That's a scary thing to hear, coming from the king of hotel room destruction!😳 Oh yeah, and the champion of fast driving fast. (His Maserati does 185."🥳)
I actually admire Roger for trying to pretty much be the straight one in the band. It's probably why he's in great shape even today. The story of John Lennon's "Lost Weekend" would be another excellent story to tell in the future.
@@JamesHargreavesGuitarHe still goes to Vegas & does a rock & roll school where he'll teach you some chords & have a photo. Cool that he still gets down with everyday fans.
Even before the hands of time began claiming the individual members if the Hollywood Vampires (John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Alice Cooper, Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon, & Mickey Dolenz), other than recalling metadata points after the fact, no member of that exclusive club could recollect enough of any given incident or happenstance to any appreciable, relatable degree. Most retellings of Lennon's 'Lost Weekend' and the antics of the Vampires by witnesses and/or victims of getting caught in that storm. To uncover a firsthand, personal story aside from the more infamous events in public with plenty of those witnesses/Victims just doesn't exist and probably never will. An historical fiction/hypothetical treatment dotted and punctuated by witnessed stories would be pretty awesome though, given it's written and produced by the right person(s).
The Greatest drummer to ever hold a pair of sticks. No one can dispute that. I remember hearing years ago, some of his expertise could not be duplicated, not even with the help of a computer. Amazing. Rest in peace, Keith. 🌹 You will never be forgotten.
I was at the Cow Palace performance, the show started out ok, but then I saw the double pass outs. After the first pass out, there was a short time out. Then with a cheer from the audience, Keith came out crabbed Pete’s hand like a brother, got back to his kit, and the band was off again, but slowly Keith started to lean on a large gong behind him, clearly out again. A roadie pushed Keith from behind and Keith’s head hit the snare drum with a loud thud! That was it, he was out cold. The roadies picked him up like a sack of potatoes, and took Keith way, with the band leaving the stage too. In just a few seconds later, Pete came back out and said to audience “Are there any drummers in the house?” With that statement, a bunch of hands shot up in the air, my dummer was sitting next to me and he didn’t put his hand up. Anyway, they picked a fellow up out of the audience, and the guy had the time of his life, performing live with The Who, and he was pretty good too. It was all in the local papers the following day, with a photo of the stand in drummer The Who pulled to the stage to play with them finishing up the show. Great stuff. 😂
I was at that Cow Palace show too!!! I’ve never known someone else who was there!! It was a wild experience that’s for sure. I was 15 and it was my second date with my very first boyfriend.
I saw the who half a dozen times once, I tit was Shepton mallet, Roger came on and said "Keith can't be with us tonight he's passed out after having too much "fun" an😢they had a substitute drummer who I think was legs Larry Smith from the bongo dog band 😂
Once in a Lifetime dude, once in a lifetime ... We'll never see Live performance anymore ... Only Staged Performances ... Stars exist No More .. only Compliance does .. 😭
James, dear boy, thank you so much for documenting Mr Keith Moon and The Who. There's not enough talk of them on here. They're my favorite band of all time. He was certainly an unrivaled lunatic, but he was really an unbelievable drummer when he was healthy, and The Who have made some of the best conceptual albums in classic rock history. Not to mention their live act. Aggressive, powerful and loud! There was a point where it was widely acknowledged and accepted that they were the best live band in the industry. In the words of Alice Cooper, "maybe 50% of what you heard about me and other rock stars is true, but literally 100% of what you heard about Keith Moon is true." Rest in peace, Keith. Long live rock!
@edeledeledel5490 I know. I just wanted to be straight to the point. I didn't wanna add extra math to the quote after the "meat and potatoes "part I added already has enough for the average Joe. Plus, James said it in the video anyway. So it was covered. I really wanted to just thank him for putting Who content out there. There's not enough.
I saw Keith play four times with the Who. I thought he was the greatest drummer in the world. But I had no idea what he was like off-stage. It wasn't till after his death that I read about what a genius lunatic he was. No one played drums or lived like Keith. Thanks for this great video.
I remember seeing the Who in 1966 in London, it cost 10 shillings to get in on the door. They were absolutely brilliant and I just missed catching Keith’s drumsticks but hey ho I got to see them live. I still love their music after all these years 🤗
@@Rosie-tv3ki I saw The Who for the first time in 1968. That concert is burned into my memory. This was before Keith's lifestyle had taken its toll on his playing. Superhuman drummer. Tickets were probably $7.
@@bodegabonsai7069 I saw the Who in March 1976 at Madison Square Garden in NY. They were absolutely unbelievable. I saw the Stones and Led Zeppelin live also in the late 70’s in NY. Both great. But the Who were head and shoulders better. For me the greatest rock band of all time. I saw them again in 85 and most recently in 2022. They were fantastic. But nothing like with Moon.
Definitely one of the all-time best drummers! He (along with Cheap Trick’s Bun E Carlos) had that driving - hard hitting drum style that others only tried to copy!
@@chrissieroxba2949 Trying to copy Keith would not be easy, and a mistake. Keith's style of drumming fit the band he was in. Keith typically played according to what Roger was singing. That will not work in most bands. I know this firsthand. I play drums and my Moonie training had me playing fills during the vocals. Singers (except for Roger) do not appreciate that. I had to retrain myself to play more like Ringo. But within the anarchistic framework of The Who, Keith was simply amazing. He was so much fun to watch. Keith looked like he was having the time of his life. Playing the drums never looked like work for Keith. (Rock and Roll Circus is a perfect example) Other great drummers I've seen in person or on RUclips, look like they're working. Keith was a force of nature who occasionally found himself behind a drum kit. You really can't copy him. To do that, you'd have to become him.
Moon once hijacked a bus on Alexandra Parade Melbourne Australia. I believe he’d been visiting with Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum who lived nearby. It seems Moon caught a bus into the city and told the driver he was hijacking this bus to Cuba. I can’t imagine an Australian bus driver doing anything but roar with laughter at this.
Makes sense. Molly lived in Richmond so Alexander Parade is one easy route back into the city centre. Molly loved to party and could keep up with the best of them. It's very plausible. Mark McGahan (Plucka Duck from Hey Hey it's Saturday) lived in the bungalow in Molly's backyard and that kind of tells you all you need to know! I'll stop there.
I fell in love with his drumming and the Who at age 8…I researched about him more in my early teens and was blown away….still my favorite band at age 53 and still my favorite legend. He sadly died when I was only 8 years old…but I still dream about the whirlwind myth and creating havoc and having a blast with him. RIP doesn’t seem quite appropriate, so, Party On in ROCK n ROLL Paradise, Dear Boy….
Heard some new stuff, I didn't know, so thanks 👍😁 Saw The Who in Rotterdam in 1975. John Entwistle playing extremely loud, blowing Pete Townshend away. Keith Moon joined the party, so we had a two hour rithme section concert. 😅 The best rockin rithme section I've ever heard. Cheers from the Netherlands. 👍💪😁
Sounds like he had a antisocial personality disorder with a narcissism to me. All the stories just proves that. He liked to be in the center that he even outperformed the singer in the band.. He didnt respect others limits and creates his own. Fearless and so on. But he was still a great drummer and fun character.
Keith Moon and I were friends in the 70s for a while, I use to drink with him, I would never have known he had this wild side, he was always a gentlemen, he even helped to get a road closed in Battersea for our Family, still closed today in South London near their Studios. He love to tell jokes, and his favourite passtime were bar billiards. Never seen him do any wild things ever, so there were two sides , must be Bi-Polar.
