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{{Short description|English rock drummer (1946–1978)}}
{{use British English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Keith Moon
| image              = Keith Moon 4 - The Who - 1975-2.jpg
| alt                = Keith Moon in 1975
| caption            = Moon in 1975
| birth_name         = Keith John Moon
| birth_date         = {{birth date|df=yes|1946|8|23}}
| birth_place        = [[Wembley]], [[Middlesex]], England
| death_date         = {{death date and age|df=yes|1978|9|7|1946|8|23}}
| death_place        = [[Mayfair]], London, England
| resting_place      = [[Golders Green Crematorium]], London, England
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Kim McLagan|Kim Kerrigan]]|1966|1975|end=divorce}}{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=395}}
| partner            = Annette Walter-Lax (1975–1978)
| children           = 1
| occupation         = {{hlist|Musician|actor}}
| module             = {{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| embed       = yes
| background  = solo_singer
| instrument  = {{flatlist|
*Drums
*vocals<!--If you think an instrument should be listed, you must reach a consensus on the talk page-->
}}
| genre           = {{flatlist|
*Rock
*[[hard rock]]
*[[power pop]]
}}
| years_active    = 1962–1978
| past_member_of = [[The Who]]
  }}
}}
'''Keith John Moon''' (23 August 1946{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=1}} – 7 September 1978) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band [[the Who]]. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music,<ref name=":0" /><ref name="rsmoon" /> he was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour.

Moon grew up in [[Wembley]] and took up the drums during the early 1960s. After playing with a local band, the Beachcombers, he joined the Who in 1964 before they recorded their first single. Moon was recognised for his drumming style, which emphasised [[Tom-tom drum|tom-toms]], [[cymbal]] crashes, and [[Fill (music)|drum fills]]. Throughout his tenure with the Who, his drum kit steadily grew in size, and (along with [[Ginger Baker]]) he has been credited as one of the earliest rock drummers to regularly employ [[Bass drum#Double bass drum|double bass drums]] in his setup. Moon occasionally collaborated with other musicians and later appeared in films, but considered playing in the Who his primary occupation, and remained a member of the band until his death. In addition to his talent as a drummer, Moon developed a reputation for [[Instrument destruction|smashing his kit]] on stage and destroying hotel rooms on tour. He was fascinated with blowing up toilets with [[cherry bomb]]s or [[dynamite]], and destroying television sets. Moon also enjoyed touring and socialising, and became bored and restless when the Who were inactive. His 21st birthday party in [[Flint, Michigan|Flint]], Michigan, has been cited as a notorious example of decadent behaviour by rock groups.

Moon suffered a number of setbacks during the 1970s, most notably the accidental death of chauffeur Neil Boland and the breakdown of his marriage. He suffered from alcoholism and acquired a reputation for decadence and dark humour; his nickname was "Moon the Loon". While touring with the Who, on several occasions he passed out on stage and was hospitalised. By the time of their final tour with him in 1976, and particularly during production of the studio album ''[[Who Are You]]'' (1978) and the [[concert film]] ''[[The Kids Are Alright (1979 film)|The Kids Are Alright]]'', his deterioration was evident. Moon moved back to London from Los Angeles in 1978, dying that September from an overdose of [[clomethiazole]], a drug intended to treat or prevent symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.

Moon's drumming continues to be praised by critics and musicians. He was posthumously inducted into the ''[[Modern Drummer]]'' Hall of Fame in 1982, becoming the second rock drummer to be chosen, and in 2011 he was voted the second-greatest drummer in history by a ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' readers' poll.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www.moderndrummer.com/modern-drummers-readers-poll-archive/#_ |title=Modern Drummer's Readers Poll Archive, 1979–2014 |work=[[Modern Drummer]] |access-date=9 August 2015 |archive-date=21 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821222429/http://www.moderndrummer.com/modern-drummers-readers-poll-archive/#_ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="rsmoon">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/rolling-stone-readers-pick-best-drummers-of-all-time-19139/2-keith-moon-102220/ |title=Rolling Stone Readers Pick Best Drummers of All Time |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=8 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325123632/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/rolling-stone-readers-pick-best-drummers-of-all-time-19139/2-keith-moon-102220/ |archive-date=25 March 2021 |access-date=16 September 2022}}</ref> Moon was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 1990 as a member of the Who.

