[67] A clip of the incident became the opening scene for the film The Kids Are Alright. He was credited on the album as "You Know Who". This was one of the earliest songs to really show what Moon was capable of. Or as Moon himself puts it, he is the worlds bestKeith-Moon-type drummer. And Roger, who was the spokesman then, said: 'What are you doing next Monday?' "[158] The New Book of Rock Lists ranked Moon No. "We used to fight regularly", remembered Moon in later years. Appropriately, Moons work gives the song a decidedly rough-and-tumble feel. At a Madison Square Garden show during the Who's 1974 tour, Townshend and Entwistle decided to spontaneously stop playing during "Waspman" to listen to Moon's drum solo. He began to endorse Premier Drums in late 1965 and remained a loyal customer of the company. [109], During the opening date of the band's March 1976 US tour at the Boston Garden, Moon passed out over his drum kit after two numbers and the show was rescheduled. He bought a number of cars and gadgets, and flirted with bankruptcy. I'd say Phil Collins was equally. Few drummers have been better at creating moments of tension and suspense than Keith Moon. I think I've piled on ol' Keith Moon enough. The real Keith Moon was a son, a brother, a father and an insecure man. I suppose it could be written in that he was a drummer in his spare time a bit of a dab hand with the sticks. As drummer with The Who, Keith Moon powered one of the most explosive bands in rock history. 1 on its list of "50 Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Drummers",[171] and he was ranked No. I have favourite drum pieces and thats it. The server responded with {{status_text}} (code {{status_code}}). "[126], From 1971 to 1975 Moon owned Tara, a home in Chertsey where he initially lived with his wife and daughter. I said: 'Nothing.' Moon's drumming continues to be praised by critics and musicians. . He said: 'You'll have to give up work there's this gig on Monday. Moon continued briefly and then stopped, shouting, "Drum solos are boring! [136], Moon enjoyed being the life of the party. "[92], In a limousine on the way to the airport, Moon insisted they return to their hotel, saying "I forgot something." Keith Moon was different from most esteemed drummers because he wasn't a great technician and instead, he played with a ferocity that set him apart from percussionists who came from a jazz-orientated background. Charlie Watts wept at Keith Moon's funeral. Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 - 7 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. [172] Adam Budofsky, editor of Drummer magazine, said that Moon's performances on Who's Next and Quadrophenia "represent a perfect balance of technique and passion" and "there's been no drummer who's touched his unique slant on rock and rhythm since. [179], Ray Davies notably lauded Moon's drumming during his speech for the Kinks' induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1990: " Keith Moon changed the sound of drumming. When I was about eleven or twelve, my favourite part of drum lessons was the last ten minutes, when I'd get to sit at the drumset and play along to my favourite record. This is especially true during the instrumental break going into the last chorus. Moon (or Entwistle) remarked that a particular suggestion had gone down like a "lead zeppelin" (a play on "lead balloon"). This track, taken from the legendary Live At Leeds album, is a brilliant performance of the first rock opera The Who ever wrote. [13] He also admired Elvis Presley's original drummer DJ Fontana, the Shadows' original drummer Tony Meehan[14] and the Pretty Things' Viv Prince. "[142], Peter "Dougal" Butler began working for the Who in 1967, becoming Moon's personal assistant the following year[143] to help him stay out of trouble. Scramble; Thread; Wednesday at 7:57 PM; girl drummer keith moon the who Replies: 6; [105] However, Roger Daltrey, in an interview on BBC's Top Gear, stated that the group was banned from 'an entire state's worth of Holiday Inns', presumably then Michigan. [61] Townshend later said, "A set of skins is about $300 [then 96] and after every show he'd just go bang, bang, bang and then kick the whole thing over. But I can imagine he must have taken the piss out of me something terrible! He replied saying that there was no reason why the group shouldnt continue and then compared how The Who was still touring with Ringo Starrs son Zak. oneSignal_options['welcomeNotification']['message'] = ""; Keith Moon is often considered one of the best drummers of all time - if not thebest drummer of all time - and it's easy to see why. If you want to come, we'll pick you up in the van.' 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His favourite musicians were jazz artists, particularly Gene Krupa (whose flamboyant style he subsequently copied). 