Keith Moon

Keith John Moon (August 23, 1946 -- September 7, 1978) was the drummer of the rock group The Who. As a drummer, Moon became known for his chaotic but revolutionary style of drumming and gained notoriety for his destructive lifestyle. He is regarded as one of the greatest of all rock and roll drummers.

Keith John Moon was born on 23 August 1946 at Central Middlesex Hospital, Park Royal, London to Alfred and Kathleen Moon. He lived in Wembley as a boy and was extremely hyperactive and had a restless imagination as a child. As a youth, the only thing that could hold his attention was music. A report from his secondary modern school is not encouraging -- his art teacher, for example, commented: 'Retarded artistically. Idiotic in other respects.

Even at an early age, one of his teachers (Aaron Sofocleous) praised his music skills and encouraged his chaotic style, even if one school report noted "he has great ability, but must guard against a tendency to show off". Moon failed his eleven-plus and left school in 1961.

On 17 March 1966, Moon married his pregnant girlfriend Kim Kerrigan in secrecy. Their daughter Amanda was born four months later, on 12 July. In 1973, Kerrigan left Moon, taking Amanda with her. They divorced in 1975.

Death

Keith Moon's final night out was as a guest of Paul McCartney at the preview of the film The Buddy Holly Story on 7 September 1978. After dining with Paul and Linda McCartney, Moon and his girlfriend, Annette Walter-Lax, left the party early and returned to a flat on loan from Harry Nilsson in Curzon Place, London. He died that night at the age of 32, having overdosed on Clomethiazole (Heminevrin), a medication taken as part of a programme to wean him off alcohol. When the police investigated the cause of his death they determined that there were about 32 pills in his system. Some were undissolved.

On the DVD commentary to the The Criterion Collection's release of the Monty Python film Life of Brian, Eric Idle talks about the party that night. Idle relates that Moon was very excited about his upcoming role as a prophet in the movie. After launching into his speech for the film, Idle and Moon exchanged a "big, warm hug", with Idle commenting that "he was just such a wonderful enthusiast".

Moon died a couple of weeks after the release of the last Who album he appeared on, Who Are You. All four band members are shown on the album cover, with Moon seated on a chair back-to-front in order to hide all the weight he had gained in the previous three years, as discussed in Tony Fletcher's book "Dear Boy". Ironically, the chair was labeled "Not to be taken away".

Another irony mentioned in "Dear Boy" involves Moon's obituary, which stated that his age was 33. Moon had spent years telling people he was a year younger than he actually was.

Moon was cremated. His ashes were scattered in the Gardens of Remembrance at Golders Green Crematorium in London.

See Keith Moon drum tip drum technique on the VDO bar

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Picture from http://www.michaeljmcgee.com/ORIGINAL_MUSIC.HTM

Keith Moon website