==Early life==
[[File:Central Middlesex Hospital, Clock Tower entrance - geograph.org.uk - 16176.jpg|alt=Central Middlesex Hospital|thumb|[[Central Middlesex Hospital]], Moon's place of birth]]
Keith John Moon was born to motor mechanic Alfred Charles Moon and Kathleen Winifred ("Kit"), née Hopley,<ref>{{cite ODNB | url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-57869 | doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/57869 | title=The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | date=2004 }}</ref>{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=1}}{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2009|p=13}} on 23 August 1946 at [[Central Middlesex Hospital]] in northwest London; he grew up in [[Wembley]]. Moon was [[Hyperactivity|hyperactive]] as a boy, with a restless imagination and a particular fondness for music and ''[[The Goon Show]]''. Moon attended [[Alperton Community School|Alperton Secondary Modern School]] after failing his [[eleven plus exam]], which precluded his attending a grammar school.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=9, 11}} His art teacher said in a report: "[[Intellectual disability|Retarded]] artistically. Idiotic in other respects." His music teacher wrote that Moon "has great ability, but must guard against a tendency to show off."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=15}}

Moon joined his local [[Sea Cadet Corps (United Kingdom)|Sea Cadet Corps]] band at the age of twelve on the [[bugle]], but found the instrument too difficult to learn and took up drums instead.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=17}} He was interested in practical jokes and [[Chemistry kit|home science kits]], with a particular fondness for explosions.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=20}} On his way home from school, Moon would often go to Macari's Music Studio on Ealing Road to practise on the drums there, learning his basic skills on the instrument. He left school around Easter 1961, at age 14.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=22}} Moon then enrolled at Harrow Technical College; this led to a job as a radio repairman, enabling him to buy his first drum kit.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=29}}

==Career==
===Early years===
Moon took lessons from one of the loudest contemporary drummers, [[Screaming Lord Sutch]]'s [[Carlo Little]], at ten [[shilling]]s per lesson.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1496340/Carlo-Little.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1496340/Carlo-Little.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live
|title=Obituaries: Carlo Little |access-date=30 August 2013 |date=17 August 2005 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> His early style was influenced by [[jazz]], American [[surf music]] and [[rhythm and blues]], exemplified by noted Los Angeles studio drummer [[Hal Blaine]]. His favourite musicians were jazz artists, particularly [[Gene Krupa]] (whose flamboyant style he subsequently copied).{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=237}} He also admired [[Elvis Presley]]'s original drummer [[DJ Fontana]], [[The Shadows]]' original drummer [[Tony Meehan]]{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2009|p=11}} and [[the Pretty Things]]' [[Viv Prince]].{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2009|p=100}} Moon also enjoyed singing, with a particular interest in [[Motown]].<ref name="amazingjourney">{{Cite AV media |title=Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who |publisher=Universal Pictures Video |asin=B000WBP282 |date=26 November 2007}}</ref> Moon idolised [[the Beach Boys]];{{sfn|Bogovich|Posner|2003|page=24}} [[Roger Daltrey]] later said that given the opportunity, Moon would have left to play for the California band even at the peak of the Who's fame.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.gigwise.com/news/50277/roger-daltrey-keith-moon-wouldve-left-the-who-for-the-beach-boys |title=Roger Daltrey: 'Keith Moon Would've Left The Who for The Beach Boys' |last1=Colothan |first1=Scott |date=2 April 2009 |website=Gigwise |access-date=28 April 2013}}</ref>