2 on the 2011 Rolling Stone "Best Drummers of All Time" readers' poll. He was an attention seeker and he had to have it. Back at the hotel a mle erupted; fire extinguishers were set off, guests (and objects) thrown into the swimming pool and a piano reportedly destroyed. I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m glad you gonna rock with us again! "[128] He loved Amanda, but his absences due to touring and fondness for practical jokes made their relationship uneasy when she was very young. The ensuing years saw the erstwhile-exuberant drummer spiral deeply into alcoholism and addiction a condition that he would not survive. Each of the first two choruses featurehisramshackle drumming as the primary instrument alongside Roger Daltreys vocals and, later, he becomes the essential part of the songs instrumental break, which was certainly not atypical of Moon during this period. Keith Moon was different from most esteemed drummers because he wasnt a great technician and instead, he played with a ferocity that set him apart from percussionists who came from a jazz-orientated background. Keith Moon is often considered one of the best drummers of all time if not the best drummer of all time and its easy to see why. "[7], Moon joined his local Sea Cadet Corps band at the age of twelve on the bugle, but found the instrument too difficult to learn and decided to take up drums instead. "[97], Moon's favourite stunt was to flush powerful explosives down toilets. However, stands and foot pedals were frequently replaced; the drummer "would go through them like a knife through butter". By the end of the 1960s, Keith Moon was known as a brilliant drummer, his frenetic style now often imitated by other rock drummers. ( Classic Rock ) published 23 March 2016. [92], He followed Moon when the drummer relocated to Los Angeles, but felt that the drug culture prevalent at the time was bad for Moon: "My job was to have eyes in the back of my head. oneSignal_options['safari_web_id'] = "web.onesignal.auto.18c6dc90-7633-4ce6-8875-ae2763214094"; That's why he had two sets of tom-toms. By the time Stardust came round it was hard drinking. oneSignal_options['subdomainName'] = "https://rockgarage.os.tc"; "[181], Clem Burke of Blondie has said "Early on all I cared about was Keith Moon and the Who. Hes notKeith Moon. I dont really have a favourite drummer. This later carried over to other aspects of his life, as he acted them out (according to journalist and Who biographer Dave Marsh) "as if his life were one long tour. He remains a character that rock music greatly misses, even decades on after his tragic passing aged just 32 in 1978. Lets face it, he must have been cos he had a sense of rhythm. I think a lot of my lunacy is because I want to do some film work. Id like to play Hamlet, but he wasnt a drummer, was he? said Moon. Smith remembers one occasion where he and Moon tore apart a pair of trousers, with an accomplice later looking for one-legged trousers. [153], Curbishley phoned the flat at around 5:00p.m. looking for Moon, and Dymond gave him the news. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); About Us Contributors Terms of Service Privacy Policy 2023 uDiscover Music, The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again (Shepperton Studios / 1978), Justin Hayward To Return As Host Of On The Blue Cruise 2024, Featuring Fellow Classic Rock Greats, Watch New Lyric Video For Dire Straits Brothers In Arms Hit Walk Of Life, Moody Blues Deluxe To Our Childrens Childrens Children Adds Albert Hall Show, Mixed Emotions: The Rolling Stones Set Wheels In Motion Again, All Those Years Ago: George Harrison Recorded Somewhere In England, Psychedelic Blues: When The Blues Turned On And Tuned In, 702, Tame Impala, And Brick & Lace: Currently Trending Songs, Best Iggy Pop Songs: 20 Tracks With An Insatiable Lust For Life, Fancy: Behind Bobbie Gentrys Womens Lib Statement. The drummer knocked out part of his front tooth; at the hospital, doctors could not give him an anaesthetic (due to his inebriation) before removing the remainder of the tooth. One minute hes insulting, exaggerating, joking the next minute hes a wide-eyed, innocent-looking drummer boy. Three years later, writer Keith Altham attempted to interview him for the same publication. And has anyone ever owned their sound from the get-go the way that Moon does on The Whos first single under that name, I Cant Explain, or the debut album that followed late in that same year of 1965, My Generation? [88] "[We] went through the same stages everybody goes through the bloody drug corridor", he later reflected. According to Pamela Des Barres, Moon had nightmares (which woke them both) about the incident and said he had no right to be alive. "It's just that his algorithms [he laughed as he said the word]. (function() {var wf = document.createElement('script');wf.src='https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/webfont/1/webfont.js';wf.type='text/javascript';wf.async='true';var s=document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(wf, s);})(); We'd go home and he'd start a fight with me. In 1972 the performance was released as a companion disc to Lennon and Ono's album Some Time in New York City. I'd been used to penny bangers before. "[182], In 1998 Tony Fletcher published a biography of Moon, Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon, in the United Kingdom. Moon moved back to London in 1978, dying that September from an overdose of Heminevrin, a drug intended to treat or prevent symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. "[77] His performance was not appreciated by animal lovers, several of whom called the station with complaints. When it comes to the excess and antics of rock 'n' roll, Keith Moon didn't just partake, he wrote