677 - Magician Harry Moulding PREDICTED The World Cup… THE REVEAL!

26:33when do you then go from being hairy indoors at home to how do you take it to school do you try and press people exactly that so it's such a weird transition because i went from as i say just being a normal kid to then having this hyper focus super obsession becoming really isolated as a result you know like literally my whole kind of social element of my life just depleted right so much you know i You kind of magic yourself up some friends. I was locked away with my 50-year friends, you know, with my deck of cards, and that was it. Do you remember the first time you took that into school to show people?

27:09Yeah, and I got terrored because I was terrible, you know. So, like, when I kind of went into year seven and I started high school, that was my training ground for magic. I'd be on the school bus practising tricks that I'm learning at home on real people because that's where you see people every day, and they'd go wrong because I was new into it, and like the year 11s would just be ripping me to shreds. And honestly, that's why a lot of the time people quit because they can't hack being bad for that period before you break through and you start to slicken up a bit. Would you say that the opinions of your peers were more negative at the start then?

27:44Absolutely. Really? That's what Dynamo said to us. So he said the same. Like Dynamo, obviously you might know his story as well, but he got into it because he was getting like bullied. so he would then use the tricks to try and persuade people that he was cool do you know what I mean? Exactly he'd get like pushed down a hill in a wheelie bin and then he'd take away someone's strength and you know he'd absolutely use it to his like his superpower but I was terrible for the first two years It sounds really similar to comedians doesn't it? Like you're basically doing your own version of the circuit It's a performance thing so you can put that blanket over any performance Yeah How do you push through the negative and keep going?

28:21Just a lot of therapy 11 years old yeah yeah just kidding it was more for the love of the game with it so because i just had the love for magic it would go wrong and often for me it was almost like a challenge it was like i'd be like right i'll show you i'll go the next day and do it again and do it again until it goes right right um and there was a big there was a big kind of dynamic change of it by year nine only then my peers were kind of thinking like i went from being you know a bit of a geeky kid that they'd take the piss out of yeah to now being like oh what can harry do here by year 10 they were more warm to it by year 11 they thought it was so cool is that because you were probably getting better at it as well exactly yeah repetition it's weird though isn't it because like this this is my one bit of advice for anyone who's perhaps like younger and have a passion don't give a fuck what people say because people used to give me so much shit for my early youtube videos and like admittedly they probably were cringy right but i'm learning a skill i'm learning a craft i'm trying to build a career and then as soon as the the shift change happened and i started to get views that i was doing the same thing but it validated what i was doing in their eyes and they were going you're so cool now like you're doing this but it's just the same passion that you've always had so i had the same experience right yeah and that's why there is a lesson in that yeah you know and the only way to grow with it is by just through practice and experience you have to just do it don't you yeah for sure did you did did your magic ever get you into trouble at school oh yeah yeah all the time you know like when i'd be doing tricks in class so for instance my teacher would try and confiscate my cards so when i'd when i'd pass the cards over i'd palm half of the deck so i'd give them half a pack of cards and they wouldn't even realize they just put it away yeah and i'd retain half a deck and i'd just carry on as soon as they turn them back you know like the amount of times and it also helped bail me out of situations you know in what way well i was quite like i i know it's quite a generic term like the class clown but you know i was always talking always messing about always having fun yeah didn't really knuckle down academically that much right um had a good relationship with the teachers but you know I was just a yeah it was it was always kind of just magic fueled you know so as I say if I was getting into trouble I would try and win them around a bit it's such an icebreaker you know by showing them a trick yeah or predicting what punishment they're going to give you two weeks suspension yeah it just kind of like takes the heat off a little bit if you can make them laugh by doing a trick at the end of the day have you ever used magic to try and impress a love interest oh my god do you want the honest answer yeah no you haven't no yes

31:12how do you go about that badly you talk about cringing back at some of your earlier experiences yeah you know my first sort of instances of like going out taking girls out dating all of that world you know it was kind of my my crux you know it was my well my crutch really yeah um it was i'd try and use it and i look back now and i cringe because you know no one wants to be kind of wooed into a second date and yeah that's what i relied on that's what i relied on and now i'd go on first dates and pull out a deck of cards and it wasn't as formal as that It would more be if we were out, you know, and I'd suddenly, you know, I'd just so happen to whip the deck out.

32:01Yeah, carefully you say that. Yeah, that's probably the wrong choice of words. Yeah. Give myself a whole thing. If I whipped my deck out, there'd be no second date, let me tell you. Yeah, and that, yeah, that court case lasted a while. But yeah, you know, it was, yeah, it was my, it was my crutch. so I don't do that now you'll be glad to hear just on a human level you know it's not normal to do that did you ever have what was it I was then going to say the magic trick from my mate that I love who's my mate Mulhern yeah Mulhern he's not my mate I never met him he just loves him I love him I love Stephen Mulhern did you ever watch Tricky TV growing up no I didn't see I heard you say this you mentioned this on an interview I saw of yours on YouTube and I was like I can't even fucking remember the Tricky TV.