During this time Moon joined his first serious band, the Escorts, replacing his best friend Gerry Evans.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=38}} In December 1962 he joined the Beachcombers, a semi-professional London [[cover band]] playing hits by groups such as The Shadows.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=46}} During his time in the group Moon incorporated theatrical tricks into his act, including "shooting" the group's lead singer with a [[starting pistol|starter pistol]].{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=48–66}} The Beachcombers all had day jobs; Moon, who worked in the sales department at [[British Gypsum]], had the keenest interest in turning professional. In April 1964, aged 17,{{sfn|Case|2010|p=146}} he auditioned for the Who as a replacement for [[Doug Sandom]]. The Beachcombers continued as a local cover band after his departure.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=71–75}}

===The Who===
{{main|The Who}}
[[File:Keith Moon 1967.jpg|alt=Unsmiling young man in a T-shirt, holding a bottle|thumb|upright|Moon backstage in [[Ludwigshafen]], Germany, 1967]]
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. Dressed in ginger clothes and with his hair dyed [[Red hair|ginger]] (future bandmate [[Pete Townshend]] later described him as a "ginger vision"),<ref name="stein">{{cite AV media |people=The Who |title=The Kids Are Alright |medium=movie |publisher=Jeff Stein, Sydney Rose |location=England |year=1979 |url=http://www.thewho.net/linernotes/TKAA.html |access-date=22 June 2013 |archive-date=15 May 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050515082612/http://www.thewho.net/linernotes/TKAA.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{Reference page|52:40}} he claimed to his would-be bandmates that he could play better; he played in the set's second half, nearly demolishing the drum kit in the process.{{sfn|Chapman|1998|p=70}}

As Moon later recounted: "[T]hey said go ahead, and I got behind this other guy's drums and did one song—'[[Road Runner (Bo Diddley song)|Road Runner]].' I'd several drinks to get me courage up and when I got onstage I went ''arrgggGhhhh'' on the drums, broke the bass drum pedal and two skins, and got off. I figured that was it. I was scared to death. Afterwards I was sitting at the bar and Pete came over. He said: 'You ... come 'ere.' I said, mild as you please: 'Yes, yes?' And [[Roger Daltrey|Roger]], who was the spokesman then, said: 'What are you doing next Monday?' I said: 'Nothing.' I was working during the day, selling plaster. He said: 'You'll have to give up work ... there's this gig on Monday. If you want to come, we'll pick you up in the van.' I said: 'Right.' And that was it."<ref>{{cite book |title=Rockin' in Time |last=Szatmary |first=David P. |publisher=Pearson |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-205-93624-3 |location=United States |pages=129}}</ref> Moon later claimed that he was never formally invited to join the Who permanently; when [[Ringo Starr]] asked how he had joined the band, he said he had "just been filling in for the last fifteen years".<ref name="stein"/>{{Reference page|52:29}}

Moon's arrival in the Who changed the dynamics of the group. 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. "We used to fight regularly", remembered Moon in later years. "[[John Entwistle|John [Entwistle]]] and I used to have fights—it wasn't very serious, it was more of an emotional spur-of-the moment thing."{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=87}} Moon also clashed with Daltrey and Townshend: "We really have absolutely nothing in common apart from music", he said in a later interview.<ref>{{cite book |title=Roger Daltrey: The biography |page=28 |first1=Tim |last1=Ewbank |first2=Stafford |last2=Hildred |publisher=Hachette UK |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4055-1845-1}}</ref> Although Townshend described him as a "completely different person to anyone I've ever met",<ref name="stein"/>{{Reference page|38:48}} the pair had a rapport in the early years and enjoyed practical jokes and [[improvisational comedy|improvised comedy]]. Moon's drumming style affected the band's musical structure; although Entwistle initially found Moon's lack of conventional timekeeping problematic, it created an original sound.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=87}}

Moon was particularly fond of touring since it was his only chance to regularly socialise with his bandmates, and was generally restless and bored when not playing live. 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".{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=354}} These antics earned him the nickname "Moon the Loon".{{sfn|Case|2010|p=145}}

