Trevor Beattie

Early life

Trevor Beattie, born in Birmingham to Jack and Ada Beattie, was one of eight children. His father, a car mechanic originally from Lisburn, County Down, raised the family in Balsall Heath. Beattie became the first in his family to pursue higher education, attending Moseley School of Art with future UB40 members Ali Campbell and Terence Wilson, then earning a degree in graphic design and photography at Wolverhampton Polytechnic.

Career

In 2002 Marketing magazine listed Beattie as the 9th Most Influential Person in Media, and in 2003 he was voted IPA Best of the Best Awards Creative Director of the Year. In 2010 he tried to win back the Labour Party account by spending over £12,000 of his own money fighting the Conservative Party in Wolverhampton, but failed to unseat any of the eight politicians he was attacking. On 8 February 2011, he was granted an Honorary Doctorate at Birmingham City University, and in his acceptance speech announced a scholarship in honor of his teacher John Lowe.

New projects

Beattie moved into the movie industry, producing the BAFTA-winning movie Moon, directed by Duncan Jones in 2008. Since 2006, he has devised the marketing campaign for Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Space Tourism Programme.

On 6 October 2023, he flew to space on board Galactic 04. In November 2011, The Jack and Ada Beattie Foundation was launched, supporting victims of social injustice by providing grants under the themes of 'Dignity', 'Freedom' and 'Sanctuary', set up in honor of his parents. He has expressed interest in making a film on the life and career of Coronation Street actress Jean Alexander, who played Hilda Ogden for nearly 25 years.