Portrait of Speedy Keen

Birthday profile

Speedy Keen

Speedy Keen, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (died 2002)

Born
March 29, 1945
Died
March 12, 2002
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1945

About Speedy Keen

John David Percy "Speedy" Keen 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" (1969) for the band, which reached No. 1 in the UK singles chart. He also released two solo albums. 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. Keen's first recorded song was "Club of Lights", recorded in 1966 for Reaction Records by Oscar (Paul Nicholas). His credits included the eponymous first album for Motörhead, and the proto-punk classic L.A.M.F. for The Heartbreakers As a session musician Keen played for others such as Rod Stewart, The Mission, and Kenny G.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Speedy Keen timeline

  1. 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.
  2. Keen's first recorded song was "Club of Lights", recorded in 1966 for Reaction Records by Oscar (Paul Nicholas).
  3. He wrote "Something in the Air" (1969) for the band, which reached No. 1 in the UK singles chart.

The world when Speedy Keen was born

Speedy Keen was born in 1945. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1945

  • #1 song"Sentimental Journey" – Les Brown & Doris Day
  • Top movieThe Lost Weekend
  • Best-selling bookAnimal Farm – George Orwell

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentDetroit Tigers win the World Series
  • Top headlineWorld War II ends after atomic bombs dropped on Japan
  • Technology milestoneAtomic bomb developed and detonated (Manhattan Project)
  • Defining fadV-J Day celebrations
  • Notable inventionMicrowave oven (accidental discovery)
  • World population2.40 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt / Harry S. Truman
  • Sports championDetroit Tigers (World Series)
  • U.S. population139.9M

1945 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Speedy Keen's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19452026
Gas$0.21$3.45/gal
Average home$5,900$435,000
Average income$4,100$67,500
Minimum wage$0.40$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.30$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population139.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.