This month Phonebox spoke with 2016 Britain’s Got Talent winner Richard Jones about his new show, his future ambitions and the proudest moment of his career so far.
“I think there’s something that all forms of magic have in common; the ability to make people smile”, Richard says. “It doesn’t matter what kind of day you’ve had or what’s on your mind, if you’re absorbed in a magic trick, it’ll always distract you from whatever you were thinking about”.
Having joined the Army in 2010 and spent three years in the parachute regiment, Richard got his big break in entertainment in 2016, when he became the first magician to ever win Britain’s Got Talent. Since then, he’s gone from strength to strength, becoming a highly sought out corporate entertainer, selling out tours across the UK and performing all around the world. He’s even a Gold Star member of the magic circle! He’s also had his own one off show on ITV, Operation Magic, which aired in 2017. But he’s never forgotten his roots and performed for troops in Afghanistan in 2018.
He’ll be taking brand new tricks and some old classics across the country until the 13thSeptember and going further into the future, he also has ambitions to take his show abroad someday. What has been the proudest moment of his career so far? Richard tells us affectionately, “I think the final of Britain’s Got Talent when I got to join my mentor, the veteran Fergus Anckorn, on stage is the time I’ve felt most pride. Fergus was the longest serving member of the Magic Circle and also an amazing soldier. I looked up to him so much. He passed away a few years ago and I miss him terribly but I’ll never forget that moment”. In Richard’s top two performances are the Royal Variety Show and performing for the troops in Afghanistan, as well as performing in his hometown of Braintree, in a show that all his family and friends were able to attend.
Richard tells us his favourite trick is one that Fergus taught him and is the only one where he’s willing to break the code of the magic circle to reveal how it’s done. You’ll have to watch the show to find out what that is!
Finally, we asked him about his desert island disc and he has a surprising response, “There’s one song in particular that I always play when I’m feeling a bit nervous and about to go on stage. It’ll make you laugh but it’s ‘Footloose’ by Kenny Loggins. It’s so upbeat that it always cheers me up and I feel totally psyched up to perform at the end of it!” We have to admit that sure is a good choice for a feel good song!
Richard brings his nationwide tour to The Core at Corby on Friday 13th September. Tickets are available via: www.richardjonesmagic.co.uk/tour-dates