I found this Keith Moon story from Far Out magazine: Appearing on Conan in 2008, Helen Mirren divulged: “I did a play about the rock ‘n’ roll business, called Teeth’ N’ Smiles, written by David Hare and I was playing a Janis Joplin character,” she explains. “I’m about to go on for my last entrance, and my dressing room overlooks the back alley where the stage door is. I hear this incredible crashing and banging. I look out the back because that’s where all the trash cans are and there climbing out of the trash cans is this completely drunken guy. Totally arseholed, as we say in England. “He’s covered now in trash, and he’s got a pinstripe suit on. He looks a complete madman, and I thought, ‘it’s just some drunk as usual on a Saturday night in London’. So I go waiting to go on for my last entrance and then I hear the crashing and the banging coming in from the stage door. I think, ‘Oh my god, he’s broken into the theatre’. Then I hear the crashing and the banging coming up to the stairs outside my dressing room, then the crashing and the banging stops right outside my dressing room. “Then I hear (knocks animatedly on the floor), ‘Helen, come out’,” Mirren screams in her best Keith Moon impression. “Then I open the door, and it’s Keith Moon. He was just standing there, and he was the man in the trash can. He goes, ‘Hello darling, I hear you’re fantastic in this play’, and I say, ‘Hello Keith, it’s really nice to meet you. I’m very honoured, thank you for coming to visit.’ “I say, ‘I’ve got to leave you now as I’ve got to go on stage’, he says, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll come with you, I’ll come and play in your band it’ll be good’. I’m so idiotic, and this is why I’d say I’m not rock ‘n’ roll, if I was rock ‘n’ roll I’d say, ‘Yeah, come on man’. Instead, I said you can’t as it’s a theatre and we don’t do that kind of thing. One of my great regrets is not having appeared on-stage with Keith Moon,” Mirren said remorsefully. ps: No I didn’t type this. Cut and paste.
Because this is the "Keith moon is great" fan club and another drummer doing Keith's set would take away from Keith I can't get over the levels of admiration for a pugnacious little cockwomble
Because people will realise Keith wasn't anything special just a narcissistic little posh boy who shocks by being an unpredictable asshole Oh how entertaining Keith would be a slave to tik tok if he were around doing anything to be noticed like a petulant brat
I was raised on a large ranch in S. Idaho and growing up my dad instilled in me one universal fact. If someone ever f*cks with you and you do nothing back, then you will live as a coward. For some reason if there was ever a scuff up at school, he would always know and ask me about it at dinner. We lived in the same area that he grew up in so I guess everyone talked. To this day, I have always stuck up for the weaker/meaker of people. All of my fights in school were over girls being picked on. I am a Navy veteran and retired Army 1SG and had some scuffles in the military but, due to my size...I never had to fight. 6'5" and then was about 220lbs. and all muscle from farm/ranch work my entire life. My point being is: I would have kicked the crap out of Keith over some of the crap he pulled. The problem is I think, no one ever did.
It's in the video: Roger smacked him around, and he's the one that got threatened with dismissal. The disappointing thing about life is that sometimes some low lifes are deemed above consequences because of a perceived value to the whole. His drumming was a catalyst for the group that superseded his idiocy. Can you think of other examples of this currently? I can.
My Dad was lucky enough to see the High Numbers, the name of the band before the Who. Moon the Loon, unfortunately I've lived a life similar to him. Without the fame and money!!
I don't care how crazy your life was or is you haven't even come close to Keith's antics. Take a mentally ill maniac, make him an addict/alcoholic, then hand him millions of dollars. That's Keith Moon.
Friends of mine had a band, got booked to go on tour with The Who. First day they showed up they were told Two Rules. 1.) Don't ever give Keith drugs or alcohol. 2.) Don't ever get in a car that Keith is driving
One of the most talented drummers of all time, and yet also a completely insane drug addicted maniac. In a world where rock stars are usually associated with illicit substances and reckless behavior, the man known as Moon the Loon really stood out as someone who wasn't interested in acting crazy to have fun but rather to just be a destructive psycho.
Keith Moon was without a doubt the most unique playing drummer in rock n roll history. His style made absolutely no sense but it worked perfectly with the music he was playing. Some of his fills would start off time but land perfectly in time. Even his mistakes sounded great and added to the song. He never played a song the exact same way twice because it all came in the moment and didn't even like to practice much at all. He gave unique texture to the rhythm section that could only be matched by the late great John Entwhistle on bass. The two could weave a tapestry of rythm and sound that could only be described as controlled chaos. Just as Roger Daltry was the lead singer and Pete Townsend the lead guitarist, Entwhistle was lead bass guitarist and Moon the lead drummer. They were all soloists within the song structures. There has not been before or since a drummer whose style was/is as unique as the great Keith "Moonie" Moon.
Thanks for all those stories! I saw the Who in 1975 and they were brilliant, most of all Keith🎉 He seemed to solo all the time, yet play in perfect sympathy with Daltrey, Entwhistle and Townshend while clowning around during certain Songs😂 Dougal Butler's "Moon The Loon" is essential reading: hilarious, heart warming and to the point❤
Wow such great stories, maybe the best hour Ive ever spent on RUclips! One of the greatest rock star book Ive ever read is FULL MOON by Keith's personal assistant Dougal Butler from around 1981 - highly recommend!!
Thank you for this. Not a balanced view of Keith Moon's life, but it wasn't intended to be. All of his antics were part of a life few people ever could have imagined, let alone lived. And ultimately, even he couldn't survive it.
His time with Oliver Reed is very funny and should be included. KM was flown to Oliver's mansion by helicopter prior to the commencement of the shooting of Tommy. Oliver annoyed that his horses were upset by the helicopter starting taking pot shots at the helicopter with his shotgun. There followed a very riotous time with the notorious hell raisers!
Yes they played Uncle Frank and Uncle Ernie. They weren't actually Tommy's uncles but Tommy's step father and his step father's clownish alcoholic friend. After Uncle Ernie babysits they fall out.
Some of the craziest celebrity/rock star stories ever are from a documentary about Oliver Reed. He and Keith Moon used to party together, and the stories are LEGEND. How either survived as long as they did is astonishing.
Great video. I think it is really worth mentioning that, at Cow Palace, after Keith passed out for the 2nd time, Pete Townshend solicited any capable drummers from the crowd and a fan played with them in Keith's place.
just made this point in another comment. I'm convinced Daltrey prevented them from imploding many times by just offering to fight any cunt that won't just shut up.
I remember exactly where I was when I heard of his death. I was 18 and still religiously read NME every Thursday. Because he died on a Thursday there was no mention in NME that day, instead I heard it on the radio whilst eating in a cafe on Kirkintilloch High Street where I was commissioning a new telephone exchange #goodolddays
Me too. Ironically, it was in Montreal. I was 13. We were in the family car and it came over the radio. I turned to my brother (15) and said, "32 eh? Well, he lived a full life." I wasn't trying to be a jerk. At age 13, 32 seemed quite old! At that age, I was already aware of the 27 club so it seemed to me he'd received an extension of sorts. You could do a part 2 with more stories. Off the top of my head there's the one recounted by Python Grahame Chapman in his auto biography about Moon climbing out on the ledge of a high rise to steal a bottle of gin from the adjoining room. In the Rolling Stone 25th anniversary book he talks about his brief ownership of a 427 AC Cobra. He pranged it badly going through a stone wall in the countryside. When it was towed into a garage, one of the mechanics looked close to tears. Moon apparently said, "cheer up old boy... I'll just buy me a new one!" Moon and Oliver Reed became pals. There's a story about one going to visit the other in the country by way of helicopter (I can't recall which). As the chopper approached with the visitor, the visitee opened fire on it with (likely) a shotgun. As a Canadian, I have one bone to pick with you. That illustration at min 56 is the worst attempt at depicting a Mountie ... ever.
I've seen a lot of Who documentaries, but this is by far the best I've ever seen seen. Fuckin hilarious! Excellent narration; hilarious script. Extremely well researched and put together, thank you!
