SOS: Liam Montier

Stranded for two years with a snooker table and a legendary list, Liam Montier finally gets a rescue and uses it to rethink everything. 

We revisit his original Desert Island picks and watch half of them evolve: Dynamic Coins gives way to Peter Kane’s Variant, Psycho Dice upgrades to Steve Cook’s The Gamble, Twilight Angels steps aside for Stephen Tucker’s Alpha to Omega, and John Bannon’s Royal Scam edges out Strangers Gallery. What stays says as much as what changes: The Kick survives on the strength of Gemini Twins, and Out of This World holds its throne as card magic that feels like life, not just cards.

Liam digs into why direct plots hit harder, how to escalate fairness across phases, and the art of construction that lets spectators do the impossible. He shares a candid stance on failure, don’t catastrophes it and a pointed banishment: single-trick downloads. We unpack why multi-trick books, lectures, and deep-dive projects build better magicians, widen method literacy, and deliver more value per idea. There’s heart, too: a sliding-doors memory of leaving a hated retail job for Big Blind Media, meeting John Bannon, and finding a path where craft and community meet.

For company on the island, Liam chooses Alex Elmsley, eager to talk structure beyond the count, and for a timeless watch he picks John Lenahan’s Stuff the White Rabbit, live-to-camera magic from Rene Lavand to Tom Mullica that proves clarity outlives editing. If you care about strong card magic, practical philosophy, and the choices that shape a repertoire, this rescue mission is packed with insight and inspiration.

Liam’s SOS Substitutions: : 

1. Dynamic Coins for Kane’s Variant 
2. Psycho Dice for The Gamble
3. Twilight Angle's for Alpha to Omega 
4. Strangers Gallery for Royal Scam 
5. Four Card Trick for Predictor 

Banishment. Single Trick Downloads

Guest. Alex Elmsley

Memory. First time working with BBM

Horror Story. Don’t give importance to when things go wrong 

Show. Stuff the White Rabbit 

Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk