A Continuing Journey In The Magic History Of Singapore
This write-up is to introduce magicians and magic lovers to the rich historical past of magic in Singapore. It honours the noteworthy achievements, prominence and significance of neighborhood magicians from the previous and current.
The beginning of Modern day Magic in Singapore
It is the basic consensus that modern magic in Singapore (post World War 2) commenced with the late-Ng Bo
Oen AKA The Great Wong. Details on nearby magic pre-war is quite scarce. The only details located has been on The Fantastic Wong doing at the New Entire world Amusement Park (then situated at Kitchener Street) in the 1930s.
The Great Wong was born in 1908 in Shanton, a metropolis of the Guangdong Province, China and immigrated to Singapore in 1933. He was the only specialist magician of his time in Singapore and executed across South East Asia. He was known for his sharp stage magic, Linking Rings program and Sword Basket illusion. He was also an expert craftsman who created all of his props by hand. He experienced the gift of figuring out the mechanics and methodology of magic props and fabricating them from scratch.
In 1962, The Excellent Wong created a substantial contribution to the international magic group by publishing his famous linking rings routine with English script composed by Tudor Brock. Davenports Magic in London distributes his manuscript to date. In 1982, he was invited by the Federation Internationale des Societes Magiques (FISM) to complete at the fifteenth Planet Congree of Magic in Lausanne, Switzerland.
(For far more info on The Wonderful Wong refer to ‘The Excellent Wong Story’ in The Intercontinental Brotherhood of Magicians Singapore Ring a hundred and fifteen The Quantum Ring Golden Jubilee Problem)
Another nearby magician who was instrumental in developing modern magic in Singapore in the course of the starting was the late-Tan Hock Chuan. He was a trainer by career but done for once-a-year specific activities, charity shows and private parties. He was (and nonetheless is) internationally identified for his magical innovations. His effects and tips are nonetheless marketed dealer products right now and have been published in numerous publications (of that time) these kinds of as Gen, Spinx, Pentagram, New Pentagram, Swami Mantra, Abracadabra and even Tarbell’s Training course in Magic. He is the first Asian magician to receive the Spinx Award (1936-37)
The two The Fantastic Wong and Tan Hock Chuan were critical influences to several of the very first era of Singapore contemporary-magicians who have paved the way for long term generations.
fifties
It was only after the war and in the course of the British Military Administration that magic in Singapore commenced its increase to the place it is nowadays. 1950 was the year that the Singapore Magician’s Club was formed by a team of newbie magicians, comprising of English-educated pros.
In 1951 the Singapore Magician’s Club gained their charter from The Global Brotherhood of Magicians HQ in America and was from then on was officially recognized as The Intercontinental Brotherhood of Magicians Singapore Ring a hundred and fifteen. Founding members of the club at that time included Tan Ewe Chee (President), Yeo Shortly Kian, Lim Kim Tian, Lim Hap Hin, J.H Stafford, L.A Joseph, J.W Jackson (Vice-President) and Tan Hock Chuan (Secretary).
The 50’s gave delivery to Singapore’s 1st technology of modern magicians. In addition to the founding customers of the IBM Ring and The Fantastic Wong (who joined the Ring in 1952 by invitation), some well known very first technology magicians provided Lim Hap Hin, Tan Choon Tee, Tan Bah Chee, Yeo Soon Kian and his pupil Michael Lim.
The Fantastic Wong operated the 1st magic shop from his property cum showroom/ workshop in Singapore at 255-A Jalan Besar the place he offered his own handcrafted props as nicely as imported seller things from Japan. (This home/ shop was wrecked in a fireplace in Dec 1988 creating him to drop most of his guides and props)
1960s
For the duration of this period of time, magicians like The Fantastic Wong, Tan Bah Chee, Lim Hap Hin and Tan Choon Tee executed magic classes at the National Theatre Club and the YMCA. They had been responsible for producing active magicians these kinds of as Charles Choo, Wong Fok Choy, Chia Hearn Jiang, Gwee Thiam Hock and the late-Vijeyacone.
The early 60s also noticed the ‘Golden Age’ of magic with magicians doing at different venues across the place. In addition to neighborhood magicians performing in night golf equipment, international magicians this sort of as Socar executed a grand illusion show to a entire property at the Capitol Theatre (alongside Stamford Road) and The Wonderful Nicholas at the Sky Theater in The Wonderful Planet Amusement Park at Kim Seng Road (Now, Excellent Globe Metropolis).