Keith is a legend and the poster child of Rock & Roll excess and actually my initial style inspiration as I was discovering The Who [beyond just hearing them on the radio] at the same time I took up drums. I'm of the age that if I had made it big when young I would have been part of the "Vikings on a rampage is cool" era and I know I would have indulged to a degree. But I never thought trashing hotel/motels rooms or especially endangering lives and others property was cool. Everybody laughs at the car in the pool but what if that was your car and what if the pool had been full of kids? I did a lot of dumb shit in my 55 years music career that at the time I thought was funny that really wasn't, but I never considered doing anything intentionally destructive or potentially harmful to others person or property. From what I learned here about the group I would have been more like Roger Daltrey.
I grew up going to Who concerts at Madison Square Garden in the 70’s. He was always in the news causing some disruption. It was funny back then, but now, I think about the poor people that had to clean up after him. It was a time of decadence and freedom that won't be seen again, that's for sure. Excellent video, love your style. New subscriber because of it. I now look forward to binging on your channel.
Spot on, it was funny at that time, but those times no longer exist along with the attitude to this sort of behaviour. Keith Moon would also now be diagnosed as a child with adhd, and receive the medication to stop this full blown self-destructive behaviour from blossoming
You're spot on. Noel's death changed everything. Kim leaving just sealed the deal. I told Dougal Butler that if not for him Keith would have died years earlier. When Keith died he was no longer working for him.
@@BellsCuriosityShop Full Moon, the copy I read. However, it’s possible that it was renamed, or had different titles in different markets. It’s also possible that it was a subtitle.
Exactly what I just posted. I read Moon the Loon by Dougal, maybe it was also called another name.. what a read and full of belly laughs@BellsCuriosityShop
an absolut insane and genius drummer, perfect for his time, and made the who perfect. they inspired me for my life, now i´m retired, but the who make me still "shaking all over"
For years, I was excited about the prospect of a Moonie Hollywood movie biopic. “Dear Boy” was a working title. That was before it was revealed he beat his immediate family members. Now I doubt anyone will touch his story with a 10’ pole.
I wouldn't rule it out actually. I was expecting to hear in this video, some mention of Dudley Moore's perfomance in the movie, "Arthur", that was largely based on Moonie.
I got to see him at the Salt Palace, thank god, b4 he passed on. One of those memories that'll never fade. He's always been my favourite drummer, and Ringo, of course. My friends and I were quite bummed out when The Who didn't perform one song from Quadrophenia and no encore. Oh well, I got to see Keith Moon.
Pamela des Barres has quite a few great Keith Moon stories (and the pics to prove how close they were). She confirms-along with everyone else who knew him-how guilty Keith felt about Neil, and describes how he would break down sometimes at the end of a long and otherwise festive night. He also introduced her to John Lennon, who (in contrast to Keith) behaved like an absolute arse when she met him. It kinda makes sense that Keith was generally nice to women and kids while Lennon took out his rage on whoever seemed most vulnerable--and I say this as someone who loves them both and is a great fan. Keith’s “Dear Boy” impression of Kit that eventually became part of his persona added that gentlemanly veneer to even his worst moments. Also lol to Steve Marriott telling the pilot about his being 5th in line to the throne or thereabouts. A lot of people would have had to die before he became King, but Roger’s stories of his being such a posh toff are so damn funny in themselves. All the books you reference are great reads-so is Pretend We’re In a War, which is a fantastic account of The Who in the 60s. Cheers! Xo
I like the one Pete tells about them being in a limo en route to the airport when Keith demanded they go back to the hotel because he'd forgotten something. So back they go and Keith hops out and runs inside, then a few minutes later a television set came crashing down onto the sidewalk, then Keith comes running out and jumps back into the limo saying ok, let's go. Another story Pete told was one where the band were all meant to gather in the lobby of a hotel at a certain time to catch a flight after just having had 2 or 3 days off, so they are all gathering and a station wagon pulls up outside the lobby filled with what Pete described as a very wholesome American family, and everyone gets out including Keith from the back seat and he's hugging the mother and shaking hands with the father and saying goodbye to the two adolescent kids and they all get back in the car and drive off and Keith explains that he'd just spent the time off staying with that family in a suburb of Kansas City or wherever the hell they were..
"keith moon used to piss on people shoes mid conversation" that was pretty funny, tbh ive done wild stuff but that is like top notch crazy !! i couldnt imagine if keith was still alive, damn it would be a different world..
One of my favorite Keith stories is the time he was drived around London streets in his Rolls Royce with the legs of a mannequin shaking outside the passengers windows while he moaned loud. Keith was a great drummer and comedian. It's a pity he self destructed so much in a very short period of time. He could have been a great comedy actor if she had the focus.
I was given a book by Mr Buttler, who was Dougal Buttlers father. Dougal Buttler was actually called Peter, but it caused confusion, so Pete Townsend named him Dougal after the dog from the "Magic Roundabout" because of his long hair. He wrote a book called "The Moons a loon." He looked after Keith from the beginning. It's a fascinating book , full of laughter and saddness
Great vid, I love the musical raw energy of The Who, Fab songs great musicians & strong powerful vocals from Roger. Keith Moon was the typical English jester rebel with a fabulous unique British sense of humour that every British street and school playground has, i once had a pal similar to Keith and life was just pure fun laughter & risky danger every single day. Outside of the UK many people didn't get the Moon joke, but us Brits love that zany crazy style of fun. Long live The Who Rock&Roll & Keith Moon the Loon. 🎶🎶 🎼 🎸 🥁 🙏
Fantastic video! I remember (as a kid) being an observer-via-telly for some of these events. We weren't allowed to have Who music in the house, same for my cousin's homes. Your video brought back some of the excitement, telling the story from the perspective that excited me so much back in the early 70's. And to this day, Kieth in the movie Tommy, playing Uncle Ernie, was hilarious. Many thanks for taking the time to produce such a memorable take on the period.
🎉Great documentary! I always loved Kieth. My friend's didn't understand that. At all. But. He's the very reason why. I'm young. Young at heart ❤. His destructive behavior destroyed, not only motel rooms. But left a legacy of changed lives. There are people still alive from all the Police Dept.s & motel managers, and maids. That are still figuring out what went on those nights.🎉
I will make this short as possible, but one of our Lengendary here in Norcal stole the Red Lightbars off our small-town Cops patrol cars one night (1977?) so the City replaced them with the "then" hi-tech Blue and Whites. He waited two weeks, stole the Blue and Whites light bars and..
Great video. As a drummer, Keith was a god amongst men. But his life WAS a tragedy. Apart from accidentally killing his friend, he didn't care who got hurt as a result of his behavior. He WAS a psychopath. It doesn't serve anyone to pretend otherwise.
He wasn't really a psychopath. One likes to think a young person today would be treated for ADHD and given coping skills better than amphetamines and pranks. Remember that the postwar English school was not known for nurturing its boys. It heaped scorn on learning problems and labeled them punks. Moonie might have lived longer if born 40 years later.
@DavidLee-bf2pe I think of how Roger Waters and Co. depicted the character Pinky in "The Wall" as haunted by his school days and how the teachers labeled him and set him up for a life of outsider failure. Eventually, his psychosis was exasperated by drugs and stage stress. Sounds like Syd Barrett and Keith Moon had a bit in common.
Great work! I've read most, but not all of the referenced books. I see a couple books that I will definitely add to my library. I didn't know that they were out there! Thanks! I like the way you were able to put all the different stories together in a chronological order from many different points of view and sources. It's very sad. Classic rock like this will soon be history....
Great work James, and so well put together. My Dear Boy is the best biography I've ever read. Ps I hope Keith finally forgave Australia. I saw Peter and Roger in 2009, I wished Keith and John would've been there, Zac Starkey was great though.