====Musical contributions====
{{quote box|align=right|width=35em|quote=I suppose as a drummer, I'm adequate. I've got no real aspirations to be a great drummer. I just want to play drums for the Who and that's it.|source=—Keith Moon, ''[[Melody Maker]]'', September 1970{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=238}}}}
Moon's style of drumming was considered unique by his bandmates, although they sometimes found his unconventional playing frustrating; Entwistle noted that he tended to play faster or slower according to his mood.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=234}} "He wouldn't play across his kit", he later added. "He'd play zig-zag. That's why he had two sets of tom-toms. He'd move his arms forward like a skier."{{sfn|Chapman|1998|p=70}} Daltrey said that Moon "just instinctively put [[Fill (music)|drum fills]] in places that other people would never have thought of putting them".{{sfn|Chapman|1998|p=70}}

Who biographer John Atkins wrote that the group's early test sessions for [[Pye Records]] in 1964 show that "they seemed to have understood just how important was&nbsp;... Moon's contribution."{{sfn|Atkins|2000|p=35}} Contemporary critics questioned his ability to keep time, with biographer [[Tony Fletcher]] suggesting that the timing on ''[[Tommy (The Who album)|Tommy]]'' was "all over the place". Who producer [[Jon Astley]] said, "You didn't think he was keeping time, but he was."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=234}} In the opinion of Atkins, early recordings of Moon's drumming sound tinny and disorganised;<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Who's Next (2003 remaster) |author=John Atkins |page=23 |publisher=Polydor |id=113 056-2}}</ref> it was not until the recording of ''[[Who's Next]]'', with [[Glyn Johns]]' no-nonsense production techniques and the need to keep time to a synthesizer track, that Moon began developing more discipline in the studio. Fletcher considers the drumming on this album to be the best of Moon's career.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=286}}

Unlike contemporary rock drummers such as [[Ginger Baker]] and [[John Bonham]], Moon hated drum solos and refused to play them in concert. At a [[Madison Square Garden]] show during [[The Who Tour 1974|The Who's 1974 tour]], Townshend and Entwistle decided to spontaneously stop playing during "[[Waspman]]" to listen to Moon's drum solo. Moon continued briefly and then stopped, shouting, "Drum solos are boring!"{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=329}} On 23 June 1977, he made a guest appearance at a [[Led Zeppelin]] concert in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/keith-moon-led-zeppelin/ |title=The Day Keith Moon Joined Led Zeppelin Onstage |first=Jeff |last=Giles |website=Ultimate Classic Rock|date=23 June 2015 }}</ref>

[[File:Keith-Moon Bellboy.jpg|alt=Keith Moon singing|thumb|left|Moon singing at [[Maple Leaf Gardens]], Toronto, 21 October 1976;{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=466}} he enjoyed singing whenever possible.]]
Moon also aspired to sing lead vocal on some songs.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=183}} While the other three members handled most of the onstage vocals, Moon would attempt to sing backup (particularly on "[[I Can't Explain]]"). He provided humorous commentary during song announcements, although sound engineer [[Bob Pridden]] preferred to mute his vocal microphone on the [[mixing desk]] whenever possible.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=[[Live at Leeds]] (CD reissue) |publisher=Polydor |year=1995 |id=527 169-2 |page=8 |first=Chris |last=Charlesworth}}</ref> Moon's knack for making his bandmates laugh around the microphone led them to banish him from the studio when vocals were being recorded; this led to a game in which Moon would sneak in to join the singing.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZRY5AQAAIAAJ&q=%22keith+moon%22+%22i+saw+ya%22 |title=The book of rock lists |first1=Dave |last1=Marsh |first2=Kevin |last2=Stein |publisher=[[Dell Pub. Co.]] |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-440-57580-1}}</ref> At the end of "[[Happy Jack (song)|Happy Jack]]", Townshend can be heard saying, "I saw ya!" to Moon as he tries to sneak into the studio.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=174}} The drummer's interest in surf music and his desire to sing led to his performing lead vocals on several early tracks, including "[[Bucket T]]" and "[[Barbara Ann]]" (''Ready Steady Who'' EP, 1966){{sfn|Atkins|2000|p=75}} and high backing vocals on other songs, such as "[[Pictures of Lily]]". His performance on "[[Bell Boy (song)|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."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=346}}