the playbook. "John [Entwistle] and I used to have fightsit wasn't very serious, it was more of an emotional spur-of-the moment thing. [137] Moon later became friends with Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band members Vivian Stanshall and "Legs" Larry Smith, and the trio would drink and play practical jokes together. Sandom had generally been the peacemaker as Daltrey and Townshend feuded between themselves, but because of Moon's temperament the group now had four members frequently in conflict. More seriously, its very rare to come across a record by The Who on which Moon is not a crucial part. By Dave Marsh. When you've got money and you do the kind of things I get up to, people laugh and say that you're eccentric, which is a polite way of saying you're fucking mad. [23], A commonly cited story of how Moon joined the Who is that he appeared at a show shortly after Sandom's departure, where a session drummer was used. "[25] Daltrey said that Moon "just instinctively put drum fills in places that other people would never have thought of putting them. Lets see, the drummers I respect are Eric Delaney and Bob Henrit [from Argent] and I got a huge list, really, and all for different reasons. enable_page_level_ads: true "[44], Moon composed "I Need You", the instrumental "Cobwebs and Strange" (from the album A Quick One, 1966),[45] the single B-sides "In The City" (co-written with Entwistle)[46] and "Girl's Eyes" (from The Who Sell Out sessions featured on Thirty Years of Maximum R&B and a 1995 re-release of The Who Sell Out), "Dogs Part Two" (1969), "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (1969)[47] and "Waspman" (1972). The public Keith Moon was The Who 's manic drummer and hellraising, daredevil comedian; a man who only ever lived in the moment. Not only does he give it a killer intro, he also does a great job playing the character of Ace-Face, a former legend who is now stuck working as the titular bell boy at a hotel. After college I did a postgraduate degree in digital communication. Moon was recognised for his drumming style, which emphasised tom-toms, cymbal crashes, and drum fills. The Who's Keith Moon was not only (as he loved to boast) "the world's greatest Keith Moon-type drummer," he was also the . "[29] These antics earned him the nickname "Moon the Loon".[30]. I think the word I would use to describe Keiths drumming is free rather than anarchic, wrote Townshend in the introduction to There Is No Substitute. "[76] During one of his few televised solo drum performances (for ABC's Wide World), Moon played a five-minute drum solo dressed as a cat on transparent acrylic drums filled with water and goldfish. The Stones is that. Entwistle once remarked that Moon played not from side to side, but forwards. He knew no boundaries.. When Haynes said that it would be prohibitively expensive, Moon replied: "Dear boy, do exactly as you feel it should be, but that's the way I want it." [48] Moon also co-composed "The Ox" (an instrumental from their debut album, My Generation) with Townshend, Entwistle and keyboardist Nicky Hopkins. Actually, there wasnt only one of him. That was Keith Moon, too, and his best performances reveal exactly why The Who 's late drummer stands apart from all who came before or since. (Republished in Modern Drummer Magazine, April 2006), "Modern Drummer's Readers Poll Archive, 19792014", "Rolling Stone Readers Pick Best Drummers of All Time", "Roger Daltrey: 'Keith Moon Would've Left The Who for The Beach Boys', "The Day Keith Moon Joined Led Zeppelin Onstage", "Interview with Ron Caines And Geoff Nicholson", "19731974 Premier double tom row kits | Keith Moon's Drumkits | Whotabs", "Smash Your Head Against The Wall (credits)", "Interview with Dougal Butler by Mark Raison", "Who's vexed? Im not a great drummer. [105] Townshend claimed that the Who were banned for life from all of the hotel's properties,[106] but Fletcher wrote that they stayed at a Holiday Inn in Rochester, New York, a week later. It was suitably chaotic. Yes. [25], As Moon later recounted: "[T]hey said go ahead, and I got behind this other guy's drums and did one song-'Road Runner.' oneSignal_options['promptOptions']['actionMessage'] = "Do you want to receive the latest news about Classic Rock? It was suggested that Moon's drumming was a manifestation of his personality, not of drum technique. Theyve got one now Ringo Starrs son Zak. He proved that there was another way of doing things, Moon was unconventional on-stage and even more atypical once he stepped foot off it. "[27] Moon also clashed with Daltrey and Townshend: "We really have absolutely nothing in common apart from music", he said in a later interview. [154], Moon's death came shortly after the release of Who Are You. You knew what he meant, but Moon could play with detailed restraint, as on so many Who tracks, such as Im Free; with full theatricality, as on Wont Get Fooled Again; or, often, with a combination of the two on the same track out of his brain, and back in it, on 5:15, for example. Nah. When staying in Toronto we ran into Moonie in the Hotel elevator. He was noted for his unique style and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour. Moon grew up in Wembley and took up the drums during the early 1960s. And you couldnt have Cream without Ginger Baker., Right