That interview early in his career in which he stated his favorite things were "blues", (speed/amphetamines), women (birds), smashing drum kits, and staying young forever. Dying at the age he did, I'd say he completed ALL of them, didn't he??
It might have been OCD because he was always on, always needed an audience. Attention, good and bad, can become an obsession like a drug. The addiction grows until the performer is dancing on a 14th story ledge tossing cherry bombs at cops. 🙀
Or pissheads. And anyone saying they were pissheads is pissheadist, as pisshead shaming, and that's a hate crime. And I need to self arrest myself. Ahh yes ... Orwell had nothing ;)
Really well made! I had such a crush on Keith, so handsome, when young. Quite separately Moon is my favorite all time Drummer. I pull out other bands pieces to compare- Bonzo, Baker, Mitchell, Pert- love them all but Keith was most magical. So it’s funny I am way too uptight for his “humor “. My favorite prank- I saw near live- was the Smothers Brothers explosion- yet learning details- how it hurt Pete , maybe John and Rog’s hearing- it’s pretty horrible. Losing his friend to the car incident was tragic- and heralded his own decline. But, that music, and his pure cool looks at 20 are stuff of Paradise
I saw Keith steal Roger Daltry's mic, and run around the stage with it chanting singing and.. well, being Keith. After over an hour long encore at Madison Square Garden in 1973 or 74, and Pete was performing a bit of instrument smashing (last night of the 3, 4 shows - he simply threw a floor tom on the rest of his drumset. He was tired, lol!
The who stayed at my uncle's hotel when touring in the early years. After Keith destroyed several of the suites they had booked. My uncle would never allow any rock bands to stay there after the incident.
Rodger Daltry in his spare time works tirelessly for a teenage cancer trust in London even working on the wards of the Hospital, Without a doubt one of the world's best Rock vocalists,Pete Townshend a song writing master and the Bass playing Ox and Moony together allways set the pace for the Who when they were playing Live, Its a tragedy Keith died so early and Im sure deep deep down he was a very lonely person.
39.36 That 'Reporter' was Norman Gunston, (Real name Gary MacDonald,) who was a comic reporter who no doudt had a few idiotic questions up his sleeve for Keith Moon, might've been a blessing in disguise that it ended so quickly as Gunstons questions would no doubt have been taken totally the wrong way and my money would be on Gunston getting thumped lol.
" i want to leave you with his comedy " Nothing funny about his destructive narcissistic behavioir with no concern for anyone would have got many locked away in a mental institution .He would have been a nightmare to be around .
In Alice Cooper's book he said Keith showed up at his house ine day in a French maid outfit. He stayed a whole week in character. Alice's wife left for the grocery store one day and while driving Keith slid off the roof and onto the windshield. That was how his visit ended. Keith thanked her politely and left
Great great documentary!!! Cheer from Buffalo, NY. Moonie!!!!!! As a huge Alice Cooper fan as well as the WHO, I was wondering if Alice was going to be mentioned. He was at the conclusion. Very nice touch!! Thanks for this fantastic and classy share!
I have the greatest pleasure in life to have known a man called Rex Webb, he was a legendary drummer and the main push behind the Premier drum company who signed Kieth to premier. the tales he told us as kids about Kieth's antics where amazing!
The replica hand grenade rolled down the aisle of a passenger plane was actually a lighter. But imagine being on that plane. He made the Gallaghers look like goody-two-shoes namby pamby Blenkinsopps.
I was at the Montreal show and the after party. Their were four large suites and the main party was in the Governor's suite on the same floor as the indoor + outdoor pool that was surrounded by a beautiful Japanese garden. When the room service was halted due to liquor laws, that's when the furniture started flying! When an empty champagne bottle was launched into the large Zenith tv we knew the cops were coming! We escaped down the lift as the police were going up to arrest everyone in all the rooms. AMAZING show that night and a Wild party! 🍺🥃🥂🍸🍷
I really enjoyed this one mate. I was never a fan of The Who in my youth as they always looked like old men. However, as an aspiring drummer, I was always interested in Keith Moon and his look and why he didn’t seem to hold his sticks correctly! I warmed to the early Who in the late 80s but it was Tony Fletchers excellent book that provided the full story. Thank you for saving me some time by reading the other biographies 😂😎
Joe Walsh “The single most frightening thing in my life,was when Keith Moon decided he liked me”
That's a scary thing to hear, coming from the king of hotel room destruction!😳
Oh yeah, and the champion of fast driving fast. (His Maserati does 185."🥳)
Hahahahahahaha nice
There's a photo I recently saw of Kieth and Joe Walsh together. I thought to myself "now there's a pair that'll be very dangerous together."
Keith didn't like to sleep
Well, in the pithily immortal words of his bandmate Pete Townshend, "Keith could be such a twat sometimes."
I actually admire Roger for trying to pretty much be the straight one in the band. It's probably why he's in great shape even today. The story of John Lennon's "Lost Weekend" would be another excellent story to tell in the future.
Yeah I definitely came out of all the research with alot of respect for Daltrey.
Thanks for this👍🏻
😂
@@JamesHargreavesGuitarHe still goes to Vegas & does a rock & roll school where he'll teach you some chords & have a photo. Cool that he still gets down with everyday fans.
Even before the hands of time began claiming the individual members if the Hollywood Vampires (John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Alice Cooper, Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon, & Mickey Dolenz), other than recalling metadata points after the fact, no member of that exclusive club could recollect enough of any given incident or happenstance to any appreciable, relatable degree. Most retellings of Lennon's 'Lost Weekend' and the antics of the Vampires by witnesses and/or victims of getting caught in that storm. To uncover a firsthand, personal story aside from the more infamous events in public with plenty of those witnesses/Victims just doesn't exist and probably never will. An historical fiction/hypothetical treatment dotted and punctuated by witnessed stories would be pretty awesome though, given it's written and produced by the right person(s).
The Greatest drummer to ever hold a pair of sticks. No one can dispute that. I remember hearing years ago, some of his expertise could not be duplicated, not even with the help of a computer. Amazing. Rest in peace, Keith. 🌹 You will never be forgotten.
I was at the Cow Palace performance, the show started out ok, but then I saw the double pass outs. After the first pass out, there was a short time out. Then with a cheer from the audience, Keith came out crabbed Pete’s hand like a brother, got back to his kit, and the band was off again, but slowly Keith started to lean on a large gong behind him, clearly out again. A roadie pushed Keith from behind and Keith’s head hit the snare drum with a loud thud! That was it, he was out cold. The roadies picked him up like a sack of potatoes, and took Keith way, with the band leaving the stage too. In just a few seconds later, Pete came back out and said to audience “Are there any drummers in the house?” With that statement, a bunch of hands shot up in the air, my dummer was sitting next to me and he didn’t put his hand up. Anyway, they picked a fellow up out of the audience, and the guy had the time of his life, performing live with The Who, and he was pretty good too. It was all in the local papers the following day, with a photo of the stand in drummer The Who pulled to the stage to play with them finishing up the show. Great stuff. 😂
I was at that Cow Palace show too!!! I’ve never known someone else who was there!! It was a wild experience that’s for sure. I was 15 and it was my second date with my very first boyfriend.
Scot Halpin was the chosen drummer that night. He died Feb 9, 2008.
Great story! Thank you for sharing it!
I saw the who half a dozen times once, I tit was Shepton mallet, Roger came on and said "Keith can't be with us tonight he's passed out after having too much "fun" an😢they had a substitute drummer who I think was legs Larry Smith from the bongo dog band 😂
Once in a Lifetime dude, once in a lifetime ...
We'll never see Live performance anymore ...
Only Staged Performances ...
