A brainchild of The Who's Pete Townshend, the band Thunderclap Newman was formed in order to highlight the songwriting/singing talents of Townshend's good friend Speedy Keen (right in photo), who once wrote a song for the Who back in 1967 called "Armenia City in the Sky." Like Manfred Mann, this band actually bore the name of its keyboardist, Andy Newman (center in photo), nicknamed "Thunderclap," who was an old art school buddy of Townshend. Playing guitar was the 15-year old Scottish lad Jimmy McCullough (left), who would eventually gain recognition for being the lead guitarist in Paul McCartney's Wings from 1974-1977. Unfortunately, McCullough would die in 1979 (aged 26) from excessive drug/alcohol consumption.
In 1969, "Something in the Air" was Thunderclap Newman's debut single and ultimately topped the UK charts. It peaked at #37 in the US Billboard charts. Pete Townshend, credited under a pseudonym, played bass guitar on this song. Speedy Keen played drums & did lead vocals.
This song gained some renewed traction in 1993 when Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers achieved a modest hit cover version.
LYRICS:
Call out the instigators
Because there's something in the air
We've got to get together sooner or later
Because the revolution's here
And you know it's right
And you know that it's right
We have got to get it together
We have got to get it together now
Block off the streets and houses
Because there's something in the air
We've got to get together sooner or later
Because the revolution's here
And you know it's right
And you know that it's right
We have got to get it together
We have got to get it together now
Hand out the arms and ammo
We're going to blast our way through here
We've got to get together sooner or later
Because the revolution's here and you know it's right
And you know that it's right
We have got to get it together
We have got to get it together now
23 сен 2024
