Career
Keen was born in Ealing, London. Before joining Thunderclap Newman, Keen shared a flat with and worked as a chauffeur for Pete Townshend of The Who. He is famous among fans of The Who for writing "Armenia City in the Sky" which was recorded on the album The Who Sell Out (1967). This was the only song The Who ever performed that was specifically written for the group by a non-member.'Armenia City in the Sky' was, apparently, inspired by a long-lost painting back in the 1960s. His first recorded song, however, was the 'Club of Lights' Reaction single by Oscar. He also notably wrote "Something in the Air" for Thunderclap Newman and recorded 2 solo albums for Track and Island both of which have been released on CD recently by Esoteric (Cherry Red). 'I promise you' from the second album was used in the American TV series,'The big C'. Keen was later a record producer for The Heartbreakers and Motörhead.
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' - which has been covered by numerous artists, he wrote songs for Oscar (Club of lights), The Swinging Blue Jeans (Somethings Coming Along) and Crokodile Tears (Your Love).
Keen died of heart failure in March 2002, at the age of 56.
Read more about this topic: John "Speedy" Keene
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“Whether lawyer, politician or executive, the American who knows what’s good for his career seeks an institutional rather than an individual identity. He becomes the man from NBC or IBM. The institutional imprint furnishes him with pension, meaning, proofs of existence. A man without a company name is a man without a country.”
—Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)
“Work-family conflicts—the trade-offs of your money or your life, your job or your child—would not be forced upon women with such sanguine disregard if men experienced the same career stalls caused by the-buck-stops-here responsibility for children.”
—Letty Cottin Pogrebin (20th century)
“I seemed intent on making it as difficult for myself as possible to pursue my “male” career goal. I not only procrastinated endlessly, submitting my medical school application at the very last minute, but continued to crave a conventional female role even as I moved ahead with my “male” pursuits.”
—Margaret S. Mahler (1897–1985)