Speedy Keen

Speedy Keen
150px
Background information
Birth name	John David Percy Keen
Born	(1945-03-29)29 March 1945 Ealing, London, England
Died
Genres	Rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Vocals, drums, guitar Hammond organ, keyboards
Years active	1966–2002
Labels	Track, Island, Roadrunner, Cleopatra
Associated acts	The Who, Thunderclap Newman, Motörhead

John David Percy "Speedy" Keen (29 March 1945 – 12 March 2002), was a songwriter, vocalist, drummer and keyboard player, best known for his association with the rock band Thunderclap Newman. He wrote "Something in the Air" (1969) for the band, which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart.

Career

Keen was born in Ealing, London. He played early on with such bands as The Krewsaders, The Second Thoughts (1964–65, with Patrick Campbell-Lyons and Chris Thomas) and The Eccentrics. Before joining Thunderclap Newman, Keen shared a flat with and worked as a chauffeur for Pete Townshend of The Who. He is famous among fans of The Who for writing "Armenia City in the Sky" which was included on the album The Who Sell Out (1967). This was the only song The Who ever performed that was specifically written for the group by a non-member. "Armenia City in the Sky" was, apparently, inspired by a long-lost painting back in the 1960s. His first recorded song, however, was "Club of Lights", recorded in 1966 for Reaction Records by Oscar (Paul Nicholas). He wrote "Something in the Air", his most well-known song, for Thunderclap Newman and recorded two solo albums for Track and Island both of which have been released on CD recently by Esoteric (Cherry Red). "I Promise You" from the second album was used in the American TV series, The Big C. Keen was later a record producer for The Heartbreakers and Motörhead.

John "Speedy" Keen released an album Y' Know Wot I Mean? on Island Records in 1975 (ILPS 9338)

As a session musician Keen played for others such as, Rod Stewart, The Mission and Kenny G. He also provided music for television advertisements and television programmes such as The Zoo. As a writer, apart from "Something in the Air", "Armenia City in the Sky" and "Club of Lights", he wrote songs for The Swinging Blue Jeans ("Something's Coming Along") and Crokodile Tears ("Your Love").

Keen died of heart failure in March 2002, at the age of 56.

External links

• Speedy Keen at AllMusic
• rocksbackpages.com: Speedy Keen articles
• Thunderclap Newman in : The Tapestry of Delights by Vernon Joynson
• Thunderclap Newman official

• The Guardian obituaries – accessed July 2013