32:55What was it? Was he doing tricks? Yeah, so he had a magic show where he'd do tricks and then he'd teach a couple of tricks as well to the viewer at home. I'm a fake fan. You just had his magic set. I had his set. I had a magic set. And there was probably about two weeks in my life where I thought I'm going to be a magician. And then I sort of gave up and got Call of Duty. But I never knew that he had a TV show. Oh, yeah. Stephen Mulhern is such a legend in our world and our industry. Right. Because he's really helped kind of pave, especially here in the UK, he's helped make British magic cool.

33:29There's only a handful of TV magicians kind of in my generation. Who would you cite as your inspirations? And I know there's loads. Yeah, there's been kind of Dynamo was my era and my generation. Troy, Blaine, I know is in America, but he was very much kind of on the scene in my upbringing. Stephen Mulhern I used to see on TV all the time. and then there were some of the classics and their old shows would get played, you know, like Paul Daniels and Copperfield in America, but they were a bit before my time, so I didn't see that much of them. The big one is Derren Brown. I love Derren Brown. Do you not like Derren Brown?

34:03I love him. Oh, okay. He's the go, you know, like genuinely. Yeah. Derren is the god. I'm so glad you said that because me and Fia and I, we absolutely adore him. Have you seen him live? Seen him live probably five or six times. This is so weird and like the listeners are going to be going, jack you're such a fucking tryhard i am right but this is irrelevant to the story i saw fee will back me up on this i saw him the first four times i ever see him i got picked out of the crowd four times on stage yeah so the first time it was like a runner came in and i had to do something at the seat another time was i had to stand up and say something to a mic there was a time he played norwich theatre royal i went up on stage and i had to draw an animal like it was so insane and stevie and i are so lucky to meet all of these fantastic people we have on the pod right never quite got Darren on the pod and then last year for Fiona's birthday we went to uh I took her to go and see Darren in Norwich and I've never met him never spoke to it apart from a live show when it's just everyone going up I mean like I've never met him in a in a personal setting and we went to leave the theatre and Darren's camera guy knew who I was and I said is there any chance I can meet Darren he said let me see what I can do and he brought us backstage and we got to go to his dressing room and meet him and we fanboyed hard yeah yeah rightly so you know yeah He is just the go and you'll appreciate.

35:20Have you seen him live, Stevie? I haven't. I actually had tickets for him last year and then it was when we went to Glastonbury. So I didn't go. You would have loved it. He's the ultimate showman in live theatre. The way he commands a crowd and interacts with an audience. Well, he had a show called Showman, didn't he? Yeah, exactly. And he's just the master. Where does he lie in terms of... So we had a psychic medium on it before. I saw. Yeah. and I think it was very clear I do not believe a fucking second of it, right? And I'm not sure that even the psychic medium did, to be fair. But on the Venn diagram...

35:58They gave it a good go.

36:03But on the Venn diagram of you've got Derren Brown here, you've got psychic mediums in terms of complete opposite, he belittles, he rubbishes what they do. where would magicians come in there then because does he does he ever shit on magic do you know what i mean no no no he's just he's so graceful with it as well so he so there's so many different categories of magic and you'll you'll know with dynamo when you've had him before right dynamo does so many stunts and it's really he's not a comedy magician his his niche and his style is very specific. The same with Darren. So with mentalism, mind reading, all of that area of magic, it absolutely kind of sits in its own category.

36:50And that's where I'd say Darren sits in line with magic. And there's so many magicians that try and aspire to be like Darren and no one can do it to the same degree. But yeah, it's very much just in its own world. And I don't delve too much into that area. No, what's your area then? I'd say mine's almost general magic. Okay. So I enjoy just blending it with entertainment, making sure it's fun. It's still impactful. But again, for me, it's all about the experience. Whereas a lot of magic is so serious. Yeah. You know, I couldn't, basically I'm not cool enough to pull that off. You know, that whole David Blaine.

37:28It just wouldn't work for me. We saw Penn and Teller in Vegas, didn't we? Brilliant, I love them. We went and saw them in Vegas and that's so, like that's pure comedy magic. Exactly. and they're not serious in this like i think that's my favorite type of magic when you can intertwine comedy like darren's super funny as well really funny i'm i might offend you but when i say this but i saw copperfield right yeah probably one of your idols right he's one of the magic yeah yeah which i do not dispute i just wasn't for me i just did not get it like i was too serious it was no it was the opposite um so like at one point he brought out this alien right and i was sat there and like i it was like this little animatronic thing came down right and and it was like talking to him right this is my opinion right so shoot me down the magic fans will shoot me down it was like copperfield's been doing it way too long and he was bored of it right so the alien had to like have a conversation with him but say the alien would be going like oh show me that trick and he wasn't doing a bit he was just rushing his lines and he was going yeah okay and I thought you've been doing it too long you've lost the I felt like you had lost the magic from the eyes when we talked to you you seem like you have such an energy for magic I think Copperfield passed it mate I'm going to put it out there and you know what what a career because just the fact he's still doing three shows a day well he's just finished his run which has been a long standing I don't want to get the amount of time wrong.