Stars exist No More .. only Compliance does .. 😭
James, dear boy, thank you so much for documenting Mr Keith Moon and The Who. There's not enough talk of them on here. They're my favorite band of all time. He was certainly an unrivaled lunatic, but he was really an unbelievable drummer when he was healthy, and The Who have made some of the best conceptual albums in classic rock history. Not to mention their live act. Aggressive, powerful and loud! There was a point where it was widely acknowledged and accepted that they were the best live band in the industry. In the words of Alice Cooper, "maybe 50% of what you heard about me and other rock stars is true, but literally 100% of what you heard about Keith Moon is true." Rest in peace, Keith. Long live rock!
You're very welcome! This one was a massive labour of love.
Moon was an absolute geezer 😎🍻🎸
The rest of the Alice Cooper quote is "and that's only the half of it."
@edeledeledel5490 I know. I just wanted to be straight to the point. I didn't wanna add extra math to the quote after the "meat and potatoes "part I added already has enough for the average Joe. Plus, James said it in the video anyway. So it was covered. I really wanted to just thank him for putting Who content out there. There's not enough.
@@BostonWhoFan515 Have you heard the journey to the airport story...
great ID logo, as it includes a great WHO song. 515. I'm from Bean town, also. GO w/ theGREEN.
I saw Keith play four times with the Who. I thought he was the greatest drummer in the world. But I had no idea what he was like off-stage. It wasn't till after his death that I read about what a genius lunatic he was. No one played drums or lived like Keith. Thanks for this great video.
I remember seeing the Who in 1966 in London, it cost 10 shillings to get in on the door. They were absolutely brilliant and I just missed catching Keith’s drumsticks but hey ho I got to see them live. I still love their music after all these years 🤗
@@Rosie-tv3ki I saw The Who for the first time in 1968. That concert is burned into my memory. This was before Keith's lifestyle had taken its toll on his playing. Superhuman drummer. Tickets were probably $7.
@@bodegabonsai7069 I saw the Who in March 1976 at Madison Square Garden in NY. They were absolutely unbelievable. I saw the Stones and Led Zeppelin live also in the late 70’s in NY. Both great. But the Who were head and shoulders better.
For me the greatest rock band of all time.
I saw them again in 85 and most recently in 2022. They were fantastic. But nothing like with Moon.
Definitely one of the all-time best drummers! He (along with Cheap Trick’s Bun E Carlos) had that driving - hard hitting drum style that others only tried to copy!
@@chrissieroxba2949 Trying to copy Keith would not be easy, and a mistake. Keith's style of drumming fit the band he was in. Keith typically played according to what Roger was singing. That will not work in most bands. I know this firsthand. I play drums and my Moonie training had me playing fills during the vocals. Singers (except for Roger) do not appreciate that. I had to retrain myself to play more like Ringo.
But within the anarchistic framework of The Who, Keith was simply amazing. He was so much fun to watch. Keith looked like he was having the time of his life. Playing the drums never looked like work for Keith. (Rock and Roll Circus is a perfect example) Other great drummers I've seen in person or on RUclips, look like they're working.
Keith was a force of nature who occasionally found himself behind a drum kit. You really can't copy him. To do that, you'd have to become him.
Moon once hijacked a bus on Alexandra Parade Melbourne Australia. I believe he’d been visiting with Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum who lived nearby. It seems Moon caught a bus into the city and told the driver he was hijacking this bus to Cuba. I can’t imagine an Australian bus driver doing anything but roar with laughter at this.
Makes sense. Molly lived in Richmond so Alexander Parade is one easy route back into the city centre. Molly loved to party and could keep up with the best of them. It's very plausible. Mark McGahan (Plucka Duck from Hey Hey it's Saturday) lived in the bungalow in Molly's backyard and that kind of tells you all you need to know! I'll stop there.
You flatter him. Some may consider he was just criminally insane.
and a murderer, according to the car crash he reportedly killed his buddy in, but got away with.
Not at any point in my life would I have considered him anything but a jerk.
100%
Keith moon displays several symptoms of severe mental health issues.
@@brokenrecord3523 but a GREAT drummer..unique
@@johnorgan3 but a GREAT drummer..unique
I fell in love with his drumming and the Who at age 8…I researched about him more in my early teens and was blown away….still my favorite band at age 53 and still my favorite legend. He sadly died when I was only 8 years old…but I still dream about the whirlwind myth and creating havoc and having a blast with him. RIP doesn’t seem quite appropriate, so, Party On in ROCK n ROLL Paradise, Dear Boy….
Heard some new stuff, I didn't know, so thanks 👍😁
Saw The Who in Rotterdam in 1975.
John Entwistle playing extremely loud, blowing Pete Townshend away.
Keith Moon joined the party, so we had a two hour rithme section concert. 😅
The best rockin rithme section I've ever heard.
Cheers from the Netherlands. 👍💪😁
Keith Moon sounds like a mad bomber who also just happens to play the drums during his down time.
Exactly. Think if he wasn't rich and famous. He'd still be alive... And in jail for hundreds of felonies and bombings.
More like a raging asshole. Never knew he was this bad, and to think I used to idolize this jerk.
Sounds like he had a antisocial personality disorder with a narcissism to me. All the stories just proves that. He liked to be in the center that he even outperformed the singer in the band.. He didnt respect others limits and creates his own. Fearless and so on. But he was still a great drummer and fun character.
Keith Moon and I were friends in the 70s for a while, I use to drink with him, I would never have known he had this wild side, he was always a gentlemen, he even helped to get a road closed in Battersea for our Family, still closed today in South London near their Studios. He love to tell jokes, and his favourite passtime were bar billiards. Never seen him do any wild things ever, so there were two sides , must be Bi-Polar.
NO , he was an alcoholic.
I lived there while the Who still had the studio in Thessaly Road. Council flat in ‘78.
@@patrickstannard5753 possible Bipolar 2 with self medicating making it worse
"I'm the best Keith Moon-type drummer in the world." -- Keith Moon
the coffee beans down the escalator was a new one for me
thanx
I found this Keith Moon story from Far Out magazine:
Appearing on Conan in 2008, Helen Mirren divulged: “I did a play about the rock ‘n’ roll business, called Teeth’ N’ Smiles, written by David Hare and I was playing a Janis Joplin character,” she explains.
“I’m about to go on for my last entrance, and my dressing room overlooks the back alley where the stage door is. I hear this incredible crashing and banging. I look out the back because that’s where all the trash cans are and there climbing out of the trash cans is this completely drunken guy. Totally arseholed, as we say in England.
“He’s covered now in trash, and he’s got a pinstripe suit on. He looks a complete madman, and I thought, ‘it’s just some drunk as usual on a Saturday night in London’. So I go waiting to go on for my last entrance and then I hear the crashing and the banging coming in from the stage door. I think, ‘Oh my god, he’s broken into the theatre’. Then I hear the crashing and the banging coming up to the stairs outside my dressing room, then the crashing and the banging stops right outside my dressing room.
“Then I hear (knocks animatedly on the floor), ‘Helen, come out’,” Mirren screams in her best Keith Moon impression. “Then I open the door, and it’s Keith Moon. He was just standing there, and he was the man in the trash can. He goes, ‘Hello darling, I hear you’re fantastic in this play’, and I say, ‘Hello Keith, it’s really nice to meet you. I’m very honoured, thank you for coming to visit.’
“I say, ‘I’ve got to leave you now as I’ve got to go on stage’, he says, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll come with you, I’ll come and play in your band it’ll be good’. I’m so idiotic, and this is why I’d say I’m not rock ‘n’ roll, if I was rock ‘n’ roll I’d say, ‘Yeah, come on man’. Instead, I said you can’t as it’s a theatre and we don’t do that kind of thing. One of my great regrets is not having appeared on-stage with Keith Moon,” Mirren said remorsefully.
ps: No I didn’t type this. Cut and paste.