In the late 60s, Wee Peng Guan (Uncle of Charles Choo), opened the 2nd magic shop in Singapore at a shop house along Robinson Highway. About that time, well-known entertainer Victor Khoo’s father Khoo Teng Heng who was a magician, a ventriloquist and hypnotist opened his magic store at Bras Basah. (in which Carlton Resort stands currently).
In the course of this 10 years, Tan Choon Tee was making a name for himself in the international magic neighborhood in the area of Mentalism. He received several global Linking Ring Awards for his 1-Gentleman Parades and has two textbooks printed by Micky Hades. He was also a standard contributor to quite a few global magic publications this sort of as Gen, New Pentagram, Magicgram, Magicana and The Linking Ring.
Overseas magicians whom passed by means of Singapore included Milo & Roger, Milbourne Christopher and Maurice Fogel.
nineteen seventies
The nineteen seventies noticed the beginning of the 2nd generation of Singapore magicians. Some nicely-identified magicians who received started in the course of this time included The Great Wong’s son Ng Kee Chee, John Teo, Tang Sai Thong, Ng Seow Kiat, Tang Yeng Enjoyable, Bob Chua, Eric Leong, Tan Teck Seng, Lawrence Tham, Tan Tuan Seng, Lawrence Khong and Andrew Kong.
The Singapore Affiliation of Magicians was founded on 10 March 1973 in helpful ‘rivalry’ to the IBM Ring. The club was led by Tan Bah Chee with distinguished founding users such as Lim Hap Hin, Tan Hock Chuan and Charles Choo.
Magic outlets in Singapore commenced to spring up throughout the late seventies. Ng Kee Chee established up a magic stall at Yaohan in Plaza Singapura and Wang Leng opened his shop in Peninsula Plaza. Charles Choo opened his shop in August 1978 on the 6th ground of Significantly East Purchasing Centre. (It would move several moments to different malls but at some point returned back again to Considerably East). His store would soon turn into an establishment in which magicians would purchase various magic products as effectively as satisfy up and discover from every other.
It was a selection haunt for numerous magicians in the many years to occur till the shop closed in the new millennium.
For the duration of this interval, The Tropicana Night Club, which was located at Pacific Plaza, was a location that had typical magic performances. Numerous famous magicians also visited Singapore in the 70s. In 1970, John Calvert executed at the National Theatre. In 1972, Albert Goshman frequented Ring one hundred fifteen to give a lecture. In that same 12 months, “The Professor” Dai Vernon also visited Singapore, lectured and interacted with regional magicians. Other checking out magicians included Andre Kole, Billy McComb, and Ali Bongo.
nineteen eighties
By the 1980s, the nearby magic scene was flourishing with wholesome memberships for the two primary magic golf equipment as nicely as a surge in the amount of doing magicians. Several of today’s veterans made their identify in the 80s. Acquainted names like Richard Ang, Patrick Wan, Patrick Ng Wang Lin, Tan Hai Yan AKA Gician, Paul Koh, AB Francis and Gordon Koh had been doing routinely at general public and personal displays in the course of this ten years. Common nearby venues for community magic exhibits by magic golf equipment held on a normal basis at that time included the Drama Centre and the Countrywide Museum Theatrette.
The popularity of magic shops also grew and in 1982, Chew Kin Track opened a Magic & Novelty Corner at the Chinese Book Area of Common Ebook Co Pte Ltd on the 4th Ground of Bras Basah Complex. Gician Tan also opened up his very first magic shop at Parkway Parade which subsequently moved to Marina Sq. and was managed by Richard Ang. Besides this major shop, he dispersed magic things and sets through division stores
in Singapore and South East Asia.The Singapore audience was also uncovered to world-class magic via many magic television shows and series that were aired on regional Tv including the David Copperfield specials, Magic Magic and The Greatest of Magic.
Overseas magicians who visited Singapore during this time provided David Copperfield, Mark Wilson, Ben Harris, Paul Daniels and Gene Anderson.
1990s
The beginning of this 10 years observed the introduction of the country’s 3rd technology magicians into the local magic scene. Notable budding magicians included Enrico Varella, Sherman Tjiong, J C Sum, Joe Yu (Chan Ee Kang), Nique Tan Li Keong, Prakash Puru, Kiki Tay, Alex Tan and Jeremy Pei.
The regional chapter of Global Magicians Society was formed, founded by its President, Tan Bah Chee although the club’s presence in Singapore was short-lived.