39:00He's had a multi-year. Oh, he's been doing it for fucking donkey's. Yeah, oh, decades. And, you know, we all have a bad show. We all have a bad gig. I'm not here to just try and defend anyone. But maybe you saw him on a tired show. I think how can you keep the passion for it when you're doing it that long, three shows a day? And for our generation more so as well. Like that whole, the theatrics of like talking to the alien, it's not really you know as much what we're used to i'd say yeah compared to the people that are 20 years older than me yeah that copperfield was their era yeah on that with like him getting bored of it when he's doing the same show three times a day to a big audience for you what do you prefer do you prefer big audience or do you prefer right in front of someone where you're seeing that actual reaction because obviously with the audience i imagine you hear the cheers and you hear the claps but you don't get that face-to-face instant like wow that is amazing yeah so for me both of them bring so many benefits and what do i prefer a big audience is the buzz and the adrenaline of that crowd unless you know unless it goes wrong yeah which we'll get on to but the intimacy of close-up magic that is so experiential with whoever you you know performing it to because it's in their hands you know when we've done the trick previously yeah you know a few weeks ago it was in your hands it's up close it's right in front of you so you know there's no smoke no mirrors no that's my favourite thing yeah that's my I think that's why I was probably shitting on Copperfield a bit because it's like yeah you've got an animatronic alien but it's not really relatable when if it had come up to me and done what he can do with his hands in front of me sound a bit weird I would have loved it can we see some magic now then before yeah shall we have a little magic break 100 % let's do it yeah okay cool well we'll leave it in your hands what would you like to do let's try this in fact shall we just see what what we've got.

40:52Do you mind? I mean, I know we've got the beers here. Can I borrow some of your kit? Yeah. Or some of your objects? Yeah, yeah. Are they some of your cups down there? Yeah. Okay.

41:07Can we use this one? Yep. Let's try this. Yeah. In fact, we'll just take this out. So Harry's pouring out a little bit of Budweiser into a cup. So that's fully solid. And really check that's solid, right? Yeah. Yeah. If the beer bottle really was solid, then it would be impossible to do this.

41:48I don't like it Just twisted a glass bottle It makes me feel uneasy And that really is solid Well it's smashed Yeah just smashed Really examine it Just for the people at home What? Sorry, any audio listeners, you obviously just need to go over and watch what's just happened. Harry should twist to the Budweiser bottle in half. As he was twisting it, I was like, oh, it's a plastic bottle. We didn't realise. But we have both halves here, look. And all the bottles, genuinely, they are all glass. And it's still got the cap inside it. I'm baffled. Hang on. It makes me feel uneasy. You know when sometimes someone does a trick and you think, I think I can probably get to the bottom of that.

42:36I can't get to the bottom of this. That's glass. That's solid. All right, you're a maniac. I mean, even if it doesn't just work with me, for instance, say we took things to a bit of a different level. Yeah, cards. Put your hand. You know enough about cards and enough about magic to know that you get 52 choices. Yep, I play a lot of poker. And we've not set anything up. No, nothing. Nothing. If you're going to make a choice, red or black? Red. Red? That was quick. Stevie? I always go black, by the way. You always go black? Yeah, but I'm going red. Do you want to change back? Because I will give you the option to if you want to.

43:14Go on, then let's change. It's up to you, but you don't have to. I will change. So black? Yeah. Clubs or spades, Stevie? I feel like everyone always goes ace of spades, so I'm going to go clubs. Clubs. High card or low card? Low card. Low card, like ace to five. Yeah. Four. Four? Four. So black, clubs, low, four, the four of clubs. Yeah. Is it fair to say they've been in your hand the entire time? Since before I even asked you to make a choice. Fair? Yeah.

43:55Slowly, and just put your hand down for a second. if we actually take these out fair? Yeah? We go through and we can see that every card is facing the same way apart from one. Turn it over. Oh my god. That's gross. That is actually gross. That is... That is insane. You know, when... No. That is insane. What you just said about like trying to figure it out, when people obviously, whenever you do stuff to them, the whole time they're watching, they're going, I'm going to see it, I'm going to see it. 100%. Because you put it in his hand before we even made the choices, complete free choices. You obviously changed from red to...

