Crawley-born The Magic Mod brings his skills to Brighton

A card magician, entertainer and member of the Magic Circle fraternity, Ben has sold out headline dates alongside tour supports with the likes of The Libertines, Paul Weller and The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

“At six years old I got a Paul Daniel's magic set and that was that. For me that was how the love of magic started and I just can't tell you why or what it was. I get asked a lot but I don't know what it was about magic that hooked me but something grabbed me. It was just one of those things. I think it was the magic that found me and I'm so pleased it did. It is the best thing that ever happened to me.

“I think of all the things that have happened in my life and it's all because of magic. I've supported Paul Weller three times and that's a great thing. People don't expect a magician to turn up but I've done it six times now with Paul and The Libertines and Pete Doherty and so on, and the thing is that you know if people like that are asking you to be the support then you must be doing something right. Paul Weller is a genius. He is a complete legend. I've known him for about 15 years now and if he asks, you know you must be alright.

“When I supported Paul Weller, I was walking around the crowds but with the other ones I was on stage and sometimes you're in front of a thousand people or you could be in front of five and a half thousand people. So you make sure that the show is 80 per cent patter and the rest is magic. You have to come up with effects that are big enough for people to see.

“Some people have compared me to the great Tommy Cooper and I do understand why they're saying it because his style of magic was very witty. He did it with a lot of humour. I've loved a lot of the old school magicians, people like Tommy Cooper and Paul Daniels. So maybe I can see what people mean but I certainly wouldn't say it myself because these people are geniuses.”

Tommy Cooper so famously played with getting it wrong before he got it right: “And I think that's the thing. 99 per cent of the audience are waiting for the magician to get it wrong. So sometimes I will play with the audience for a long time before I get to the end. Tommy Cooper was ahead of his time.”

As for Ben’s style: “It is totally unlike any other magician you will ever see. With so many other magicians, you are just part of the crowd but with me you are part of the show. I want everyone who is there to feel involved, and the audience becomes like a family. I'm now selling out shows all over the world and it's just a dream come true but I want everyone in the audience, wherever I am, to feel part of it and to feel that they're completely involved. Sometimes you can watch a magician and it's just like you're watching on TV so you might as well be back home. I want everyone to feel that the show is for them.”

And for many that will mean being transported back to their childhood: “When you see magic, for a lot of people it will be like going back to their childhood, taking them back to a time when they had no worries, when they had no rent or whatever to think about. It just makes them feel like they're a child again. I did a show in Belfast the other day and people came up to me afterwards and there was a man who was saying that he had had a tough time but he felt that watching the show just blocked everything out. And I think that's what magic does for people. Whether people want to believe that magic exists, that's not for me to say. It's for them. If people believe it's real, then that is great.”