Portrait of Tom Chaplin

Birthday profile

Tom Chaplin

British musician

Born
March 8, 1979
Age in 2026
47
Zodiac sign
Pisces
Birth year
1979

About Tom Chaplin

Thomas Oliver Chaplin (born 8 March 1979) is an English musician who is the co-founder and lead singer of the alternative rock band Keane. == Early life == Thomas Oliver Chaplin was born in Hastings, East Sussex, to Sally and David Chaplin OBE, in the same hospital as future bandmate Tim Rice-Oxley's brother, also called Tom. Their mothers met when they gave birth in the same hospital, allowing Chaplin and Rice-Oxley to form a friendship that endures today. Chaplin's father was headmaster of Vinehall School in Robertsbridge, so both friends were schooled there along with Richard Hughes, who would later be their bandmate. With Rice-Oxley and Hughes, Chaplin then attended Tonbridge School. Studying there, they met Dominic Scott (who was a founding member of Keane but left in 2001). During his time at Vinehall, Chaplin acted in several school plays and was part of the school's choral group. He also played the flute while at school. Chaplin attended the University of Edinburgh, where he studied art history for a year before dropping out to pursue a career in music. Meanwhile, in 1995, the trio of Scott, Rice-Oxley and Hughes started their first band, The Lotus Eaters (not to be confused with the 1980s chart band of the same name).

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

Career and life highlights

Tom Chaplin timeline

  1. A short time later, in 1997, the band's name changed to Keane and Chaplin became the lead singer.
  2. Having said that he intended to make a solo record during Keane's hiatus, Chaplin stated in January 2016 that he was recording his debut solo album in Los Angeles, California, with 40 songs written and whittled down to an album's worth.

The world when Tom Chaplin was born

Tom Chaplin was born in 1979. 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 1979

  • #1 song"My Sharona" – The Knack
  • Top movieKramer vs. Kramer
  • Top TV showLaverne & Shirley
  • Best-selling bookThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports moment"Miracle on Ice" (1980 — actually)
  • Top headlineIran hostage crisis begins
  • Technology milestoneSony Walkman released — portable music goes mainstream
  • Defining fadSony Walkman — portable music revolution
  • Notable inventionSony Walkman
  • World population4.38 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderJimmy Carter
  • Sports championPittsburgh Pirates (World Series)
  • Also wonSeattle SuperSonics (NBA)
  • U.S. population225.1M

1979 versus 2026

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

Measure19792026
Gas$0.86$3.45/gal
Average home$62,900$435,000
Average income$19,554$67,500
Minimum wage$2.90$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$2.51$11.95
Postage stamp$0.15$0.73
Population225.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz. 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.