Paul Daniel's forced to conjure up his own Paisley audience

Apr 17 2009 by Alison Rennie, Paisley Daily Express

MAGICIAN Paul Daniels has hit out at organisers of a Paisley gig after he had to conjure up his own audience for the show.

The telly star and his wife Debbie McGee were so fed up with the lack of publicity for their show in Paisley that they hit the town centre streets to personally hand out flyers to passers-by.

But, despite their efforts, less than half of the 400 tickets available for the gig at Paisley Town Hall were sold.

And Paul could have been forgiven for muttering his famous catchphrase – you’ll like this...not a lot but you’ll like it – as he launched into his routine with rows of empty seats in front of him.

Now the 71-year-old magician has urged entertainment bosses in Paisley to get their act together.

Paul said: “We spent an embarrassing day explaining to the shoppers what we were doing there and where we were appearing.

“Paisley Town Hall is used as a venue for shows. It’s a concert hall venue but there is nothing, absolutely nothing, on the outside to tell you what shows are on or coming. It’s ridiculous.

“Thanks to some interviews I had done, we did get an audience but more would have been nice.”

Despite failing to pull in a big crowd, Paul and the lovely Debbie did manage to make new friends during their trip to Paisley.

Among their new Buddies are Margaret Carey and Cherlyn Fraser, who work at the RS McColl store at The Paisley Centre.

Paul and Debbie had popped into the busy mall on the day of the show to hand out leaflets and took time out to chat to Cherlyn and Margaret, as well as posing for photos.

Margaret said: “Both Paul and Debbie were very nice, very personable. They were disappointed the concert hadn’t been publicised as they hadn’t see any posters around the town.

“Cherlyn had her camera with her, so we asked them if they would mind posing for a photo and the security guard took it.

“When they left, I saw them talking to some elderly folk outside and signing autographs. They were really nice and just chatted away. They were very down to earth.”

Cherlyn added: “They were really disappointed with the PR for their show. It hadn’t been publicised anywhere and I certainly didn’t know they were performing in Paisley until they came into the shop.

“They were in The Paisley Centre looking for posters about the show but there weren’t any. They were doing their own PR and handing out leaflets, which seemed a bit odd.”

Paul and Debbie’s visit isn’t the first time staff at the RS McColl store have rubbed shoulders with the stars.

Paisley singer Paolo Nutini also popped into the shop with his girlfriend last year.

Cheryln said: “Paolo and his girlfriend were lovely. We didn’t get a photograph of them because I didn’t have my camera with me that day but we’ll get them next time and put it in our staff room next to the picture of Paul and Debbie.”

Last night, a spokesman for Paisley Town Hall confirmed that only 139 tickets had been sold for Paul’s gig.

A Renfrewshire Arts and Museums spokesman said: “We share a common goal with any performer appearing at our venues – to maximise attendance.

“Sometimes, for whatever reason, attendance can be less than we’d all hoped.

“In the case of Paul Daniels’ show, we followed the same media, marketing, e-mail and web publicity schedule which has proved successful at Paisley Town Hall for performers as diverse as MacFloyd, the Singing Kettle and Frankie Boyle.

“There was advance coverage of the Paul Daniels show in local and national press.

“We’ve not had any other complaints from any other performers about the promotion of their successful shows, which helped to attract good attendance.

“It’s unfortunate there wasn’t a bigger attendance on this occasion but there’s no evidence that was due to the publicity.

“Also, Paisley Town Hall is an historic building and is also used for weddings and other social functions. It is not appropriate to have its exterior decked with banners on a regular basis.”

l Magic man Paul made his television debut on the long-running talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1970.

He went on to pull in millions of viewers for The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which ran on BBC One from 1979 until 1994.

Paul also hosted three BBC quiz shows in the 1980s and 1990s – Odd One Out, Every Second Counts and Wipeout – and thirtysomething Buddies will remember him for providing the narration for the children's television series Wizbit.