John is a recognised authority on the life and music of Beethoven.
He tours the country with his own group of musicians giving his show “Beethoven – The Last Master”. And for those who know him as one of Britain’s most popular television newscasters, he presents a show about his dangerous, exciting, and hilarious years as television reporter and newscaster, “One More Shot Bob”.
The Last Master
Everyone knows Für Elise (possibly the most popular mobile phone ring tone in the world). Everyone knows The Moonlight Sonata. But what lies behind the composition of these immortal works?
Was Beethoven drunk when he composed them? Was he in love? Where in Vienna did Beethoven go to eat and drink? How did he pay his rent? What did he do when Napoleon’s army invaded the city? Why did he take his sister-in-law to court? How did he drive his nephew to attempt suicide?
In his show, Beethoven – The Last Master, John explores the man behind the music. The music is there, some it you will certainly never have heard before. But John’s approach is to discover the music through the man, not the man through the music.
You will also hear of the extraordinary coincidences that happened to John and his wife Bonnie when they set off to walk in Beethoven’s footsteps: how they discovered his favourite tavern; how they were given a personal tour of a country estate once owned by Beethoven’s brother.
John began giving his performances about Beethoven soon after the first book in his trilogy on the composer’s life was published in late 1996. He would talk for five minutes at publishers’ lunches and dinners, along with other authors. One day someone asked him to give a longer talk, with music.
He was introduced to Bernard Lanskey, Assistant Director of Music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and together they put together a show with music lasting for around 50 minutes. It was a success. More dates followed.
John then met David Foster, of All-Electric Theatre Productions, who gave John some pointers on how to improve and lengthen the show. He told John he might be able to get him “two or three dates”. In the four years that followed, John took his show – now a full evening’s entertainment with interval – to around more than 100 venues in the UK, to enormous acclaim. By 2006 he had presented his show in nearly 200 venues in the UK, as well as at an international symposium in Vienna.
Several venues have invited John back, by popular demand – some several times. He is used to members of the audience telling him they have travelled long distances to catch his show, often for the chance to hear it again or on the recommendation of friends.
"One More Shot Bob" - Stage Show
In this new show, John recounts some of his adventures as a globe-trotting television news reporter. John reported for ITN from every country in Western Europe. He also covered events in Iran, Afghanistan, Lebanon, southern Africa, the United States and the Philippines.
John has witnessed moments of history. In 1979, after the Shah had fled Iran, he flew back to Tehran with Ayatollah Khomeini, who left exile to turn his country into the first fundamentalist Islamic state. He covered the revolution that unfolded on the streets, as well as the taking of 50 American hostages at the US embassy six months later.
In early 1980, John travelled into Afghanistan several times, disguised as a Mujaheddin, to cover the Soviet invasion of that country. On one occasion, he and his camera crew were captured, put up against a wall, and believed they were in front of a firing squad. This terrifying ordeal – which had its humorous moments as well – gives John the title of his talk, “One More Shot Bob”.
With the help of visuals and photos from the tiny camera he took with him wherever he went in the world, John recounts how he secured the scoop of his career by methods which were, well, just a little unconventional.
He also recounts all the tension and hilarity of live television newscasting – moments that the viewers never see.
Join John on this roller-coaster ride through his career, which begins in the days of film, when getting pictures back to London was often more difficult than covering the story itself, and ends in an age of satellite technology and 24 hour news.
At the end of the show, you have the opportunity to put your questions to John.
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