30 Aug 2024

HOLLYWOOD DREAM The Thunderclap Newman Story by Mark Wilkinson

THE TRUE STORY OF THUNDERCLAP NEWMAN,
THE BAND EVERYONE KNOWS BUT HAS FORGOTTEN,
THEIR 1969 ONE-HIT WONDER ‘SOMETHING IN THE AIR’
AND THE BIRTH OF BRITISH INDIE MUSIC

“I will turn to Wilkerson’s book again and again to be reminded of my three dear friends who comprised the band Thunderclap Newman. It’s carefully and devotedly researched with lots of input from all kinds of other friends of mine who shared their journey.”
—  PETE TOWNSHEND

“Brilliant . . . written as though the events are unfolding in real time right there on the page. Wilkerson is able to capture the reader’s interest and keep them wanting more . . . He drives the story as if it were a novel.”
— RICHARD BARNES,
author of The Who: Maximum R&B, Mods!, and The Story of Tommy

The standard, paperback edition of Hollywood Dream will be available from bookstores in the USA , October 1, 2024 and UK bookstores November 14. A hardcover, limited edition, signed by author Mark Wilkerson and Pete Townshend (bookplate), which also includes a fold-out poster created by Josh Townshend, Pete’s nephew and vocalist/guitarist in the final version of Thunderclap Newman, is available for pre-order exclusively from thirdmanbooks.com.

“We were the best worst band. We died but we died in style.”
— SPEEDY KEEN, Thunderclap Newman

Thunderclap Newman stunned the music world in the summer of 1969 with the success of their wonderfully odd debut single ‘Something In The Air’, which ousted none other than The Beatles from the top of the charts. They followed up with an LP described by Nik Cohn as “one of the finest, most truly bizarre albums of the era” before disintegrating just a few months after its release.

This is the story of one of the most unlikely combos in popular music history, and of the four disparate characters who formed its core: Pete Townshend, principal songwriter and guitarist for The Who; his best friend and driver, the singer/songwriter/drummer John ‘Speedy’ Keen; a fifteen-year-old wunderkind guitarist named Jimmy McCulloch; and finally, an enigmatic GPO telephone engineer who also happened to be a brilliant improvisational jazz pianist: Andy ‘Thunderclap’ Newman.

Rife with both triumph and tragedy, the story intersects with seismic cultural events such as the Apollo 11 moon landing and the massive Woodstock Music and Arts festival, and with legendary artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Thunders, Motorhead, Paul McCartney and The Who. Drawing from exhaustive research and more than fifty interviews with those who were there, Hollywood Dream: The Thunderclap Newman Story provides a detailed, exacting look at the fascinating story of a band who everyone has forgotten but everyone knows.

“A labour of love . . . Leaving no stone unturned, it’s a deep dive, mixing just about every contemporary report printed with much original research, and very rewarding it is too . . . A fine epitaph for this unlikeliest of chart-topping groups.”
— Chris Charlesworth, former Melody Maker writer, author and longtime managing editor at Omnibus Press

“This is a fascinating story which fully deserves telling. You’d think a 420-page book about a band who only released one album and scored a solitary (albeit massive) hit single might struggle to hold your attention. But you’d be wrong. This is a cracking read and Mark Wilkerson has found the sweet spot between scholarly research and a riveting human interest story.”
— Stuart Penney, And Now It’s All This! Blog

“Thunderclap Newman were among the most intriguing one-album bands of all time, both for their nearly unclassifiable twist on late-‘60s/early-‘70s British rock and one of the most improbable mix of musical backgrounds and personalities ever assembled. ‘Hollywood Dream’ reveals much of the mystery behind the trio’s brief but fascinating journey, with an impressive blend of exhaustive first-hand research and deftly entertaining writing and storytelling.”
— Richie Unterberger, author of Won’t Get Fooled Again: The Who from Lifehouse to Quadrophenia

“This book is a cracking good read from start to finish! It really is. I’m truly amazed that a book about three quirky misfits who became Thunderclap Newman hadn’t been written years ago. It’s a tragicomedy, a happy/sad hippy saga that needed to be told. And I’m delighted to say it has been, by the excellent Mark Wilkerson.

The misfits were, of course, Speedy Keen, the headband-wearing hippy friend-cum-driver of Pete Townshend (and best man at his wedding), who had a natural talent for writing crazy and catchy pop songs, and Andy Newman, GPO telephone engineer and musical eccentric who Pete met in his art school days. And then there was little Jimmy McCulloch, a fifteen-year-old guitar whizz kid from Glasgow. What had they in common? Hardly anything, except Pete thought he could put their oddball talents to good use. The result was ‘Something In The Air’, one of the most unlikely and idiosyncratic hit singles of the 60s.

In Hollywood Dream Wilkerson has totally captured the feel of the period through his meticulous and extraordinary research of the people, places and events that led to this unique group, their Number One single and subsequent sole album. Surely a must-read for anyone who has ever sung along to that beautiful one-off hit record.
— Richard Evans, art director for The Who and webmaster for thewho.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mark Ian Wilkerson was born in Birmingham, England, in the same year that Thunderclap Newman entered the world. He has written acclaimed biographies of Pete Townshend (2008) and Tomas Young (2016), and co-authored the official Pearl Jam retrospective and New York Times bestseller Pearl Jam 20 (2011). He lives with his wife, Melissa, in Louisville, Kentucky.

HOLLYWOOD DREAM
The Thunderclap Newman Story

by Mark Ian Wilkerson

Third Man Books · October 1, 2024
Trade Paperback · $22.95 · 236 Pages
ISBN: 9798989908912