Wow! What a story😂🎉
That was superb! Everyone who came after Keith Moon and tried to do the wild rocker thing, was just playing at it.
53:45 - Can’t believe you didn’t tell the part of the story where they got a guy from the crowd who played drums to finish the set with them.
Yep, Scott in San Francisco. Dude became instant legend amongst his peers.
All true I was there and tried to make it to the stage but Scott beat me and did a great job
Clearly he was more of a professional than the boorish arsehole he replaced.
Because this is the "Keith moon is great" fan club and another drummer doing Keith's set would take away from Keith I can't get over the levels of admiration for a pugnacious little cockwomble
Because people will realise Keith wasn't anything special just a narcissistic little posh boy who shocks by being an unpredictable asshole
Oh how entertaining
Keith would be a slave to tik tok if he were around doing anything to be noticed like a petulant brat
I was raised on a large ranch in S. Idaho and growing up my dad instilled in me one universal fact. If someone ever f*cks with you and you do nothing back, then you will live as a coward. For some reason if there was ever a scuff up at school, he would always know and ask me about it at dinner. We lived in the same area that he grew up in so I guess everyone talked. To this day, I have always stuck up for the weaker/meaker of people. All of my fights in school were over girls being picked on. I am a Navy veteran and retired Army 1SG and had some scuffles in the military but, due to my size...I never had to fight. 6'5" and then was about 220lbs. and all muscle from farm/ranch work my entire life. My point being is: I would have kicked the crap out of Keith over some of the crap he pulled. The problem is I think, no one ever did.
It's in the video: Roger smacked him around, and he's the one that got threatened with dismissal. The disappointing thing about life is that sometimes some low lifes are deemed above consequences because of a perceived value to the whole. His drumming was a catalyst for the group that superseded his idiocy. Can you think of other examples of this currently? I can.
My Dad was lucky enough to see the High Numbers, the name of the band before the Who. Moon the Loon, unfortunately I've lived a life similar to him. Without the fame and money!!
I don't care how crazy your life was or is you haven't even come close to Keith's antics. Take a mentally ill maniac, make him an addict/alcoholic, then hand him millions of dollars. That's Keith Moon.
Never was there a truer rock and roller than Keith Moon aka Moon the Loon. Love the boy now and forever.
Friends of mine had a band, got booked to go on tour with The Who. First day they showed up they were told Two Rules. 1.) Don't ever give Keith drugs or alcohol. 2.) Don't ever get in a car that Keith is driving
One of the most talented drummers of all time, and yet also a completely insane drug addicted maniac. In a world where rock stars are usually associated with illicit substances and reckless behavior, the man known as Moon the Loon really stood out as someone who wasn't interested in acting crazy to have fun but rather to just be a destructive psycho.
Keith Moon was without a doubt the most unique playing drummer in rock n roll history. His style made absolutely no sense but it worked perfectly with the music he was playing. Some of his fills would start off time but land perfectly in time. Even his mistakes sounded great and added to the song. He never played a song the exact same way twice because it all came in the moment and didn't even like to practice much at all. He gave unique texture to the rhythm section that could only be matched by the late great John Entwhistle on bass. The two could weave a tapestry of rythm and sound that could only be described as controlled chaos. Just as Roger Daltry was the lead singer and Pete Townsend the lead guitarist, Entwhistle was lead bass guitarist and Moon the lead drummer. They were all soloists within the song structures. There has not been before or since a drummer whose style was/is as unique as the great Keith "Moonie" Moon.
Saw an interview with Roger, listening to an album of theirs, "Great drumming. Must have been a bad day for drugs"
What a great video, so much work went into this, thank you James!
Amazing documentary James, thank you so much for making it 😊
No one compares to the loon Keith moon. May he R.I.P. thanks for sharing.
Thanks for all those stories! I saw the Who in 1975 and they were brilliant, most of all Keith🎉 He seemed to solo all the time, yet play in perfect sympathy with Daltrey, Entwhistle and Townshend while clowning around during certain Songs😂
Dougal Butler's "Moon The Loon" is essential reading: hilarious, heart warming and to the point❤
Wow such great stories, maybe the best hour Ive ever spent on RUclips! One of the greatest rock star book Ive ever read is FULL MOON by Keith's personal assistant Dougal Butler from around 1981 - highly recommend!!
A great book, indeed
Thank you for this. Not a balanced view of Keith Moon's life, but it wasn't intended to be. All of his antics were part of a life few people ever could have imagined, let alone lived. And ultimately, even he couldn't survive it.
His time with Oliver Reed is very funny and should be included. KM was flown to Oliver's mansion by helicopter prior to the commencement of the shooting of Tommy. Oliver annoyed that his horses were upset by the helicopter starting taking pot shots at the helicopter with his shotgun. There followed a very riotous time with the notorious hell raisers!
Ollie looks totally drunk throughout all of Tommy.
Yes they played Uncle Frank and Uncle Ernie. They weren't actually Tommy's uncles but Tommy's step father and his step father's clownish alcoholic friend. After Uncle Ernie babysits they fall out.
Dont try to attempt any of these antics at home, stick to hotel rooms
Definitely have a rock star's wallet when you do. 😁
Keith Moon was a fucking LEGEND! I love The Who sound with Keith's drumming.
Some of the craziest celebrity/rock star stories ever are from a documentary about Oliver Reed. He and Keith Moon used to party together, and the stories are LEGEND. How either survived as long as they did is astonishing.
Great video. I think it is really worth mentioning that, at Cow Palace, after Keith passed out for the 2nd time, Pete Townshend solicited any capable drummers from the crowd and a fan played with them in Keith's place.
Rodger Daltrey was a lot tougher than people gave him credit for 😊
just made this point in another comment. I'm convinced Daltrey prevented them from imploding many times by just offering to fight any cunt that won't just shut up.
Your nose will remain unpunched!
I knew Roger from football days on the 'Northbank at Highbury. He was just another one of the lads!
@@senianns9522
Who? ... Roger ?
Maybe that's why he was chosen as hard man McVicar.
I remember exactly where I was when I heard of his death. I was 18 and still religiously read NME every Thursday. Because he died on a Thursday there was no mention in NME that day, instead I heard it on the radio whilst eating in a cafe on Kirkintilloch High Street where I was commissioning a new telephone exchange #goodolddays
Me too. Ironically, it was in Montreal. I was 13. We were in the family car and it came over the radio. I turned to my brother (15) and said, "32 eh? Well, he lived a full life." I wasn't trying to be a jerk. At age 13, 32 seemed quite old! At that age, I was already aware of the 27 club so it seemed to me he'd received an extension of sorts.
You could do a part 2 with more stories. Off the top of my head there's the one recounted by Python Grahame Chapman in his auto biography about Moon climbing out on the ledge of a high rise to steal a bottle of gin from the adjoining room. In the Rolling Stone 25th anniversary book he talks about his brief ownership of a 427 AC Cobra. He pranged it badly going through a stone wall in the countryside. When it was towed into a garage, one of the mechanics looked close to tears. Moon apparently said, "cheer up old boy... I'll just buy me a new one!" Moon and Oliver Reed became pals. There's a story about one going to visit the other in the country by way of helicopter (I can't recall which). As the chopper approached with the visitor, the visitee opened fire on it with (likely) a shotgun.
As a Canadian, I have one bone to pick with you. That illustration at min 56 is the worst attempt at depicting a Mountie ... ever.
I've seen a lot of Who documentaries, but this is by far the best I've ever seen seen. Fuckin hilarious! Excellent narration; hilarious script. Extremely well researched and put together, thank you!
