Jon Brewer

Jonathan George Brewer (born 30 January 1950) is an English documentary director and producer who was formerly a manager of rock music acts and artists.

Early life Brewer was born in Eastbourne, England to Gansel and Eileen Brewer. They later moved to London where he was educated at Sutton Valence School for Boys. His father worked with Lloyd's of London as an insurance broker and his mother was a housewife who raised Jon and his siblings, David, Elizabeth, and Victoria. Jon followed his father into the insurance industry at Lloyds, but was soon drawn towards the music industry.

Early career Soon after beginning his career in music management, Brewer joined forces with artists such as David Bowie, Gene Clark of The Byrds, and Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones, as well as Alvin Lee and 10 Years After. In 1978 he collected two Ivor Novello Awards on behalf of his company, Belfern Music. He was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for producing and publishing Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street" Best Pop Song and another for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. Brewer was also involved in the re-formation of the band Yes with Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Alan White and Rick Wakeman – the group being well known for their acrimonious relationships with each other. They went on to record the Keys To Ascension project with Brewer managing.

In the early 1980s, Brewer entered the burgeoning video industry, creating the 4th largest independent production company in the UK, Avatar Film Company.

Production and directing Brewer first produced a documentary–style program for television in 2003 with the production of Michael Hutchence – The Loved One. Soon after, he produced and directed a feature documentary for television on the Nirvana front-man, Kurt Cobain. The film experienced wide success in television worldwide as well as in Home Entertainment, especially in America, England, France, and Japan. The Classic Artists Series, followed with eight episodes, beginning with the band Cream, and later chronicling the careers of the Moody Blues, Yes, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Bad Company (which also featured in CLASSIC ROCK magazine as a special edit). The Classic Artists Series was released on TV and DVD worldwide.

The opportunity to produce and direct the biopic of B. B. King followed in 2012, B.B. King: The Life of Riley ('Riley' being King's real first name), with contributions from Bono, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Bruce Willis, Ringo Starr, and many others, with narration by Morgan Freeman.

Following the worldwide success of B.B. King: The Life of Riley and his deepening alliances in America's South, Brewer with his wife, writer and executive producer Laura Rojko, chronicled in depth the development of blues music over 300 years of music as expressionism through slavery, abolition of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, taking music right into early Rock N Roll in the 3-part miniseries seen on Sky Television and Amazon Prime, Monochrome: Black, White and Blue. Following the positive reception of B.B. King: The Life of Riley, Brewer was contacted by the Nat King Cole estate to create a documentary feature on the life of Nat King Cole. In 2014, the documentary film Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark finished filming and post-production. The film premiered in London on 13 May 2014, and has continued to be broadcast worldwide, winning the 2015 Screen Nation 'Diversity in Factual Programming Award' sponsored by BBC and ITV.

At the funeral of B. B. King in 2015, while Brewer was filming, a number of previous band members of King expressed their frustration that King's life on the road had not been featured in B.B. King: The Life of Riley. Upon further introspection, Brewer realized that there had been such a great deal of King's life of 55 years on the road, for over 300 days per year. Something had to be done to complete the story; thus commenced the production of B.B. King: On the Road, where musicians from several stages of King's career sat on the B. B. King Tour Bus across America's Deep South, telling some amazing stories that could only happen 'on the road', including a bombing meant for Martin Luther King, a fatal bus accident, and also many hilarious incidents. The resulting second B. B. King documentary was seen on Hulu in America and Sky TV in the UK, plus other broadcasters worldwide, as well as via Universal Music on DVD and Digital.

The BBC entered into a deal with Brewer to direct and co-produce a documentary on Guns N' Roses, The Most Dangerous Band in The World, which aired on BBC in January 2016.

The Mick Ronson story had been brought to the Brewer's production companies, Cardinal Releasing Ltd and Emperor Media, and soon production was underway on Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story, and premiered in London May 8, 2017 to rave reviews.

At a later date, Brewer directed the authorized Chuck Berry documentary, and his company was in the process of developing a feature film Biopic dramatized production.

Blues documentaries Brewer was later commissioned to direct the film covering the life story of B. B. King. The film became B.B. King: The Life of Riley (Riley being King's real first name)

Following his experience on B.B. King: The Life of Riley, Brewer began to develop a 3 part series for television, chronicling the development of blues music through slavery, abolition of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, Monochrome: Black, White and Blue.

Following the positive reception of B.B. King: The Life of Riley, Brewer was contacted by the Nat King Cole estate to create a documentary feature on the life of Nat King Cole. In 2014 the documentary film Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark finished filming and edit. The film premiered in London on 13 May 2014.

Filmography Title Year Role Screwball Hotel 1988 Producer Curse of the Crystal Eye 1991 Producer Michael Hutchence: The Loved One 2005 Producer All Apologies: Kurt Cobain 10 Years On 2005 Director, Producer Classic Artists: Cream 2005 Director, Producer Classic Artists: The Moody Blues 2005 Director, Producer Classic Artists: Yes 2006 Director, Producer Classic Artists: Jethro Tull 2007 Director, Producer Jimi Hendrix: Guitar Hero 2011 Director, Producer Legends of the Canyon 2013 Director, Producer Bad Company: The Official Authorised 40th Anniversary Documentary 2014 Director, Producer Rock Poet 2014 Director, Producer B.B. King: The Life of Riley 2014 Director, Producer Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark 2014 Director, Producer Alice and The Most Dangerous Band in The World 2016 Director, Producer Steve McQueen: Desert Racer 2017 Director, Producer Monochrome: Black, White and Blue 2017 Director, Producer Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story 2017 Director, Producer B.B. King: On the Road 2018 Director, ProducerCHUCK 2019 BEYOND THE DECKS Co Director and Co Producer 2025