The late-1990s saw a enormous surge in magic international acceptance due to David Blaine’s street magic specials. Many folks started to ‘get into’ magic and had new mediums to discover the craft this sort of as the introduction of DVDs and the Web.
A new magic shop, Magic Castle & Promotions, opened up by Vijay Kumar at Shaw Towers before long grew to become ‘the place to be’ in which new magicians would cling out and satisfy.
During this 10 years, Wang Leng’s shop in Peninsula Plaza was marketed to Patrick Wan. The shop was subsequently marketed to Richard Ang and is now properly identified as Ang Property of Magic. Patrick Wan opened his new store, Magic Wand, which has spawned into several stores in a variety of areas of Singapore. Steven Sim also opened Magic Supreme at Coronation Plaza which has subsequently moved to Park Shopping mall.
The 90s was an exciting ten years with several visits and performances by popular magicians. Aside from lectures by Michael & Hannah Ammar, Mark Leveridge and Wolfgang & Sonja Riebe there were also public theatre performances by the Pendragons, Princess Tenko, Andre Kole, Franz Harary, David Copperfield, Rudy Coby and Robert Gallop. Other visiting magicians integrated Larry Becker, Tim Ellis, Terry Seabrooke, Phil Cass and Albert Tham.
2000 – Existing
Magic has ongoing to flourish at the nearby degree in this decade. New opportunities and talents have emerged to elevate the art in Singapore. In Might 2000, J C Sum staged the first at any time nearby entire-night theatre present ‘Magic at the Theatre’ at Victoria Theatre. Just a thirty day period later on, a lot more than a dozen magicians from the US and Canada came down to Singapore as portion of the Magic Pageant structured by the Malls of Centrepoint. Magicians this sort of as Robert Baxt, Rocco and Peter Gossamer done multiple shows at a variety of Centrepoint Malls for over a 7 days.
In 2004, the Singapore Magic Circle (SMC) was developed by Aloysius Yeo and with its on-line forum drew a new pool of magic enthusiasts together. SMC has considering that developed to over 1000 associates and often organize gatherings, activities as effectively as the latest Notion:Magic Micro MAGIC Convention in January 2007.
By way of a massive-scale theatre magic musical ‘Magic of Love’, Lawrence Khong, a pastor with Faith Group Baptist Church and his daughter Pricilla, spread the gospel message.
The multi-million greenback generation has been staged a lot of occasions more than the years throughout the entire world to distribute the word of Christ. Subsequently, the exact same staff organized two Global Pageant of Magic conventions in 2003 & 2005. The first of its variety massive magic events included competitions, lectures, a dealers’ area and performances. Global performers this sort of as Jeff McBride, Max Maven, Johnny Thomspon, The Pendragons, Lee Eun Gyeol and Tommy Wonder ended up booked to execute at the gala displays and lectures.
In modern a long time, J C Sum has grow to be arguably the most prominent Singapore magician of this technology. His magic has been observed by millions by way of his reside performances throughout Asia as properly as his landmark mass media initiatives on MediaCorp Studio’s Ch 8 as effectively as subsequent ‘Street Illusions’ compilation DVD/ VCD.
His 24-episode ‘Magic in Motion’ sequence can currently be witnessed everyday on Singapore Press Holdings MediaBoxOffice via 2007. In www.mrchitale.com , J C has also recognized himself as an elite illusion designer from Asia with the publication of his three critically acclaimed illusion books that have been bought in far more than thirty nations to day.
Another gifted award-successful magician, Jeremy Pei, is boosting the profile of Singapore magic inside the regional magic neighborhood with his theatre displays, organized lectures, workshops and active participation in magic conventions & competitions in Japan, Korea, China, Thailand and Australia. His unique North-Asian affect fashion of magic functionality has garnered him a adhering to with new budding magicians whom he teaches and guides. He has also released numerous original magic products which are available to magicians worldwide.
In another initial, award-winning junior magician, Kyle Ravin secured a 13-episode weekly Road Magic series, “Maya” on MediaCorp Studios’ Vasantham Central. This 30min sequence observed him perform magic for the Indian group and celebrities across the nation.
This ten years has observed the introduction of even a lot more magic shops and dealers run by young magicians to satisfy the need of magic enthusiasts and magicians. These consist of new ‘brick & mortar’ magic shops this sort of as Street Magic by Tan Wei Ping, Tricky Organization by Jimmy Wong, The Magic Hall by Kenneth Peh as effectively as on-line stores like The Small Magic Store by Ning.