Keith is a legend and the poster child of Rock & Roll excess and actually my initial style inspiration as I was discovering The Who [beyond just hearing them on the radio] at the same time I took up drums. I'm of the age that if I had made it big when young I would have been part of the "Vikings on a rampage is cool" era and I know I would have indulged to a degree. But I never thought trashing hotel/motels rooms or especially endangering lives and others property was cool. Everybody laughs at the car in the pool but what if that was your car and what if the pool had been full of kids? I did a lot of dumb shit in my 55 years music career that at the time I thought was funny that really wasn't, but I never considered doing anything intentionally destructive or potentially harmful to others person or property. From what I learned here about the group I would have been more like Roger Daltrey.
I grew up going to Who concerts at Madison Square Garden in the 70’s. He was always in the news causing some disruption. It was funny back then, but now, I think about the poor people that had to clean up after him. It was a time of decadence and freedom that won't be seen again, that's for sure. Excellent video, love your style. New subscriber because of it. I now look forward to binging on your channel.
Spot on, it was funny at that time, but those times no longer exist along with the attitude to this sort of behaviour. Keith Moon would also now be diagnosed as a child with adhd, and receive the medication to stop this full blown self-destructive behaviour from blossoming
You're spot on. Noel's death changed everything. Kim leaving just sealed the deal. I told Dougal Butler that if not for him Keith would have died years earlier. When Keith died he was no longer working for him.
Dougal was his anchor. Full Moon is Butler’s account of those times.
Was it not called Moon the Loon?
@@BellsCuriosityShop Full Moon, the copy I read. However, it’s possible that it was renamed, or had different titles in different markets. It’s also possible that it was a subtitle.
Exactly what I just posted. I read Moon the Loon by Dougal, maybe it was also called another name.. what a read and full of belly laughs@BellsCuriosityShop
💀..I purchased, & LOOVED reading the book, when it first became available..Was Sooo fun..!!!
an absolut insane and genius drummer, perfect for his time, and made the who perfect. they inspired me for my life, now i´m retired, but the who make me still "shaking all over"
For years, I was excited about the prospect of a Moonie Hollywood movie biopic. “Dear Boy” was a working title. That was before it was revealed he beat his immediate family members. Now I doubt anyone will touch his story with a 10’ pole.
Domestic violence isn't funny
I wouldn't rule it out actually. I was expecting to hear in this video, some mention of Dudley Moore's perfomance in the movie, "Arthur", that was largely based on Moonie.
@jeffclement2468 is that true? About the character Arthur being based on Moonie?
@@questioneverything-rf3yf I should have said "loosely based."
I got to see him at the Salt Palace, thank god, b4 he passed on. One of those memories that'll never fade. He's always been my favourite drummer, and Ringo, of course. My friends and I were quite bummed out when The Who didn't perform one song from Quadrophenia and no encore. Oh well, I got to see Keith Moon.
You saw him "b4 he passed on" (?) That would've been the best time to see him!
Pamela des Barres has quite a few great Keith Moon stories (and the pics to prove how close they were). She confirms-along with everyone else who knew him-how guilty Keith felt about Neil, and describes how he would break down sometimes at the end of a long and otherwise festive night. He also introduced her to John Lennon, who (in contrast to Keith) behaved like an absolute arse when she met him. It kinda makes sense that Keith was generally nice to women and kids while Lennon took out his rage on whoever seemed most vulnerable--and I say this as someone who loves them both and is a great fan. Keith’s “Dear Boy” impression of Kit that eventually became part of his persona added that gentlemanly veneer to even his worst moments.
Also lol to Steve Marriott telling the pilot about his being 5th in line to the throne or thereabouts. A lot of people would have had to die before he became King, but Roger’s stories of his being such a posh toff are so damn funny in themselves. All the books you reference are great reads-so is Pretend We’re In a War, which is a fantastic account of The Who in the 60s. Cheers! Xo
Except for the part where he beats his wife, Kim, and keeps her from working as a model, or from leaving the house. Yeah, a prince.
What a great tribute to Moonie . I've seen loads of them and this was one of the best. Thanks for the work you put into this ❤
I like the one Pete tells about them being in a limo en route to the airport when Keith demanded they go back to the hotel because he'd forgotten something. So back they go and Keith hops out and runs inside, then a few minutes later a television set came crashing down onto the sidewalk, then Keith comes running out and jumps back into the limo saying ok, let's go. Another story Pete told was one where the band were all meant to gather in the lobby of a hotel at a certain time to catch a flight after just having had 2 or 3 days off, so they are all gathering and a station wagon pulls up outside the lobby filled with what Pete described as a very wholesome American family, and everyone gets out including Keith from the back seat and he's hugging the mother and shaking hands with the father and saying goodbye to the two adolescent kids and they all get back in the car and drive off and Keith explains that he'd just spent the time off staying with that family in a suburb of Kansas City or wherever the hell they were..
Dear Boy is a great read. Billy Furys owls will never be forgotten.
"keith moon used to piss on people shoes mid conversation"
that was pretty funny, tbh ive done wild stuff but that is like top notch crazy !!
i couldnt imagine if keith was still alive, damn it would be a different world..
Steve Marriot - " I'm 5th in line to the throne , I can do whatever I want." Haw haw haw.
You did Keith justice here ! A true legend and petty good drummer to boot :o)
One of my favorite Keith stories is the time he was drived around London streets in his Rolls Royce with the legs of a mannequin shaking outside the passengers windows while he moaned loud. Keith was a great drummer and comedian. It's a pity he self destructed so much in a very short period of time. He could have been a great comedy actor if she had the focus.
Crazy how died in the same flat as Mama Cass and at the same age...
Steve Martin and Keith Moon did a skit that's worth watching.
I was given a book by Mr Buttler, who was Dougal Buttlers father. Dougal Buttler was actually called Peter, but it caused confusion, so Pete Townsend named him Dougal after the dog from the "Magic Roundabout" because of his long hair. He wrote a book called
"The Moons a loon." He looked after Keith from the beginning. It's a fascinating book , full of laughter and saddness
I enjoyed this interesting insight into Keith. A larger than life character, to be sure.
Always loved Moon's drumming in Tommy. The best part of that great music.
Love The Who. Great video, very well researched and produced.
Keith thanks for the music, Also
to destroy with such grace and precision does bring a tear to my eye, tear of laughter.
Great vid, I love the musical raw energy of The Who, Fab songs great musicians & strong powerful vocals from Roger.
Keith Moon was the typical English jester rebel with a fabulous unique British sense of humour that every British street and school playground has, i once had a pal similar to Keith and life was just pure fun laughter & risky danger every single day.
Outside of the UK many people didn't get the Moon joke, but us Brits love that zany crazy style of fun.
Long live The Who Rock&Roll & Keith Moon the Loon.
🎶🎶 🎼 🎸 🥁 🙏
Loved this video, you can see how much you enjoyed making it.
I never knew this channel existed. Thanks.
Fantastic video! I remember (as a kid) being an observer-via-telly for some of these events. We weren't allowed to have Who music in the house, same for my cousin's homes. Your video brought back some of the excitement, telling the story from the perspective that excited me so much back in the early 70's. And to this day, Kieth in the movie Tommy, playing Uncle Ernie, was hilarious. Many thanks for taking the time to produce such a memorable take on the period.
enjoyed that , you put it across nicely and to some stories i havent heard before.and kept it light hearted , cheers
He was a cheeky lil bastard wasn’t he
What does cheeky mean these days?
🎉Great documentary! I always loved Kieth. My friend's didn't understand that. At all. But. He's the very reason why. I'm young. Young at heart ❤. His destructive behavior destroyed, not only motel rooms. But left a legacy of changed lives. There are people still alive from all the Police Dept.s & motel managers, and maids. That are still figuring out what went on those nights.🎉
I love Keith too. It is strange but it feels very real. Love the band too and Pete and John. Roger is a great singer and reliable
I will make this short as possible, but one of our Lengendary here in Norcal stole the Red Lightbars off our small-town Cops patrol cars one night (1977?) so the City replaced them with the "then" hi-tech Blue and Whites. He waited two weeks, stole the Blue and Whites light bars and..
