John "Speedy" Keene

John David Percy "Speedy" Keen (29 March 1945 – 12 March 2002) was an English musician, songwriter and producer, best known for being the singer and drummer of the rock band Thunderclap Newman. He wrote "Something in the Air" for the band, which reached No. 1 in the UK singles chart. He also released two solo albums.

Career Keen was born in Ealing, London, England. 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. Keen's first recorded song was "Club of Lights", recorded in 1966 for Reaction Records by Oscar (Paul Nicholas).

Before joining Thunderclap Newman, Keen shared a flat with and worked as a driver for Pete Townshend of The Who. He wrote "Armenia City in the Sky", Keen wrote "Something in the Air", his best-known song, for Thunderclap Newman and recorded two solo albums for Track and Island both of which have been released on CD by Esoteric (Cherry Red).

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.

Discography Albums Previous Convictions (1973, Track Records) Y' Know Wot I Mean? (1975, Island Records)