The Bar Wizards
Encyclopedia
The BarWizards are a British
Flair bartending
act. They first rose to fame when they were finalists in the first series of the British television talent show Britain's Got Talent
in 2007, in which they lost to the eventual winner, singer Paul Potts
. The BarWizards started off as bartender
s but now perform their Tandem Flair Show worldwide, and bartend
at private parties.
. Garner originally worked as a bartender in Stockport
and Lowrey in Blackley
. They met while competing in flare bartending competitions and teamed up as a double act. BarWizards International came into being in early 2005, as a result of a partnership between Lowrey and Garner. The pair already had ten years experience in the bar industry and had worked in over fifty countries. This led them to make a show which they believed would allow them to work as performers and entertainers.
, London
.
The act uses a variety of different tricks and music including Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now
", "I Believe in a Thing Called Love
" by The Darkness, and "Freedom" by Aretha Franklin
.
Their act includes flipping, spinning, throwing, catching, shaking and pouring their way through a routine using bottles, tins, glasses, and bar equipment.
and throwing glass bottles and cocktail tins, all choreographed to music. At the finale of their act they rainbow poured drinks (up to six at one time) in Red, White and Blue
to match their "British Theme".
The BarWizards responded to criticism that their act was not varied enough to perform at the Royal Variety Performance
by adding new elements, such as hitting each other over the head with sugar bottles. Overall judges comments were positive with judge Piers Morgan
describing them as "highly amusing".
, as well as being the mystery guests on an episode of A Question of Sport
on BBC One
and have appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show
. They were extras in the film Basic Instinct 2
and have appeared on China Central Television
, Channel M
television station based in Manchester and Britain's Next Top Model
.
They have made a number of guest appearances such as the opening of a new café bar at the Scarborough campus of the University of Hull
.
The BarWizards were part of Hellman's Mayonnaise
squeezy campaign in a television commercial and web campaign "Squeezy Skills" where they displayed other uses for their flair skills by making sandwiches using flair bartending. The BarWizards continue to event bartend, have also developed a mobile cocktail bar service.
They also run Flair and Mixology training courses, where they train flair bartenders.
As a reward for winning the task, on the first episode of the fifth series
of the BBC One
show The Apprentice the boys' team was treated to a cocktail made by 'The Bar Wizards'.
They were featured on Guinness World Records Smashed
, where they set a new World Record
They went into business together in 2009, opening their own bar/restaurant in Littleborough, Rochdale, called "The Barwizards Lounge".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Flair bartending
Flair bartending
Flair bartending is the practice of bartenders entertaining guests, clientele or audiences with the manipulation of bar tools and liquor bottles in tricky, dazzling ways. Used occasionally in cocktail bars, the action requires skills commonly associated with jugglers...
act. They first rose to fame when they were finalists in the first series of the British television talent show Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
in 2007, in which they lost to the eventual winner, singer Paul Potts
Paul Potts
Paul Robert Potts is an English pop opera tenor who won the first series of ITV's Britain's Got Talent in 2007, singing an operatic aria, "Nessun dorma" from Puccini's "Turandot". As a singer of operatic music, Potts recorded the album One Chance, which went to #1 in nine countries...
. The BarWizards started off as bartender
Bartender
A bartender is a person who serves beverages behind a counter in a bar, pub, tavern, or similar establishment. A bartender, in short, "tends the bar". The term barkeeper may carry a connotation of being the bar's owner...
s but now perform their Tandem Flair Show worldwide, and bartend
Bartender
A bartender is a person who serves beverages behind a counter in a bar, pub, tavern, or similar establishment. A bartender, in short, "tends the bar". The term barkeeper may carry a connotation of being the bar's owner...
at private parties.
Background
The BarWizards are from ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Garner originally worked as a bartender in Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
and Lowrey in Blackley
Blackley
Blackley is an area of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north of Manchester city centre, by a meander of the River Irk. Further north is Middleton...
. They met while competing in flare bartending competitions and teamed up as a double act. BarWizards International came into being in early 2005, as a result of a partnership between Lowrey and Garner. The pair already had ten years experience in the bar industry and had worked in over fifty countries. This led them to make a show which they believed would allow them to work as performers and entertainers.