44:42If you'd stuck, that would have completely changed the outcome. But when I was like, I was watching thinking, okay, there'll be some kind of like sleight of hand here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But then there's no way you could have specifically been able to find that one card. That one card. like we we know there are ways to do magic and so my brain I'm going how has he done it and I'm thinking and you haven't you haven't touched the cards because you're right you're looking for the sleight of hand you're going right he's going to find that card you haven't touched the cards I was like oh we'll swap the deck but then also if he swapped the deck he's got 52 we've made those choices together you're an alien hands free no sleeves you're an alien I know I just need to go back to Copperfield

45:27that would have made the show better oh wow i'm super impressed well thank you yeah i'm super impressed like we like dynamo's my mate i'm like steven yeah he's up there with you mate he is up there with you that is a high accolade yeah yeah he's been doing it a lot longer than you trust me that is just as impressive as anything he's ever done on there thank you yeah thank you Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm glad you got that bit in. Right, let's talk about Britain's Got Talent. Yeah. So 2025, you won the show. Last year, yeah. Yeah. I didn't see Britain's Got Talent. I've watched the clips back, so I've seen the tricks that you've done.

46:07You did the proposal in the semifinal, didn't you? Yeah, Paris. And that's the one where you got the gold buzzer? From KSI. From KSI. Yeah. So before we get to that, because I think that was the real big moment. I think I saw news articles about that before I even know who you was, but they're strip it back. So what made you first audition for Britain's Got Talent? I've watched the show. So I'm part of the family that kind of sat in front of the telly on a Saturday night. We all gathered around and we watched BGT every Saturday. Right. And I've always dreamed of going on the show, but so many magicians have.

46:41They get like 100 ,000 applicants every year and they'll be 20 years old next year. So in the last two decades, they have had some of my magical heroes on there. Yeah. And they've seen so much magic. So I always hummed and hawed about, do I go on BGT? When would be the right time? And you have to kind of weigh up the upsides and the downsides. Because also I've got magicians that I'm friends with and that I know that have had bad experiences. Well, I feel like I remember when I'd watched Britain's Got Talent growing up, I feel like Simon always hated when magicians came on. I think that was a thing, wasn't it?

47:13It was a thing, wasn't it? Yeah, it did. he'd always kind of eye roll as soon as it's a magician he's like oh here we go how can you hate magic though he finds things he hates a lot he's a bloke who dressed up as a dragon did he get big on that Piff he could age E.T. he's in Vegas he's a legend isn't he yeah I love that guy he's funny that guy hilarious with Mr Piffles he's chihuahua yeah so you auditioned so I auditioned so I was woman and oaring because I didn't want so with magic especially anything can go wrong at any second just can there's so many variables with it and often when magicians have done badly on there it's because a prop something's happened in the audition they get buzzed and that prime time slot has almost defined their career a lot of the time you know because pete that'll circulate and it can really be career damaging um is this a stupid question is it live it is live isn't it it's a the auditions are pre-recorded but you only get one take oh okay so if if you mess up yeah they they can use it Are there auditions before the audition?

48:43Subscribers. Terms apply. This episode is brought to you by ChatGPT. Hey, it's Bill Simmons from the Bill Simmons Podcast. Have you guys heard about ChatGPT work? It's the new way to use ChatGPT for bigger multi-step projects. And when you need more than just answers, give ChatGPT work access to your apps and files, and it can create real work documents like spreadsheets, slides, and structured reports. Get started at ChatGPT.com by selecting work mode, Available on Plus and Pro Plans. This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome? That's new.

49:23It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required, compatibility and availability varies 18+. um they used to do open days at like old trafford for instance uh and you'd do it in front of producers i did mine on zoom i had to submit videos i don't know if they still do the physical or that's a lot easier for them isn't it they might do they might do so i ummed and odd um and they'd seen so much magic i didn't know whether they'd say oh it's not original enough or we've seen similar things to this before so i really didn't know whether to do it and then ultimately I decided to go for it because they were coming back to Blackpool where I live and it felt like the right time because they hadn't been back in Blackpool for auditions in eight years so I just felt like if I'm ever gonna do it now's the time like this is the you know this is the time.

50:22Were you nervous then? Oh yeah yeah I was because it's such a stomach twisting feeling yeah I bet. You get thrown into the audition as well so you get kept in a holding room all day and you do you know they shoot b-roll uh you do interviews you speak to the other contestants and And then when it's your time to go, you get taken through these corridors. And then before you know it, you go through a curtain and there's Ant and Dec. And there's like five cameras. Is that the first time you'd met Ant and Dec? Yeah. And you're live. You're on at that point. There's the boom mic, you know, the whole crew are there.

50:53And then they have a 20 second chat with you and say, off you go. So you go from being in this room to just being thrown into it. And you walk on stage and it was at the Winter Gardens. And I'd never performed there in my life. So I've been going to shows there my whole life, but always I'd been in the audience. So that was the first time being on that stage. So it was mad. And when you went out, what was the first sort of trick you did? So during my audition act, I basically made some random decisions and let the judges make some random choices, which I then predicted in advance. And I played a video prediction of me mind reading and predicting the choices they were going to make while I was riding a roller coaster at the Pleasure Beach in Blackpool.

