: they tugged their own hair and captivated their audience with wit, skill and intelligence." --Victor Lewis Smith Evening Standard " Monkey Magic takes David Blaine's street magic schtick and spins it off in a host of weird and wonderful directions." -- Maxim magazine Monkey magic is the ground breaking TV series on Five that redefined the british magic scene. The series was short listed for a British comedy award and nominated for The Golden Rose of Montreux. The cheesy magician with top hat and tails has been replaced by four blokes hanging out in a disused warehouse, doing Jackass magic. We do magic with the strangest stuff in the weirdest places. Including explosives and mantraps to members of the WI and magic with creepy insects to a bunch of terrified school girls. Insects were killed old ladies blown up it really was a laugh.

Press::

"This is one magician who won't be doing a disappearing act. He is fast gaining a reputation as Britains coolest illusionist" --Daily Express "Funny, sharp and interesting. A real, rising star." -- Christian O'onnell, XFM "Alistair Cook is magic! Quite simply the best thing on Channel Five" -- More Magazine "The next big thing" -- The Sunday Times "A hip, sexy magician." -- Daily Star Monkey Magic:: "Sure there is a novelty value to it all, but that can't disguise the brilliance of some of its ingenious trickery and the laudable philosophy behind the show (i.e. that magic isn't all about ponces wearing ridiculous outfits and making the statue of liberty disappear)" -- Maxim magazine "(Monkey Magic) Paul Daniels it isn't" --The Sunday Times Critics choice "Five's team of irreverent magicians are scary" --Daily Star Star Mag "Monkey Magic will help to return all forms of spellcasting to where it rightly belongs, the top of the TV tree" -- Danny Kelly, Radio Times "Four mischievous Magicians put the "ill" into illusion." TV and Satellite week

Biography::

Alis style is mischievous and cheeky. His persona and acclaimed sleight of hand have put him on the cutting edge of the current magic scene. He has already written and performed in seven UK television series. His street magic and irreverent stand up act have attracted a large and diverse audience appeal including: The Harry Potter Premiere Party, Catch Me If You Can premiere party, private parties for Damian Hirst, JK Rowling, Minnie Driver and Basement Jaxx. His other passions are acting, stand up, comedy writing and scratching and mixing on his decks. He is an associate member of The Inner Magic Circle with silver star. Film credits:: Sahara 2005 Hollywood blockbuster starring Penelope Cruz. Played a soldier Performing sleight of hand for the opening scene. Television credits:: Dirty Tricks: 6 X 1 hour series, Channel four. Transmission September 2005 Secret World of magic: 6 x 1 hour series, Sky One. Transmission April 2005 Ali travels the world meeting and performing with his magical heroes. Monkey Magic Two 7 x half hour series, Five. Autumn 2004 Four magicians doing the strangest magic in the weirdest places. The Greatest Magic Tricks In The Universe Ever 6 x 1 hour series, Five. Autumn 2004 A count down of the most amazing tricks of all time. Psychic Secrets Revealed a one-hour special and 6 x half hour series, Five. Autumn 2004. Investigating the psychology of deception and the Occult. Featured psychological illusionist Derren Brown. Monkey Magic Christmas special 1 hour, Five. Monkey Magic 7 x Half hour series, Five The ground breaking show that changed the magic scene. Other Television Credits :: The Bus Stop A short film for MTV Europe Jerry Sadowitz's The Jerry @ Trick Show. Series two C5 Paul Zenon's Trick or Treat (consultant) C4

Secret World of Magic::

