Dan Dobson writes, plays jazz guitar and performs magic for a living. As a journalist based in Fleet Street he worked for various trade magazines and newspapers including The Financial Times. Moving abroad he spent the best part of a decade in editorial posts with Kayhan International (Iran), Nihon Kogyo Shimbun (Japan), and The Bangkok World (Thailand).
Dan’s musical background includes tours of Mexico and Central America in jazz packages sponsored by the United States Information Service. He now leads a jazz quartet in Lincolnshire, England.
In the world of magic Dan and his Japanese wife Hiroko are known as Dan & Ko, founders of a theatre group called Playtime Productions. Their panto-style magic shows based on Pinocchio, Treasure Island and other children’s classics have toured theatres throughout the UK.
The books:
The world has lots of globe-trotting adventurers, magicians, jazz guitarists and poets but not too many people who have made their mark in all these areas. The humour and insights Dan Dobson brings to his comic verse (The Secret League of Supermen, The Girl with Laughing Eyes)) are equally present in two colourfully illustrated volumes of memoirs. A Wizard’s Tale describes Dan's wartime childhood, his early mishaps as a boy magician and the social challenges he faced as a working-class scholar at an English public school. Jingles, Jaunts and Jiggery Pokery continues the story of his fledgling career as writer, musician and entertainer.
