Thunderclap Newman
| Company type | Rock band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Founder | Pete Townshend, Kit Lambert |
| Defunct | 1971 (initial disbandment) |
| Fate | Disbanded in 1971; reformed 2010–2012; ceased live performances thereafter |
Key people | John "Speedy" Keen, Andy "Thunderclap" Newman, Jimmy McCulloch, Pete Townshend (producer and bassist under pseudonym Bijou Drains) |
| Products | Music albums and singles |
Thunderclap Newman was a British rock ensemble established in 1969 by Pete Townshend of the Who and manager Kit Lambert, with the purpose of highlighting the abilities of John "Speedy" Keen, Jimmy McCulloch, and Andy "Thunderclap" Newman.
Their 1969 UK chart-topping single, "Something in the Air", continues to enjoy popularity through its use in advertisements, movie soundtracks, and various compilations. The band also released the well-received rock album Hollywood Dream, which included three singles: "Accidents", "The Reason", and "Wild Country".
Between 1969 and 1971, the primary lineup consisted of songwriter John "Speedy" Keen (vocals, drums, guitar), pianist Andy "Thunderclap" Newman, and guitarist Jimmy McCulloch. Pete Townshend, under the pseudonym "Bijou Drains", contributed bass and produced their sessions at IBC Studio as well as his personal studio. For live performances, James "Jim" Pitman-Avery (bass) and Jack McCulloch (drums) joined the group. The band ultimately dissolved in April 1971.
In 2010, with music manager Ian Grant at the helm, Newman revived Thunderclap Newman featuring Mark Brzezicki, Nick Johnson, Josh Townshend, and Tony Stubbings. This reformed lineup issued the album Beyond Hollywood and remained active until 2012.
Career
In 1969, Townshend formed Thunderclap Newman to promote compositions by John "Speedy" Keen, who had previously served as The Who's chauffeur and contributed musically. Keen had penned "Armenia City in the Sky" for The Who’s album The Who Sell Out. The initial meeting of Newman, McCulloch, and Keen occurred at Townshend’s studio in late 1968 or early 1969 to record "Something in the Air". Townshend produced this track, played bass under the alias Bijou Drains, and enlisted jazz pianist Andy "Thunderclap" Newman along with young guitarist Jimmy McCulloch. Although originally intending to pursue separate projects for each musician, Lambert persuaded Townshend to merge them into Thunderclap Newman to streamline his commitments during work on Tommy.
Penned by Keen, "Something in the Air" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in 1969, overtaking The Beatles’ "Ballad of John and Yoko" and maintaining its position ahead of Elvis Presley. Initially named "Revolution", it was retitled to prevent confusion with The Beatles’ song of the same name. By December 1969, it had achieved gold status for exceeding one million sales worldwide.
The single was featured on the soundtracks of The Magic Christian (1969) and The Strawberry Statement (1970), which helped it climb to number 25 on US charts. Its follow-up single, "Accidents", peaked at number 44 in the UK but failed to chart in the United States. Additionally, "Something in the Air" appeared in films such as Kingpin (1996) and Almost Famous (2000).
Although live performances were not initially planned, Thunderclap Newman toured across England and Scotland from July to August 1969 as support for Deep Purple. For these tours, Jim Pitman-Avery joined on bass and Jack McCulloch on drums. Both musicians departed later that year to create Wild Country. The band also made appearances on British television shows like Top of the Pops as well as the German program Beat-Club.
Their October 1970 release, the album Hollywood Dream, produced by Townshend, reached number 163 on the Billboard 200 chart. That year saw three singles released: "Accidents/I See It All", "The Reason/Stormy Petrel", and "Wild Country/Hollywood Dream". Early in 1971, Australian musicians Roger Felice (drums) and Ronnie Peel (bass) joined a reformed version of the band.
By March 1971, Thunderclap Newman consisted of five members: Newman on piano; Keen handling rhythm guitar and vocals; McCulloch on lead guitar; Peel playing bass; and Felice on drums. They supported Deep Purple during a nineteen-date UK tour from January through April 1971. Their touring schedule also included Scandinavia and opening for Leon Russell in the Netherlands. The band preferred performing at club venues rather than larger ballroom settings. They made a brief appearance in the British film Not Tonight, Darling (1971).
The group disbanded around April 10, 1971—just days before a scheduled tour across Scotland and weeks ahead of joining a package tour with Marsha Hunt during The Who’s US tour.
Interpersonal dynamics among members varied: Newman appreciated Keen’s songwriting but not his personality, whereas his relationship with McCulloch was opposite.
In 2008, Newman featured on British television’s Those Were The Days, reflecting on their concert held during the night of the first Moon landing.
Diverging paths
McCulloch collaborated with a variety of groups such as John Mayall, Stone the Crows, and Paul McCartney's Wings, before passing away from cardiac arrest on 25 September 1979 at 26 years old. His brother Jack found his body two days afterward.
In 1973, Keen issued a solo record titled Previous Convictions through Track, which featured contributions from McCulloch and Roger Felice. Disappointed by Track's inadequate promotion, he transferred his demos to Island Records, which refined them into the 1975 release Y'know Wot I Mean?. The single "Someone to Love" received airplay on radio but failed to enter the charts.
Demoralized, Keen produced one final single in 1976 before transitioning into production work, collaborating with punk outfit Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers on L.A.M.F. (1977) and producing Motörhead’s debut album, after which he left the music scene. He battled arthritis and died of heart failure in 2002 at age 56 while working on a third solo project.
Newman recorded his solo album Rainbow in 1971 and also contributed to Roger Ruskin Spear's first album. In 2002, he was coaxed out of retirement by István Etiam and David Buckley (formerly of Barracudas), leading to the creation of the Thunderclap Newman Band in 2005, comprising six international musicians. Under Andy Newman's leadership, the group sought to honor Thunderclap Newman's heritage and commemorate Keen and McCulloch.
The ensemble aimed to perform Hollywood Dream in its entirety alongside material from Keen and McCulloch’s post-Thunderclap careers, supplemented by new compositions from Buckley and Etiam. Although their performances received favorable critiques and enjoyed success, internal conflicts prompted Andy Newman to accept an offer from Big Country’s manager Ian Grant to form a new band, resulting in the dissolution of the Thunderclap Newman Band in March 2010.
The lineup featured Andy 'Thunderclap' Newman on keyboards and wind instruments, David Buckley handling vocals and guitar, István Etiam playing rhythm guitar, lap steel, and harmonica, Stefanos Tsourelis on lead guitar, Brian Jackson on bass, and Antonio Spano on drums.
In February 2010, Newman performed under the Thunderclap Newman name with a revamped lineup including Tony Stubbings (bass), Nick Johnson (lead guitar), Mark Brzezicki (drums), and Josh Townshend (rhythm guitar/vocals). This formation released Beyond Hollywood, a live album that also contained three studio re-recordings of classic Thunderclap Newman tracks.
Between 2010 and 2012, Thunderclap Newman supported Big Country during a UK tour and played a total of fifteen concerts, culminating with an appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival in June 2012. Following this period, the band ceased live performances.
Andy "Thunderclap" Newman passed away on 29 March 2016 at age 73.
Studio album
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1970 | Hollywood Dream |
Live album
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2010 | Beyond Hollywood
|
Singles
| Year | Song | Chart peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | |||
| 1969 | "Something in the Air" / "Wilhelmina" (non-album track) | 1 | Hollywood Dream |
| 1970 | "Accidents" (single version) / "I See It All" (non-album track) |
46 | |
| "The Reason" / "Stormy Petrel" (non-album track) |
— | ||
| "Wild Country" / "Hollywood Dream" | — |