After leaving grammar school in the mid seventies, Johns career path has been extremely colourful and varied resulting in a broad minded, highly successful and determined individual.
He qualified and worked as an industrial pipe fitter in his early career then moved to France for three years, spending two of them in a monastery. John is a fluent French speaker and now nicknamed ‘Friar Maguire’ by his close friend, sir Bob Geldof.
In the early eighties he re directed his career and spent six years in commercial sales aspiring from a ‘cold call’ commission paid cash register salesman to a ’head hunted’ sales manager for Panasonic industrial, establishing their dealer network for electronics and word processors in the north of England. In the late eighties and ready for another challenge his third career change, John enrolled as a mature student at the university of Wolverhampton and, a few years later, graduated with honours from a ‘design communications’ course.
Weeks after leaving university and in an unprecedented manor, John secured his first BBC 1 contract at Pebble Mill studios to produce and direct a half hour documentary for the 1991 network Christmas schedule. To everyone’s surprise he completely by-passed the mandatory ‘up through the ranks’ route normally required by the BBC. “self belief and never underestimate the power of cold canvassing and a good sell” as he puts it! Since then John has worked in over sixty countries and such varied locations as the frozen Arctic ocean to the South Pacific seas.
In 1994 john moved to London where he worked with the late Jill Dando before joining up with Bob Geldof to produce the first anniversary programme of ‘Live Aid’ in 1995. He’s worked with numerous actors and presenters and led the likes of actors Neil Morrissey and Adrian Dunbar, investigative journalist Donal Macintyre, Jeremy Clarkson and Sir Bob Geldof through some of the most dangerous experiences of their life. Recently, having secured Geldof and his crew in a safe house, he was escorted by four ak47’s to negotiate safe passage for his production in war-torn Somalia. A few months earlier he’d journeyed by himself to Somalia on a recce. At that time, whilst meeting with the deputy governor, the mayor was assassinated, “all hell broke loose so i guess during the confusion something about our return trip was lost in translation” muses john. “this time once i’d made a ‘generous’ contribution to the board and politely acknowledged everyone in the room we were free to carry on filming but always shadowed by thirty six armed militia” tells john. “this is quite normal for certain parts of Africa”.
John is highly trusted and one of the UK’s most respected television directors. He has featured twice as the subject of ‘making of’ programmes. “he’s the only man in tv who can work with Geldof, an achievement that brings no awards but should win many” …Alex Connock CEO Ten Alps plc
John’s strengths include the ability to take big thoughts and complex issues and simplify them for a mainstream audience. Most recently this was demonstrated in the critically acclaimed tv series for BBC1 ‘Geldof In Africa,’ where he led the production through many hazardous situations in the African sub Sahel. The production was filmed from Ghana, Benin and Mali in the west through the volatile Democratic Republic of Congo and onto Uganda Tanzania, Ethiopia, and war torn Somalia in the east. The series has been nominated for numerous awards and in January 2006 was celebrated at the Radio Times ‘front covers awards with Bob visiting the podium twice on behalf of the series.
As well as producing and directing John still keeps his hands firmly on the business and commercial side of his productions. He was solely responsible for securing an international distribution deal for the 2- disc DVD and separate CD soundtrack that accompanied the ‘Geldof In Africa’ series.
John was also responsible for the photography in a fabulous book, under the same name as an accompaniment to the TV series and which was launched in ‘hard back’ in may 2005
JOHN G MAGUIRE