Simon Drake
Encyclopedia
Simon Drake is the stage name of Simon Alexander; a British
magician
based in London
. He is best known for the innovative and shocking television series Secret Cabaret
made for Britain's Channel 4
.
, Drake was working as an office boy at the Gull record company (a record plugger at Decca Records in actual fact, Ms Marshall is incorrect. SD) when he met Arthur Brown:
's UK live tour in 1979 for which he co-devised visuals and played seven characters. He has a wide and diverse performing history, from Terayama’s Tenjo Sajiki theatre in Japan to the Royal Variety Show at the London Palladium
before Queen Elizabeth II. He advised Nicolas Roeg
for the film Castaway
, with the tricky task of coaching Oliver Reed
in sleight of hand, and was magic advisor to Harvey Keitel
on Fairy Tale, A True Story. In two series of the award-nominated Secret Cabaret
for Channel Four, he won an international cult following for his original and shocking presentation of illusions and manipulation routines. He worked alongside magician Pat Pagehttp://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2688545. He has performed and consulted with many stars including: Elton John
, Phil Collins
, Madness
, David Gilmour
, Meat Loaf
, Steve Miller
’s Abracadabra, Darryl Hall, Bill Wyman
, George Harrison
, Julian Lennon
, Peter Gabriel
and Pamela Stephenson
. In August 1993 he was seen on American TV in the special Raising Hell
, in which he co-starred with heavy metal band Iron Maiden
in their final show with Bruce Dickinson
on vocals in those years (the singer rejoined the band some years later). The same month Drake performed with Carl Davis and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
Drake has met David Copperfield on several occasions, with Copperfield once saying Simon is "the English version of me, but from hell!".http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2688545
Drake has performed twice as a guest with The Royal Ballet at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
and the London Coliseum. He has appeared at festivals and tours in Canada, New Zealand, Europe and in the UK and has had residencies at many London nightclubs as well as a month in cabaret at The Casino in Monte Carlo
, Paris and Dubai. He was the magic and effects supervisor to Cameron Mackintosh
for the West End
production of The Witches of Eastwick
and Ducktastic, directed by Kenneth Branagh.
He was a consultant on the South London Theatre
's Spring 2007 production of Dr Faustus. He was also a consultant on the production of episode 6 of the fourth series of the BBC television drama Hustle
, broadcast in 2007, where he worked with producers and writers to resolve the problem of how to make $5 million in cash be stolen when it appeared to be actually still there. Inventing a complex and elaborate scam, the episodes final positioning in the series was testament to its effectiveness.
In autumn 2007 Simon received a strange phone call from Terry Gilliam the film director asking about the possibilities of whether a metal tube, hidden down a person's oesophagus could prevent death whilst being hung by the neck. It turned out this was for his forthcoming movie, The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus. In a subsequent 90 min meeting, possibilities were discussed for sleight-of-hand with said tubes along with other ideas for magic effects in the movie. Simon was hired to make these strange tubes and coach the stars of the movie, particularly Christopher Plummer and Andrew Garfield. Drake is credited as 'Magic advisor' on the movie.
No one could have foreseen the tragic death of Heath Ledger in January 2008. The cast, crew and especially Gilliam were shocked and grief stricken and the whole project was put on hold. The movie went through major upheavals and sadly schedules didn't permit Simon's work with Tom Waits. Three 'A' list stars stepped in to complete the film as a testament to their friendship and admiration for Heath Ledger.
.
Feb 2009 Drake travelled across 5 American states on a quest for the strange and very peculiar. He met, interviewed and photographed jesters, jokers, crazed hoarders, automata collectors, strippers, mechanical geniuses, several stars of magic, the inventor of the first ever computer game and a private astronaut.
He said, "It was supposed to be my holiday but turned into damn hard work and about the most fascinating and fun time I have had in years!"
Drake’s photos and interviews appear in Dennis Publishing's Bizarre Magazine over the next 12 months as 3-5 page features.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
magician
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He is best known for the innovative and shocking television series Secret Cabaret
Secret Cabaret
Secret Cabaret was a magic-based television programme that ran for two series, of six episodes each, on Channel 4 in the UK during the early 1990s. It was conceived and fronted by British magician Simon Drake and was praised for giving a new and shocking twist to the presentation of illusions...
made for Britain's Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
.
Early life
Drake is the son of a GP and both sides of his family were connected to the medical profession for some generations. In an interview included in a recent book about Arthur BrownArthur Brown (musician)
Arthur Brown is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, Kiss, King Diamond, and Bruce Dickinson, among others, and for his number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and...
, Drake was working as an office boy at the Gull record company (a record plugger at Decca Records in actual fact, Ms Marshall is incorrect. SD) when he met Arthur Brown:
Arthur's single 'Fire' was the first record I bought at the age of 12. As the years went on I saw Arthur at the Rainbow with Kingdom Come. I was a huge fan...I was promoted to plugger. I took Arthur round for interviews with the radio, and got to know him as a person and he mentored my crossover between the security of a day job and the craft of magic.
Performing career
He first came to wider attention in Kate BushKate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
's UK live tour in 1979 for which he co-devised visuals and played seven characters. He has a wide and diverse performing history, from Terayama’s Tenjo Sajiki theatre in Japan to the Royal Variety Show at the London Palladium
Palladium
Palladium is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pd and an atomic number of 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself named after the epithet of the Greek goddess Athena, acquired...
before Queen Elizabeth II. He advised Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg, CBE, BSC is an English film director and cinematographer.-Life and career:Roeg was born in London, the son of Mabel Gertrude and Jack Nicolas Roeg...
for the film Castaway
Castaway
A castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore. While the situation usually happens after a shipwreck, some people voluntarily stay behind on a deserted island, either to evade their captors or the world in general. Alternatively, a person or item can be cast away, meaning rejected or discarded...
, with the tricky task of coaching Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles...
in sleight of hand, and was magic advisor to Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...
on Fairy Tale, A True Story. In two series of the award-nominated Secret Cabaret
Secret Cabaret
Secret Cabaret was a magic-based television programme that ran for two series, of six episodes each, on Channel 4 in the UK during the early 1990s. It was conceived and fronted by British magician Simon Drake and was praised for giving a new and shocking twist to the presentation of illusions...
for Channel Four, he won an international cult following for his original and shocking presentation of illusions and manipulation routines. He worked alongside magician Pat Pagehttp://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2688545. He has performed and consulted with many stars including: Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
, Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
, David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
, Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
, Steve Miller
Steve Miller (musician)
Steven H. "Steve" Miller is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who began his career in blues and blues rock and evolved to a more popular-oriented sound which, from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s, resulted in a series of successful singles and albums.-Early years:Born in Milwaukee,...
’s Abracadabra, Darryl Hall, Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...
, George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
, Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon
John Charles Julian Lennon is an English musician, songwriter, actor, and photographer. He is the son of John Lennon and Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Powell. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was his godfather. He has a younger half-brother, Sean Lennon. Lennon was named after his paternal...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
and Pamela Stephenson
Pamela Stephenson
Pamela Helen Stephenson Connolly is a New Zealand-born Australian clinical psychologist and writer now resident in the United Kingdom. She is best known for her work as an actress and comedian during the 1980s...
. In August 1993 he was seen on American TV in the special Raising Hell
Raising Hell (video)
Raising Hell is a concert video by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden, filmed on 28 August 1993 at the Pinewood Studios in London, England and broadcast live on pay-per-view television in North America. It was later bought by the BBC for broadcast in the UK as an edited version. The video is...
, in which he co-starred with heavy metal band Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
in their final show with Bruce Dickinson
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden....
on vocals in those years (the singer rejoined the band some years later). The same month Drake performed with Carl Davis and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
Drake has met David Copperfield on several occasions, with Copperfield once saying Simon is "the English version of me, but from hell!".http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2688545
Drake has performed twice as a guest with The Royal Ballet at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
and the London Coliseum. He has appeared at festivals and tours in Canada, New Zealand, Europe and in the UK and has had residencies at many London nightclubs as well as a month in cabaret at The Casino in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, Paris and Dubai. He was the magic and effects supervisor to Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
for the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production of The Witches of Eastwick
The Witches of Eastwick
The Witches of Eastwick is a 1984 novel by John Updike.-Plot summary:The story, set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the late 1960s, follows the witches Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont, who acquired their powers after leaving or being left by their husbands....
and Ducktastic, directed by Kenneth Branagh.
He was a consultant on the South London Theatre
South London Theatre
The South London Theatre is a Community theatre in West Norwood in the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The first play opened in October 1967, and it is now a busy theatrical venue, presenting more than 22 shows annually in two auditoria: the 100-seater proscenium arch "Bell Theatre" and a...
's Spring 2007 production of Dr Faustus. He was also a consultant on the production of episode 6 of the fourth series of the BBC television drama Hustle
Hustle (TV series)
Hustle is a British television drama series made by Kudos Film and Television for BBC One in the United Kingdom. Created by Tony Jordan and first broadcast in 2004, the series follows a group of con artists who specialise in "long cons" – extended deceptions which require greater commitment, but...
, broadcast in 2007, where he worked with producers and writers to resolve the problem of how to make $5 million in cash be stolen when it appeared to be actually still there. Inventing a complex and elaborate scam, the episodes final positioning in the series was testament to its effectiveness.
In autumn 2007 Simon received a strange phone call from Terry Gilliam the film director asking about the possibilities of whether a metal tube, hidden down a person's oesophagus could prevent death whilst being hung by the neck. It turned out this was for his forthcoming movie, The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus. In a subsequent 90 min meeting, possibilities were discussed for sleight-of-hand with said tubes along with other ideas for magic effects in the movie. Simon was hired to make these strange tubes and coach the stars of the movie, particularly Christopher Plummer and Andrew Garfield. Drake is credited as 'Magic advisor' on the movie.
No one could have foreseen the tragic death of Heath Ledger in January 2008. The cast, crew and especially Gilliam were shocked and grief stricken and the whole project was put on hold. The movie went through major upheavals and sadly schedules didn't permit Simon's work with Tom Waits. Three 'A' list stars stepped in to complete the film as a testament to their friendship and admiration for Heath Ledger.
House of Magic
In 1996 he opened his own 5000 square feet (464.5 m²) venue, Simon Drake’s House of Magic, in a converted Victorian building at an unpublicised location in London. This performing space specialises in corporate entertainment functions with twice monthly public performance nights. Shows feature Drake's trademark effects as well as light-hearted amputations and decapitations of senior executives and celebrity guests. His regular warm-up act is piano-based comedian Adam Kay, aka Amateur TransplantsAmateur Transplants
Amateur Transplants are a London based, British parody musical duo consisting of medical professionals, Dr. Adam Kay and Dr. Suman Biswas , who came to prominence in 2005 with a song about the London Underground, parodying the Jam song "Going Underground"...
.
Feb 2009 Drake travelled across 5 American states on a quest for the strange and very peculiar. He met, interviewed and photographed jesters, jokers, crazed hoarders, automata collectors, strippers, mechanical geniuses, several stars of magic, the inventor of the first ever computer game and a private astronaut.
He said, "It was supposed to be my holiday but turned into damn hard work and about the most fascinating and fun time I have had in years!"
Drake’s photos and interviews appear in Dennis Publishing's Bizarre Magazine over the next 12 months as 3-5 page features.