51:34Oh, I have seen this one as well. Oh, I didn't know if there was like an audition that didn't go out there. No, that was my televised audition. That was the televised audition. That was the first physical performance I did. And then I made the KSI's card illuminate on Blackpool Tower, took it then ran to the seafront with the crew. It was nuts. But yeah, before that, I was just submitting videos when I applied. So you was already a working magician before this. You would go for like events and stuff like that, I imagine. Mainly close up. So I did six years in Spain. Right. In Salud. Do you know Salud?

52:06Yeah. It's like Blackfall. Not too far from Barcelona, is it? Exactly, an hour away. It is like Blackfall, just with a bit more sun. Generally, it's such a resort, tourism resort. What were you doing there? You were just doing close-up magic? No, we were doing shows. So there's a magic theatre called the House of Illusion. It's amazing. And we did like 12 magic and illusion shows for tourists every week. Right. So I cut my teeth there. Yeah. And then I came back to the UK after being there for six years. And then I was just doing gigs. But it was on a much smaller scale. So I was doing weddings and like private parties, corporate events.

52:38Right. That's what I was going to ask. How do you then, you're being thrown in at the deep end, at the Winter Gardens on stage at BGT, but your expertise is in that close, smaller budget magic. How do you know how to scale it up? Did you have a team around you? No, no. So in the prep and the lead up to it, as I say, being in Spain, I was on stage then, which really helped. I mean, the theatre kind of had a capacity of about 250, so it was nothing on the scale of 3 ,000 people in the opera house. But that's just where I just felt like I came alive. But I had to just, you almost have to just scale and tailor the material to suit.

53:21The good thing though about now is you can project everything with the screens. So I use the LED walls a lot and you can really take magic that plays big on stage just by using a camera operator. It was, everything you did was such a spectacle, wasn't it? And that moment I've watched back on YouTube, the proposal thing was amazing. And I completely get, I saw you did an interview where people were talking about the critics online, where they're saying it was fixed or whatever. People say all this shit to us all the time when they don't have a clue. So what would be your response to the people that said that it was?

53:59Oh yeah, of course. I mean, just the fact that people are talking about it is a good thing regardless, right? Publicity-wise. And ultimately, people are always going to think it's a fix. And because it's a competition, you're not allowed to fix it. No, of course. Because there's money involved and there's a cash prize. They're so strict with the T &Cs of it. Right. So it's impossible to fix anything on that show. Do you find you, as a magician, do you get much stick or backlash for what you do? I mean, when I'm performing live, no, but online people jump to the comments like they do and they'll try and question it and come up with different theories and methods.

54:34But that seems stupid that people would question it because ultimately it's a trick, isn't it? That's what you're doing. So it's like when Dynamo floats. He's worked out a way to convince us that he's floating. You're not fucking floating. You know what I mean? It's like, how can you really go at a magician? You can go at a psychic medium because they're claiming... They're trying to convince you. Yeah, exactly. they're telling you they are speaking to the dead where you're a performer you're doing a magic I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything you're doing a magic trick exactly yeah you're just trying to create the experience and then once that's done it's done so it's whatever you want to believe it is yeah you know I'm not trying to persuade or you know it'll be a very specific type of person I won't where we're watching him do these tricks and we're wanting to know it but they're not going well obviously it's not real they'll spend hours picking it apart frame by frame oh god I'll just enjoy stuff I know, I know, I know.

55:30It's mad. What was it like? I'm sure you've answered this question a million times, but when KSI hit that gold buzzer. Oh, just, oh, you know, again, it's just genuinely how I felt. All your dreams kind of like come true in that moment because it's something you've just seen. Like I've grown up since I was eight watching that happen. And it was just surreal. Yeah. It's surreal, you know, and then you get thrown into the machine of it where after, because that happened in the live show, there was only a week, I think I told you about the skydiving story. Yeah. It was only seven days. I was in the final week of the semis.

56:02So then it goes straight from that buzz to prep. But then the next day you're back at the studio filming for your VT for the following week. Wow. And then you're doing PR. Yeah. That's when I was like, you know, on the shows talking about what had happened. So then it got to Wednesday and I was like, I've only got three days left to actually really start working on the act. I was like, we're going to have to cut everything else at this point just to get a few days to straighten it up. Did you enjoy the whirlwind of it then? Yeah, loved it. Loved it. Yeah, it was such a buzz. And yeah, it's just a mad machine that you're a part of.

56:38And mentally, you have to almost, for me anyway, I had to just try and just, again, lay aside the outcome because it's so easy to get sucked into really obsessing and hyper-fixating on wanting your positioning and all the little details that you can't change. For me, I just wanted to enjoy the experience, do my best you know i saw it all as a bonus because even if i just made it to the first round yeah that's a clip then yeah that's like the ultimate promo you know it's that first round for your marketing you're gonna get better work as a result so i just tried to not worry too much about the outcome of it and i think that came across so you being so relaxed up there and stuff it didn't seem like you were fixating or stressing on anything you mentioned positioning there what What do you mean by that?