Tandem Flair Show
The main performance of the BarWizards is their Tandem Flair show which they created. They then promoted their new show around the United Kingdom, and soon found interest in the corporate market as an after dinner show, allowing them the opportunity to develop the routine, and hone their tandem skills, whilst experimenting with new moves, music and themes. This culminated in a performance at the 2006 Roadhouse World Finals in Covent GardenCovent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The act uses a variety of different tricks and music including Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now
Don't Stop Me Now
"Don't Stop Me Now" is a song by English rock group Queen, featured on their 1978 album Jazz. Written by vocalist Freddie Mercury, it was recorded in August/September 1978 at Super Bear Studios in Berre-les-Alpes , France, and is the twelfth track on the album.Musically, the song is based around...
", "I Believe in a Thing Called Love
I Believe in a Thing Called Love
"I Believe in a Thing Called Love" is a 2003 single by the English rock band The Darkness. This was released as a single twice, the first time in August 2002 with "Love On The Rocks With No Ice" and "Love Is Only A Feeling." In September 2003, it was released as the third single off Permission to...
" by The Darkness, and "Freedom" by Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
.
Their act includes flipping, spinning, throwing, catching, shaking and pouring their way through a routine using bottles, tins, glasses, and bar equipment.
Britain's Got Talent
The BarWizards were one of the finalists in the show and one of just two acts in the final featuring more than one person, with the other being Kombat Breakers. The BarWizards act consisted of flair bartending, jugglingJuggling
Juggling is a skill involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer...
and throwing glass bottles and cocktail tins, all choreographed to music. At the finale of their act they rainbow poured drinks (up to six at one time) in Red, White and Blue
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
to match their "British Theme".
The BarWizards responded to criticism that their act was not varied enough to perform at the Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
by adding new elements, such as hitting each other over the head with sugar bottles. Overall judges comments were positive with judge Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....
describing them as "highly amusing".
Other work
The BarWizards have also appeared on GMTVGMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
, as well as being the mystery guests on an episode of A Question of Sport
A Question of Sport
A Question of Sport is a long-running BBC quiz show which started on 2 December 1968 and continues to this day. It is currently recorded at The Studios, MediaCityUK...
on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
and have appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show was a BAFTA award-winning British comedy chat show hosted by Birkenhead-born comedian Paul O'Grady. The format was originally devised by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV before moving to Channel 4...
. They were extras in the film Basic Instinct 2
Basic Instinct 2
Basic Instinct 2, also known as Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction, is a 2006 German/British/American/Spanish thriller film and the sequel to 1992's Basic Instinct. The film was directed by Michael Caton-Jones and produced by Mario Kassar, Joel B. Michaels, and Andrew G. Vajna. The screenplay was by...
and have appeared on China Central Television
China Central Television
China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV, is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China. CCTV has a network of 19 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers...
, Channel M
Channel m
Channel M is a regional television station, based in Manchester, England. It began broadcasting on 14 February 2000 as Manchester Student Television and is owned and operated by the Guardian Media Group.-Coverage:...
television station based in Manchester and Britain's Next Top Model
Britain's Next Top Model
Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model is a British reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of Britain's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modelling industry...
.
They have made a number of guest appearances such as the opening of a new café bar at the Scarborough campus of the University of Hull
University of Hull
The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
.
The BarWizards were part of Hellman's Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise, , often abbreviated as mayo, is a sauce. It is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice, with many options for embellishment with other herbs and spices. Lecithin in the egg yolk is the emulsifier. Mayonnaise varies in color but is often white, cream, or pale...
squeezy campaign in a television commercial and web campaign "Squeezy Skills" where they displayed other uses for their flair skills by making sandwiches using flair bartending. The BarWizards continue to event bartend, have also developed a mobile cocktail bar service.
They also run Flair and Mixology training courses, where they train flair bartenders.
As a reward for winning the task, on the first episode of the fifth series
The Apprentice (UK series five)
Series Five of The Apprentice was a British reality television series which was won by Yasmina Siadatan. The series began airing on BBC One on 25 March 2009 and ran for twelve weekly hour-long episodes, as in all previous years. Auditions and interviews took place during July 2008 in London,...
of the BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
show The Apprentice the boys' team was treated to a cocktail made by 'The Bar Wizards'.
They were featured on Guinness World Records Smashed
Guinness World Records Smashed
Guinness World Records Smashed is a British television show for Sky1, that features record attempts, celebrity guests and death-defying stunts...
, where they set a new World Record
They went into business together in 2009, opening their own bar/restaurant in Littleborough, Rochdale, called "The Barwizards Lounge".