after the news of Charlie Watts passing in August, 2021 at the age of 80, The Who guitarist Pete Townshend recalled on his Instagram that the drummer wept at Keith Moons funeral back in 1978: Full Moon. During the 1973 Quadrophenia tour, at the Who's debut US date at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, Moon ingested a mixture of tranquillisers and brandy. The intensity of the explosion singed Townshend's hair and embedded a piece of cymbal in Moon's arm. D.J. When she objected, Moon replied, "If you don't like it, you can fuck off!" I said, mild as you please: 'Yes, yes?' "[33] Contemporary critics questioned his ability to keep time, with biographer Tony Fletcher suggesting that the timing on Tommy was "all over the place." It detracts from the group identity.. oneSignal_options['allowLocalhostAsSecureOrigin'] = true; "[75] Dave Marsh, reviewing the album in Rolling Stone, wrote: "There isn't any legitimate reason for this album's existence. When asked about the band's future plans, Entwistle burst into tears and quickly ended the interview. [15] Moon also enjoyed singing, with a particular interest in Motown. 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He was a very charming bloke, a lovely guy, really, but quite But he could be a difficult guy, really. It was a fast entrance. Lets take a look at a handful of essential tracks that show why Keith Moon was such a vital, dynamic drummer. After 35 seconds of subtlety, Moons hyper-fast drumming goes to work, starting and stopping at various points during the song, essentially controlling the entire dynamic. His exaggerated cockney accent brings some comedy to the proceedings. Keith Moon drumming style was tribal, primitive, and impulsive, with him often stomping the bass drums and pounding his wall of toms like a madman. My interest is into filming and videoing.. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Keith Moon, there was a character. Moon is certainly the star of this classic Quadrophenia track. oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['enable'] = true; Former Who drummer Kenney Jones picks 10 outstanding moments from the career of his predecessor, Keith Moon. "[36] On 23 June 1977, he made a guest appearance at a Led Zeppelin concert in Los Angeles. Like a train ride you couldn't stop. Instead I just want to say goodbye. As McCartney recalled in an interview with Record Collector Magazine back in 1997, Moon even praised his drum skills once. Curbishley told Townshend, who informed the rest of the band. In April 1964, aged 17,[22] he auditioned for the Who as a replacement for Doug Sandom. He was one of a kind. oneSignal_options['promptOptions']['autoAcceptTitle'] = "Yes! I liked Pete Townshend. Afterwards I was sitting at the bar and Pete came over. When Moon was recruited by the fledgling Who in 1964 after passing an audition in a pub, no one would pretend that they knew how the dangerous, essential chemistry would develop between four of the most cohesive forces rock music would ever see. By the time of their final tour with him in 1976, and particularly during production of The Kids Are Alright and Who Are You, the drummer's deterioration was evident. This classic from Tommy is the quintessential example of how Moons bombastic drumming could add gravitas to a particularly emotional song. In 1966 he worked with Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck, pianist Nicky Hopkins and future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones on the instrumental "Beck's Bolero", which was the B-side to "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and appeared on the album Truth. window._oneSignalInitOptions = oneSignal_options; [146], In mid-1978, Moon moved into Flat 12, 9 Curzon Place (later Curzon Square), Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London, renting from Harry Nilsson. At the end of the 1976 US tour in Miami that August, Moon became delirious and was treated in Hollywood Memorial Hospital for eight days. Keith John Moon was an English drummer who played with the English rock band the Who. Pete has got his writing, John has got his writing and producing, and Roger has got his farm. [98] Entwistle later said, "He decided that if it was a publicised fact that it was his 21st birthday, he would be able to drink. By 1978, after a decade of continuous hellraising, Keith Moon was a bloated, shadowy version of his former self, a man who figured he had a lot more behind him than in front. [161][162], Jones left the Who in 1988,[163] and drummer Simon Phillips (who praised Moon's ability to drum over the backing track of "Baba O'Riley") toured with the band the following year. [70] On 15 December 1969, Moon joined John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band for a live performance at the Lyceum Theatre in London for a UNICEF charity concert. His performance on "Bell Boy" (Quadrophenia, 1973) saw him abandon "serious" vocal performances to sing in character, which gave him (in Fletcher's words) "full licence to live up to his reputation as a lecherous drunk"; it was "exactly the kind of performance the Who needed from him to bring them back down to earth. keith moon. Staying dead disgracefully, more likely. Pub patrons had begun to attack his Bentley; Moon, drunk, began driving to escape them and hit Boland.