57:23Do you mean in what order you come on as part of the contestants in the final? Yeah, that kind of positioning or which semi-final you'd want to be in and all of that stuff is just out of your hands. That's the producers who are obviously making the show that decide that. So if you can't change it, then there's no point worrying about it. You know, it was Hammersmith Apollo as well. Oh, wow. You've gigged there, right? Was it with Max? You did the Apollo. Was that the Apollo that we went to? I can't quite remember now. God, I'd probably say I'm really arrogant. I don't know. I can't remember. I can't remember.

57:55No, I think that was the... I can't remember. Maybe I have. Similar. Yeah, maybe. Maybe. Yeah, yeah. Nice. Well... It's one of those stages, though. Yeah. One of those bucket list stages. Just iconic, isn't it? Yeah. It's just absolutely iconic. When it comes to Britain's Got Talent and the Golden Buzzer, do all the judges get one that they compress throughout the auditions? Is that all throughout the... Yeah, so they get them through the auditions, and then during the live shows, is they switched the format up a bit in my year. So they went from basically two acts in each semi go through. One of them is a golden buzzer.

58:29So that's just one judge has the power to press that at any given moment. And then the other is a public vote. But the, yeah, the catch 22 of the golden buzzer is if it's already being pressed by the time you go on stage, you're just relying on the public vote. Oh yeah. And if it's not being pressed until the end, then does that mean the last person you have to press it for the it's so random where did you come when you got the buzzer whereabouts were you on the show i think i was fourth on right that day yeah i think i was fourth right um but yeah and live tv is just such a different beast as well you know there was a moment in it they didn't go to plan and i had to just freestyle and just improvise what went wrong the act some without exposing the methods behind it yeah a bit into my performance in my semi something was meant to happen a certain way and i realized it hadn't with because it's again so many variables and choices are being made and it all has to perfectly piece together in order for it to work so were you not panicking then yeah internally yeah i was like a duck below water just like flapping in inside but again like you have to just try and just take a breath leave a beat like just think about it yeah you know it's the same and I imagine, I don't know whether you found it nervous going on playing those sorts of rooms.

59:49Oh, we fucked up loads of times, yeah. Yeah. But the brilliant thing when you do something like this, we don't have them sort of same beats that we have to hit and those mechanics working behind the scenes. Us fucking up is funny to our audience. Yeah. They don't expect anything amazing from us. Yeah. Yeah. They're not waiting for magic from us. No, there's comedy magic maybe. There's not a right or wrong way to do it, is there? Whereas I guess if, without trying to get into your head too much about how you do it, if one thing goes, it can crumble. Like a decade past can come crashing down. Exactly that.

1:00:24But equally, the good thing is that they don't necessarily know what's supposed to happen. Exactly right. So if you go on a bit of a journey, then they don't know what's meant to be coming next. That's a good point. How do you pivot? Like how, in that moment when you're obviously, again, without saying what you were doing, but like when you're struggling inside, being like what's going to go like how do you just go okay this is now what i'm going to do i had to just continue while i thought about a solution so i had to almost just keep it rolling for another minute or two while i could try and think about what to do the last thing you want to do is freeze yeah um and again you can't prepare for those moments you know i remember that the stomach not you know it's like having a knife in your stomach like even just walking out into a room like that.

1:01:08First experience in that kind of theatre on that scale. And like you see the set, you see the cameras, the judges, you're about to go on and it is just that feeling. But again, that's the excitement as well. Yeah, that's what you do it for really, isn't it? Them big moments. Dumb question, did it change your life? Yeah, massively. Because as I say, I went from just doing gigs. I was driving just up and down the country, doing weddings, corporate, just smashing off gigs every week. working around the tables, you know, working the room, doing all of that kind of stuff. And everything, all the doors and the opportunities that it opened were things that would have been so hard to try and break through without that platform and that springboard of the show.

1:01:52So it's, yeah, it's a mad experience because even just finding a team that I've got now that have been able to help work with me to really create opportunities that, again, I've only ever dreamed of genuinely in the last year that's so cool yeah it's only because of that yeah you know so ksi yeah yeah you know we we did something the other day yeah which which is which is mega like all of these things that are happening he's a cool guy isn't he he's a really cool guy he's really helped me like he's given me so much advice after the show as well oh cool which he again he doesn't have to do i know it's it reminds me when ricky first came on here yeah and like i remember you saying at the time like he didn't need to be that supportive in the early days yeah yeah that was my experience with it because like he you know he's got so many pistons in his engine it could be a transactional thing he's working on bgt you come on you do your thing he presses the buzzer finish done but he's there as a support system behind the scenes as well which is pretty fucking cool yeah massively yeah and he still does that now that's cool a lot of people uh obviously he's massive isn't he one of the biggest names in the country a lot of people ask stevie you know when they meet i was what is he like and we just have nothing but cool things to say about him it's so refreshing just in humanity yeah people on that scale a really friendly guy um before we uh come to the end harry because this has flown by because you're so great uh i want to ask you a little bit about um tiktokers these days who aren't necessarily magicians but they expose the tricks what's your opinion on on that yeah you know it's it's it's not the it's not the lane that i'd ever take yeah And it's not good for magic, really.

