Pete Townshend looks back at the little-known story of the British rock group Thunderclap Newman, to whom we owe the hit “ Something in the Air “.
Mark Wilkerson brought my early years at Ealing Art College back to the present in 1963. It was around this time that Andy Newman, aka Thunderclap, charmed me with his piano playing. And according to a legend that I had almost forgotten, he then advised me on how to build my first home studio.
Andy, along with the very young Jimmy McCulloch and John “Speedy” Keen, ended up in Thunderclap Newman, a band I started named after Andy. If I had my say, there would have been a few other members. In 1968, I tried to put together a group of artists for a new label that I wanted to call “Talkus.” There was Andy Newman, Jimmy McCulloch, Tiny Tim, Arthur Brown, Steve Baron, Ron Geesin, Chris Morphet (known mostly as a photographer) and even a few crazy people who ended up being in a group called the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. One thing all these people were missing, and it was a hit (although Arthur Brown had ” Fire “, which was a great success, but I didn't know it at first). I had a feeling I could write a hit for them, or that my friend at the time, Speedy, could come up with something. Speedy wrote the divine “ Something In The Air » and became the band's vocalist and drummer in the studio.
Mark brings together the many elements of this story, which unfolded even as I brought Tommy to the Who and beyond. My dedication to helping the lost and eccentric in the music world meet each other continues to this day. I have to admit that I learn more from working with other artists than from working alone, and thanks to them, I, like Rick Rubin, developed a philosophy of the art of the recording studio that nourishes me every day. Creativity breeds creativity, and an artist's eccentricity is sublime. Look at the list of superstars from the past: they're all a little crazy. And all a little shiny too.
For me, Thunderclap Newman was a great adventure that I often try to relive. The recording studio, at its worst, can be a grinding machine, but it's a happy place for me, especially when I'm in charge. For the three of them, the success of their only big hit “ Something In The Air » led them to new lives and new adventures, some wonderful, others tragic. Who knew great music could be created this way? Well, I knew it, even if the three members of the group weren't sure of themselves at first.
I will turn to Wilkerson's book again and again to remember my three dear friends who made up the band Thunderclap Newman. This book is the result of painstaking research contributed by many other friends who shared their journey, which allows us to paint a unique picture of the world in which musicians flourished in the mid to late 1990s. sixty. When the Beatles brought Mellotrons into the studio, Andy Newman brought his huge double bass saxophone with his Kazoo.
This book clearly shows that creativity, and sometimes even record success, can be a question of play rather than work. The musicians play, and when the real work begins, they sometimes stay on the floor. The tragedy I spoke of earlier is simply that there has only been one Thunderclap Newman album, the magnificent Hollywood Dream, recorded entirely in my home studio, which was in a room that was supposed to be a small bathroom. The saddest part of all this is that they no longer exist today. This book brings them back to life.
