Tom London (magician)

Tom London
Official Press Shot
Born Thomas Webb
(1991-12-11) 11 December 1991
Ashford, Kent, UK
Occupation Magician, Hacker
Website http://tom.london

Tom London (born Thomas Webb; 11 December 1991) is a magician and hacker who is best known for his performances on Season 12 of the popular talent show America's Got Talent. He is one of WIRED magazine's 2017 Next Generation speakers.

Early life

London grew up in Ashford, Kent, United Kingdom. As a child, he attended Friars School which later became Ashford School. He enjoyed playing video games and has said that he had an early interest in magic. He also attended St Edmund's School in Canterbury. Whilst there he accessed students' files and was awarded a bursary for revealing this issue and permission to use the school computers to build video games.[1] He later attended Norton Knatchbull School in Ashford for his GCSEs before attending Highworth Grammar School 6th Form where he was House Captain.[2]

Early career

At the age of 16 London became interested in close-up magic tricks and found a restaurant willing to let him perform. Etienne Pradier heard of his performances and invited him to learn advanced close up magic. He is the founder[3] of the internet radio station filth.fm,[4] which in 2011 was voted best radio station at the DMA's.[5] At 18 London was billed as a warm up act alongside Hadouken!, Caspa and Chip and [6] in 2010 he was the warm up act/DJ for Chase and Status.[7]

America's Got Talent and magic career

London's audition was broadcast in Episode 1204. His Judge Cuts performance was in Episode 1207. London's performance was not strong enough for the judges to send him to the Quarterfinals, eliminating him from the competition instead of Eric Jones. In an interview with Metro, he said that he had though about doing Britain's Got Talent for a long time but decided to audition for America's Got Talent as he thought the show would help him more with his dream of performing in Las Vegas.[8] He has also performed for Richard James.[9]

WIRED Magazine and hacking

In 2017 London delivered a keynote for WIRED magazine on combing technology and magic as an art form to explain the possibilities of VR, drones and robotics.[10] He was a part of WIRED UK's Next Generation of tech innovators in their January 2018 issue.[11] In the May 2018 issue London was featured for creating magic using AI and drones. Using an Amazon Echo to read peoples minds and programming drones to perform the three card monte card trick. When asked about his inspirations for creating magic with technology London refers to Marco Tempest and French magician Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin.[12] In 2018 London delivered a keynote for SAP, explaining the uses of blockchain and AI technology.[13]

Keynote speaking

Tom with Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian at TheNextWeb 2018

London has also delivered keynotes to various tech companies. Notably SAP SE,[14] and at MathCon 2018.[15] He has also worked with IBM, Microsoft and Samsung to design shows around their products.[16]In 2018 London performed at the Chivas Venture with Will.i.am. He did a tech demo of a mind-reading AI called Emma who has the voice of Hermione Granger. The AI uses a neural network to work out statistically what people are most likely to think of when searching online. [17]

Karate

At age 11, London started Karate at his local JKA dojo with two of his friends after being bullied whilst at school in Ashford. In December 2006 he passed his black belt grading in Walton on Thames aged 15.[18] A few weeks later he was selected to represent his country in the JKAE Karate squad.[19] He was selected to represent England in the French International Championships which took place early in December 2007 in Le Touquet in France. Tom received a gold medal in the U.18's kumite category.[20] London also competed in Slovenia for the European karate championships where he placed in the final 5 earning him sponsorship from Adidas.[21]

References

  1. ↑ https://tom.london
  2. ↑ http://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/americas-got-talent-star-surprises-129383/
  3. ↑ "About Filth FM". Filth FM. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  4. ↑ Lester, Paul (27 June 2012). "Guardian Quotes Tom". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  5. ↑ "Results of Voting". Dub Step Music Awards. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  6. ↑ http://www.pressreader.com/uk/kentish-express-ashford-district/20100812/282050503363611
  7. ↑ http://www.pressreader.com/uk/kentish-express-ashford-district/20101028/282527244806111
  8. ↑ Metro.co.uk, Caroline Westbrook for (2017-07-18). "America's Got Talent magician Tom London on why he chose the US show". Metro. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
  9. ↑ "The Row Blog". Richard James Savile Row. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  10. ↑ "WIRED2017: Next Generation Speakers". Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  11. ↑ WIRED. "How to inspire the next generation of tech innovators". Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  12. ↑ Turk, Victoria. "Magic and AI are mixing to create tricks you won't believe". Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  13. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ySIt928-DI&t=1278s
  14. ↑ https://events.sap.com/ae/sap-leonardo-summit-dubai/en/agendas
  15. ↑ http://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/04/prweb15385444.htm
  16. ↑ https://www.wired.co.uk/article/tom-london-magic-thomas-webb-hacker-ibm-samsung-microsoft
  17. ↑ Chivas Venture Live Keynote (Live Stream). Amsterdam: The Next Web. 24 May 2018. Event occurs at 9hours 10Mins Day 1. Archived from the original (Stream) on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  18. ↑ "JKA Grading Results December" (PDF). Japan Karate Association England. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  19. ↑ "SESKA Blog". South East Shotokan Karate Academy. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  20. ↑ "Thomas Webb European Championships". St Edmunds School. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  21. ↑ https://www.pressreader.com/uk/kentish-express-ashford-district/20070802/282020437896171
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