Before then, Townshend had planned to work on projects for each of the musicians, but Kit Lambert prevailed upon Townshend, who was working on what became the rock-opera Tommy, to save time by coalescing the three musicians into the collective project that became Thunderclap Newman. Townshend produced the single, played its bass guitar under the pseudonym Bijou Drains and hired GPO engineer and Dixieland jazz pianist 'Thunderclap' Newman (born Andrew Laurence Newman, 21 November 1942, Hounslow, Middlesex, died 29 March 2016) and the fifteen-year-old Glaswegian guitarist Jimmy McCulloch. Keen, Newman and McCulloch met each other for the first time in December 1968 or January 1969 at Townshend's home studio to record 'Something in the Air'. Keen wrote the opening track on The Who Sell Out album, 'Armenia City in the Sky'. In 1969, Townshend created the band to showcase songs written by the former Who chauffeur, drummer/ singer/ guitarist Speedy Keen. They recorded and released an album in 2010 titled Beyond Hollywood. The lineup of the band was Andy Newman, Mark Brzezicki, Nick Johnson, Josh Townshend and Tony Stubbings. The most current Thunderclap Newman group was formed in February 2010 at the instigation of music business manager Ian Grant. The band folded in April 1971 but was resurrected by Andy Newman with a new group in 2010. The band augmented its personnel during its tours: in 1969 with James 'Jim' Pitman-Avery (bass guitar) and Jack McCulloch (drums) and in 1971 with Ronnie Peel (bass guitar) and Roger Felice (drums). Pete Townshend (using the alias 'Bijou Drains') played bass guitar on their album and singles, all of which he had recorded and produced at the IBC Studio and his Twickenham home studio. The band released a critically acclaimed rock album, Hollywood Dream, and three other singles (which appeared on the album), 'Accidents', 'The Reason' and 'Wild Country'.įrom 1969 until 1971, the nucleus of the band consisted of the songwriter John 'Speedy' Keen (vocals, drums, guitar), Andy 'Thunderclap' Newman (piano) and Jimmy McCulloch (guitar). Their single, ' Something in the Air', a 1969 UK number one hit, remains in demand for television commercials, film soundtracks and compilations. Thunderclap Newman were an English rock band that Pete Townshend of the Who and Kit Lambert formed in 1969 in a bid to showcase the talents of John 'Speedy' Keen, Jimmy McCulloch, and Andy 'Thunderclap' Newman.

Something in the air thunderclap