The piranhas in the bathtub is one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard.
Yawn! ZZZzzz
The Lincoln continental in the pool put me in a coffin. My stomach s hurtin' still, what a bloke the Loon was.
an old friend of mine went to school with Keith at Alperton, he said fame never changed him 😋
Pete talked about getting kicked out of all those hotels before My Generation at the Fillmore East in April '68.
😂 amazing stuff
Could never be in a band with someone like that tho! Christ my anxiety
What a character he was.
Great video. As a drummer, Keith was a god amongst men. But his life WAS a tragedy. Apart from accidentally killing his friend, he didn't care who got hurt as a result of his behavior. He WAS a psychopath. It doesn't serve anyone to pretend otherwise.
The man was a complete moron and should have been sectioned. He was dangerous and the things he did weren't funny at all.
He wasn't really a psychopath. One likes to think a young person today would be treated for ADHD and given coping skills better than amphetamines and pranks.
Remember that the postwar English school was not known for nurturing its boys. It heaped scorn on learning problems and labeled them punks. Moonie might have lived longer if born 40 years later.
I can see that. Thank you for your thoughtful reply.@@RichardHansbury
Drug Addict, Raw Talented Bloke, Selfish Cunt, Funny Chap, Dead.
@DavidLee-bf2pe I think of how Roger Waters and Co. depicted the character Pinky in "The Wall" as haunted by his school days and how the teachers labeled him and set him up for a life of outsider failure. Eventually, his psychosis was exasperated by drugs and stage stress. Sounds like Syd Barrett and Keith Moon had a bit in common.
Great work! I've read most, but not all of the referenced books. I see a couple books that I will definitely add to my library. I didn't know that they were out there! Thanks! I like the way you were able to put all the different stories together in a chronological order from many different points of view and sources. It's very sad. Classic rock like this will soon be history....
Great work James, and so well put together. My Dear Boy is the best biography I've ever read. Ps I hope Keith finally forgave Australia. I saw Peter and Roger in 2009, I wished Keith and John would've been there, Zac Starkey was great though.
That interview early in his career in which he stated his favorite things were "blues", (speed/amphetamines), women (birds), smashing drum kits, and staying young forever. Dying at the age he did, I'd say he completed ALL of them, didn't he??
I believe Pete said Keith would be diagnosed as bipolar these days but back then they didn't know.
It might have been OCD because he was always on, always needed an audience. Attention, good and bad, can become an obsession like a drug. The addiction grows until the performer is dancing on a 14th story ledge tossing cherry bombs at cops. 🙀
Or pissheads. And anyone saying they were pissheads is pissheadist, as pisshead shaming, and that's a hate crime. And I need to self arrest myself.
Ahh yes ... Orwell had nothing ;)
Really well made! I had such a crush on Keith, so handsome, when young. Quite separately Moon is my favorite all time Drummer. I pull out other bands pieces to compare- Bonzo, Baker, Mitchell, Pert- love them all but Keith was most magical. So it’s funny I am way too uptight for his “humor “. My favorite prank- I saw near live- was the Smothers Brothers explosion- yet learning details- how it hurt Pete , maybe John and Rog’s hearing- it’s pretty horrible. Losing his friend to the car incident was tragic- and heralded his own decline. But, that music, and his pure cool looks at 20 are stuff of Paradise
A Legend in Rock n Roll .. He was a very unique drummer
The mini sticks are called "M-80s". You've never seen or heard a more deafening explosion.
I saw Keith steal Roger Daltry's mic, and run around the stage with it chanting singing and.. well, being Keith. After over an hour long encore at Madison Square Garden in 1973 or 74, and Pete was performing a bit of instrument smashing (last night of the 3, 4 shows - he simply threw a floor tom on the rest of his drumset. He was tired, lol!
Excellent piece, yet very sad. He needed intervention. We know that was not to come. Would it happen today? One could hope . . .
The who stayed at my uncle's hotel when touring in the early years. After Keith destroyed several of the suites they had booked. My uncle would never allow any rock bands to stay there after the incident.
Keith Moon, the greatest drummer of all time who never grew up.
Rodger Daltry in his spare time works tirelessly for a teenage cancer trust in London even working on the wards of the Hospital, Without a doubt one of the world's best Rock vocalists,Pete Townshend a song writing master and the Bass playing Ox and Moony together allways set the pace for the Who when they were playing Live, Its a tragedy Keith died so early and Im sure deep deep down he was a very lonely person.
John Entwistle has a song about the Montreal arrest, it’s called Cell Number 7.
39.36 That 'Reporter' was Norman Gunston, (Real name Gary MacDonald,) who was a comic reporter who no doudt had a few idiotic questions up his sleeve for Keith Moon, might've been a blessing in disguise that it ended so quickly as Gunstons questions would no doubt have been taken totally the wrong way and my money would be on Gunston getting thumped lol.
Just watching this story is exhausting.
This is absolutely brilliant!!
And yet, he was a gentleman and generous man at times.
" i want to leave you with his comedy " Nothing funny about his destructive narcissistic behavioir with no concern for anyone would have got many locked away in a mental institution .He would have been a nightmare to be around .
In Alice Cooper's book he said Keith showed up at his house ine day in a French maid outfit. He stayed a whole week in character. Alice's wife left for the grocery store one day and while driving Keith slid off the roof and onto the windshield. That was how his visit ended. Keith thanked her politely and left
Great great documentary!!! Cheer from Buffalo, NY. Moonie!!!!!! As a huge Alice Cooper fan as well as the WHO, I was wondering if Alice was going to be mentioned. He was at the conclusion. Very nice touch!! Thanks for this fantastic and classy share!
Great video man, really liked your presentation! Keith Moon rocks 🤘
Another Fantastic well researched video. I really enjoyed this. Cheers 🍻
You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it
I think we literally grew up with the same album collection.keep the vids coming bro🤘😜🤘
Nice! Will do
John Entwistle was cute. I loved to watch him!✌️
It's a miracle he got to 32.
Those who entered the 27 club would be looking at Moon and thinking
seriously ..
Stuart Cable got to age 40.
Ohhhh, you’ve done a bang up job of telling us these escapades of Keith’s. Please follow up dear fellow. Ohhh Keith. RIP.
I have the greatest pleasure in life to have known a man called Rex Webb, he was a legendary drummer and the main push behind the Premier drum company who signed Kieth to premier. the tales he told us as kids about Kieth's antics where amazing!
The replica hand grenade rolled down the aisle of a passenger plane was actually a lighter. But imagine being on that plane. He made the Gallaghers look like goody-two-shoes namby pamby Blenkinsopps.
I was at the Montreal show and the after party. Their were four large suites and the main party was in the Governor's suite on the same floor as the indoor + outdoor pool that was surrounded by a beautiful Japanese garden. When the room service was halted due to liquor laws, that's when the furniture started flying! When an empty champagne bottle was launched into the large Zenith tv we knew the cops were coming! We escaped down the lift as the police were going up to arrest everyone in all the rooms. AMAZING show that night and a Wild party! 🍺🥃🥂🍸🍷
I really enjoyed this one mate. I was never a fan of The Who in my youth as they always looked like old men. However, as an aspiring drummer, I was always interested in Keith Moon and his look and why he didn’t seem to hold his sticks correctly! I warmed to the early Who in the late 80s but it was Tony Fletchers excellent book that provided the full story. Thank you for saving me some time by reading the other biographies 😂😎