1:03:33No. And you can see why people do that because obviously to get the views, it's such an interesting experience to be able to see how it's all revealed. Yeah. It kind of ruins it for the rest of it. There's such a divide in the magic world, you know. Yeah. Like the mass magician, for instance. Yeah. I loved that when I was younger. Yeah. Because I didn't know how to do anything. So now I'm watching this big lorry drive over someone. and he's like, I was just loads of weights on the other side. Well, fair enough. I bet he's just really fucking it up for everyone else. Yeah, exactly. Do magicians, so that guy, that masked magician, for anyone who doesn't remember, maybe too young, this was a show in the early noughties, I'd say, in which he came on and he exposed the biggest sort of spectacle kind of magic there was.

1:04:18Do magicians dislike him then? Oh, massively. Like genuinely, you know, at these magic conventions, it's kind of like burning him at the stake. I guess I'll shout out. He's not as deep as that. I guess that's why he stayed masked on these shows. Yeah, yeah. Throwing darts. But people know who it is. Yeah, yeah. But back then they didn't, didn't they? Yeah. Oh. When it was a big TV show, no one knew who he was because I think it would have caused issues. And then it was exposed. And yeah, he's not well liked in the magic community. Right. And it's also had to make us think about material even because if you're performing magic that he's exposed, then you have to just kind of tailor it because they do that a lot with the AI ones now.

1:04:57Right. where they'll just kind of like break people down and stuff. I had a similar experience when I was prepping for the Royal Variety. I got the access to go and perform in Buckingham Palace in the King's office as part of the trick, which is mad because it was such a crazy sign-off. He had to sign that off himself, which I didn't believe until I saw the document. What do you mean? So he had to say, you're welcome to go in there? So they'd only done it for Daniel Craig when he opened the Olympics in 2012 as James Bond. and Paddington and it had to go all the way up the chain to be allowed to go in his office to film this trick and the initial one of the tricks I was going to do at the start was something that then got exposed online like using the same principle so I had to take that out because that would have just discredited everything I was going to do oh wow so sorry did no so did that go out then you in the office then or yeah that was part yeah the final one uh in the rural variety oh okay i've not seen that yeah yeah so it was crazy because the king didn't actually come to that right he did the year before so it was prince william will and kate came okay so i got to meet them after they sat in the raw box and watched it and then after that because the king didn't go himself they actually let me go and do a private show for him at christmas at windsor castle and he's a member of the magic circle so the first thing he asked me was are you a member of the magic circle before the king is a member of the magic king charles is a magician did he do any magic for you i did magic for him do you want to know what happened yes so you know the card underwater trick yeah um i think he'd seen it before or he'd seen similar versions so this is just to set the scene i'll try and summarize it in like a few words essentially we're all at windsor castle i arrive i'm not allowed to bring anyone with me so i go through the gates you're gone on your own oh yeah on my own no camera to film it no camera on my nda and no camera i'm not even allowed to post the the photos from it just because it's that strict just for security because this just because he wants to see a bit of magic there were people in the rural household that have to be kept anonymous that would have been in the picture oh wow right okay yeah i tip up at windsor castle in my tuxedo go through armed police search me mi5 are there they'll see genuinely the secret service they then take me on a golf buggy and they cruise me through the castle grounds like these three armed police i'm just hanging off on the back of this golf buggy with like trying trying to keep the cords in my pocket without everyone falling out with all my props i walk in they sweep the room there's probably like 15 of them isolated and then he arrives in an entourage of about 15 bulletproof Range Rovers and limos.

1:07:42So the King and Queen arrive, Charles and Camilla walk in, they start circulating the room and then it's my moment to go and speak to him. And then he asks, are you a member of the Magic Circle? And we start chatting about magic and then I thank him for letting me use his office. So it's just surreal. And then I go to do a trick on him and I started off with a card trick just to warm him up. And I ask him to pick a card. and before he goes in, he just looks at me and goes, you're not going to steal my watch while we do this, are you, Harry? He then looks around at the rest of his entourage and right on cue, as soon as he looks around, they all just burst into laughter and go, oh, very good, sir.

1:08:29All of these royal household staff, I mean, it was amazing to watch because they've dedicated the life of service for working at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. They live there. They've got like the quarters. It's mad. And they just get to shake his hand and meet him at this reception. And you can tell it's making the life. And it was, you know, again, that's a bucket list kind of thing. Yeah. How nervous were you for that then? Not as nervous as the Royal Variety. Right. Because the Royal Variety was the scale of it. And again, it was, you know, televised because it was more close up. He's so charismatic, you know.