After the success of Monkey Magic Ali and Pete were approached by Sky One to develop a magic travel show. They travel the world performing their own brand of anarchic magic whilst interviewing their magical heroes in each country. The result one of the best Magic shows they feel they have made to date, which has proved to be popular with magicians, the public and the National Press: Pete Firman and Alistair Cook are two of Britain's hippest magicians (Mail on Sunday) Cute boys who do seriously amazing things with goldfish, dental floss and playing cards (Daily Telegraph) Our favourite men of Magic.. Unmissable (Zoo Mag) Effortlessly funny. Jonathan Creek eat your heart out (Daily Telegraph) A hugely enjoyable romp. This stylish and immensely entertaining series is just what we have been waiting for (Magicseen Magazine) Firman and Cook are immensely funny and telegenic (Hull Daily Mail) Press Release:: Top magicians and buddies Pete Firman and Alistair Cook take us on a magical mystery tour of the globe. From Paris to Los Angeles and Vegas, from Buenos Aires to Madrid to New York we follow Pete and Ali's 'road trip' as they meet their heroes of magic, reveal the true stories behind some of the world's most legendary tricks and attempt to wow the locals with their unique brand of magic entertainment. Sometimes they succeed... First stop is MADRID where Pete and Ali get close and personal with Mago Migue, a former Spanish pop star who is now a World Champion card magician. They also meet the Woody Allen of Spanish magic, Juan Tamariz, who is a former TV star and film director and are invited to perform to his students at the world-famous Tamariz school of Magic - where a precocious 11 year-old threatens to out perform them. Pete tries to dazzle with a card trick only to discover that the temperature and humidity makes the cards bend and warp. Meanwhile Ali tries to impress with his Spanish but, in his own words: "...when I ordered coffee I kept being served portions of trifle... " Then it's across the border to PARIS, where they find out that Gaeton Bloom, France's answer to Tommy Cooper, is performing at a topless revue bar. They make it their mission to seek him out. Magic and girls - Pete and Ali's idea of heaven. Not quite so heavenly is Pete's reception at Le Double Fond - a magic bar owned by magician Dominique Duvivier. "My magic has a lot of banter. I was ranting on about how the coin was in my hand and I realised they didn't have a clue what was going on." Next it's touchdown in NEW YORK and within ten minutes a cab driver offers to find Pete and Ali some hookers. "I didn't know we looked that desperate", says Ali. They meet one of their all time greats Harry Lorayne, the fast-talking magic legend whose bible The Magic Book sparked David Blaine's interest in Magic. They also meet David Acer, Canada's finest close-up magician and blag their way in to Monday Night Magic (the Big Apple's premiere magic venue) where they perform to a sell-out crowd. Pete also gets to fulfil a personal goal by performing on the boardwalk at Coney Island. "Awesome", he says. On to LA, the city of stars, where our hard-working magicians cruise, eat sushi, hang out with Gary Oldman (nearly) and attend the premiere of the 'The Shit That Killed Elvis'. In between they catch up with the world famous close-up magician Dean Dill, who is an expert at coin magic. They also share stories with John Gaughan, a legendary magic inventor who taught Blaine how to chop off his ear and interview the outrageous performer Max Maven, the 'Ming the Merciless' of mind reading. They also get to perform at the prestigious Magic Castle. "A life-long ambition", says Ali. Next destination are the casinos and showrooms of VEGAS where Pete and Ali reluctantly watch a bevy of showgirls perform an erotic magic show and marvel at the old ladies wheeling their oxygen tanks from slot machine to slot machine. They pop in to the Rio Hotel to watch Penn and Teller weave their magic skills and chat to the Emo Philips of comedy magic Mac King and the pagan persona that is Jeff McBride, a magician whose act embraces mime, masks and martial arts. Fuelled by the Vegas vibe, our 'swingers' hit the bamboo lounges to perform some close-up magic of their own. Another day. Another continent. BUENOS AIRES, home to the world's only professional one-handed magician, Rene Levand and some nice young ladies who give Pete and Ali some tango lessons "they showed us some of their moves, we showed them some of ours," says Ali. They also talk to Henry Evans, who is famous in Argentina for his card tricks and sleight of hand. Revealing some sleight of hand of their own, our magic mavericks perform on the streets and at the Bazar de magia and get to eat a lot of cow. Ali's diary: Warning quite a lot of this will only be understood by the magi as a lot of magic slang is used: Vegas: My Fave episode. It really is sin city and you can have anything you want at a price but with no soul. I think this is the strongest episode due to the great locations and variety of Magic. Pete performed his Mr. Ball routine which I think is his greatest routine to date and I performed an amended handling of Gertners Triple Dilemma, The dice and hat routine that was Pete's favourite thing I ever done. The reactions to this effect were phenomenal. The showgirls of magic were also another highlight although its true strippers hate men. Vegas was our third week in of filming in the States and we were knackered didn't stop me and Jonathan going to the palms and getting completely wasted, I felt I needed to cos the build up to filming rollover aces (one of the most technically demanding effects I know) was a killer and we started filming it at seven in the morning. Spain: I love Madrid the people are great. And us Brits better get practising the Spanish are way better than us at magic. Highlights were meeting Mago Migue and Juan Tamariz. He genuinely nailed us with the trick shown but what a performer. We started on a street corner and after five minutes we had a crowd. My five routine of my own was the coin routine I did in the bank, the equally most tech demanding routine I filmed again at seven in the morning!!! Los Angeles: Hot place with hot honeys. Dean Dill was my fave and he did some amazing coin stuff. You've got to see him do his Explosion coin routine. It's deadly. Also John Gaughan was a real gent and his workshop is the closet thing I've been too that's like Willy Wonkers Chocolate factory. New York: I love this city I want to live here with a holiday home in Madrid. David Acer was fantastic, what a personality, he was our most fun contributor and Harry Lorayne absolutely kicked it. His Card at any number was incredible. France: Gaeton Bloom has perhaps the most original stage act I've ever seen. He totally rocked, as did Bebal. He has a book coming out soon which I think will be a must have for card obsessed close uppers around the globe. Argentina: Rene Levand has so much presence it's scary. A truly incredible man. Filming with him felt like I was on a movie set. My other highlights were Pete doing the linking hangers and my note in Orange. If you are gonna do a bill to orange effect you've got to do it in an orange orchard!!