1:09:02Is he? That was just one example. He was cracking jokes and he was working the room. He was looking at, again, people as he was like. Wow. He's like the master of, he's the king of small talk. Right. Because you can just see his brain ticking and he's so interested in people. Right. The same as Will and Kate. Because he has to meet so many people as well. And he would have been for however many years as well. Yeah. Wow. So it was just a master class just to see it up close. It's a great story. Yeah. Yeah, that's fantastic. Harry, like I said, mate, I could sit here and talk to you all day. You're fantastic.

1:09:31where can people follow your journey online like where can people see your content yeah so i'm at harry molding magic on instagram tiktok facebook youtube as well so when we actually get to it with this whole world cup journey yes which we're on now yeah yeah so for anyone that actually wants to see how i did it because you've been a massive part of this journey so genuinely thank you so much to you guys for being a part of the story with it if you want to see how it was done i am going to be dropping a youtube video tomorrow on how i predicted the world cup what revealing how you did it not the trick itself right but this is going to be how i predicted the world cup and this is how i did it wow so i'm i've documented the whole journey right so for anyone that does want to check that out that'll be on my youtube channel harry molding magic love well everyone will rush there we'll we'll um we'll link it down below as well um do we get to open that now so the moment we've all been waiting for.

1:10:28I mean, shall we actually bring in the reinforcements for this, if that's okay? Right. God, for anyone who's, if you've tuned in halfway through, you're a nutter. But at the start of the show, we spoke about how Harry came and left us this bottle a month and a half ago, which has, you have mine and Stevie's word, remained sealed on the set for six weeks. Inside it is Harry's prediction of who's going to win the World Cup. Shall I grab it? Bring the bottle over. Okay, this is the bottle. seal wax we did have a peek didn't we Stevie and we can see there is some writing on there signed sealed delivered and as well just for the viewers because some of them might not have seen all of it so not only did we place it in it was on the 8th but when did this go out the 15th the episode went out on the 15th yeah

1:11:16that was scary so

1:11:22okay you're smashing up the bottle yeah Show your hands, Anthony. Yeah. What I'd like you to do, can you actually lean across and just pick that out? Yeah. The letter, yeah. And do we need any scissors? I can probably unpeel it, I think. Do you want me to unpeel it? If you can, just to make sure you've got this at fingertips. Yeah. I don't want to touch it. Okay. Right, okay. The glass smashing scared me. we're bringing all the production my heart's so elevated yeah wow right are you in i think i'm in i think i'm in as i say i want you guys to be the one to do this so make sure that you can see yourself and maybe you can read it to everyone that's listening and for everyone that's tuning in oh you're gonna okay right i'm gonna reveal it like this cb would you like to read it i Harry Moulding predict that Spain will be crowned FIFA World Cup 2026 champions.

1:12:28The final will require more than 90 minutes and Spain will win by a single goal. Viva España. And then the date you put it in was the 8th of June, 2026. There we go. So Harry Moulding, everybody, is to blame for football not coming home. Harry, that was great. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, guys. I don't know how you've done it. You've blown my mind. Can I just say, I don't know whether you want to loop this in. When I left this prediction, again, has been on set the entire time. We've not had access to the room. This has been locked in your possession. Stevie, you were so close to also predicting the outcome.

1:13:13if we actually watched back that first video, you actually gave your own predictions. Oh, what did I say? Viva España. Did you? I can't remember that. I don't remember, but... You predicted Spain, but you predicted it within 90 minutes. Wow. I didn't put any money on it. Yeah, I know. So you were so close. When you actually said it when I was on the podcast, my ears pricked up. You might be able to see my reaction. I was trying to keep a poker face, but you were so close to nailing it. So you'll watch that back. I've already said I think Spain are going to win. Yeah, do you know what? I agree, but I'm going to change it now for the sake of the pod and I'm going to say Argentina and they're going to win in extra time.

1:13:55In extra time. I'm going to say Spain in 90 minutes. Right, okay. Maybe next year you audition for Britain's Got Talent. I'll put it on the set for 2030. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Guys, we usually finish with the same question. I don't think it's needed this has been such a great ending to the podcast this has been Jackmates Happy Hour podcast with me, Jackmates Stevie White and the brilliant magician that is Harry Moulding who correctly predicted World Cup 2026 thanks Harry

1:14:31Jackmates Happy Hour an all new season of the Hulu original series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus four years ago we were just making tiktoks but it feels like there are no friendships left in mom talk you act like you're better than everyone you're not i can't trust anyone in this group she's just dead to me there's so much the public doesn't know watch the new season of the hulu original series the secret lives of mormon wives now streaming on hulu and hulu on disney plus for bundle subscribers terms apply this episode is brought to you by chat gpt hey it's bill simmons from the Bill Simmons podcast.

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