Moon composed "I Need You", the [[instrumental]] "Cobwebs and Strange" (from the album ''[[A Quick One]]'', 1966),{{sfn|Atkins|2000|p=80}} the single B-sides "In The City" (co-written with Entwistle){{sfn|Atkins|2000|p=71}} 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) and "Waspman" (1972).{{sfn|Atkins|2000|p=173}} Moon also co-composed "[[The Ox (instrumental)|The Ox]]" (an instrumental from their debut album, ''[[My Generation (album)|My Generation]]'') with Townshend, Entwistle and keyboardist [[Nicky Hopkins]]. "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (from ''Tommy'') was credited to Moon{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=230}} because he came up with the idea, but the song was actually written by Townshend and, although there is a misconception that Moon sings on it, the album version is Townshend's demo.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qEEUAQAAIAAJ&q=%22tommy's+holiday+camp%22+wrote |title=The British Invasion: From the First Wave to the New Wave |first=Nicholas |last=Schaffner |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=1982 |page=127 |isbn=978-0-07-055089-6}}</ref>

Moon produced the violin solo on "[[Baba O'Riley]]".<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Who's Next (back sleeve credits) |publisher=[[Track Records]] |id=2408 102}}</ref> Moon sat in on congas with [[East of Eden (band)|East of Eden]] at London's [[Lyceum Theatre, London|Lyceum Ballroom]], and afterwards suggested to violinist [[Dave Arbus]] that he play on the track.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aylesburyfriars.co.uk/interviewseastofeden.html |publisher=Friars Aylesbury official site |title=Interview with Ron Caines And Geoff Nicholson |first=Mike |last=O'Connor |year=2012 |access-date=11 April 2013 |archive-date=16 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016005401/http://www.aylesburyfriars.co.uk/interviewseastofeden.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Equipment====
{{See also|The Who's musical equipment}}
[[File:Keith Moon's Premier Drum-set "Pictures of Lily" (1966-1967), custom artwork features nude photos of Lily Langtry, the subject of the Who's 1967 single with same title - Play It Loud. MET (2019-05-13 19.36.20 by Eden, Janine and Jim).jpg|alt="Pictures of Lily" drum kit|thumb|The "Pictures of Lily" drum kit, which Moon used from 1967 to 1969{{sfn|Doerschuk|1989|p=3}}]]
Moon played a four- and later a five-piece drum kit during his early career. During much of 1964 and 1965 his setups consisted of [[Ludwig-Musser|Ludwig]] drums and [[Zildjian]] [[cymbal]]s. He began to endorse [[Premier Drums]] in late 1965 and remained a loyal customer of the company.<ref name="musicradar"/> His first Premier kit was in red sparkle and featured two high toms. In 1966, Moon moved to an even larger kit,{{sfn|Doerschuk|1989|p=1}} but without the customary [[Hi-hat (instrument)|hi-hat]]—at the time he preferred keeping ride rhythms with [[Ride cymbals|ride]] and [[crash cymbals]], but he later reinstated the hi-hats.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/drums/drums7374.html|title=1973–1974 Premier double tom row kits &#124; Keith Moon's Drumkits &#124; Whotabs|access-date=29 March 2022|archive-date=12 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512030224/https://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/drums/drums7374.html|url-status=live}}</ref> His new larger configuration was notable for the presence of two bass drums; he has been credited, along with Ginger Baker, as one of the early pioneers of [[double bass drumming]] in rock.<ref name="Nyman (Baker & Moon)">{{cite web |last1=Nyman |first1=John |title=Double Bass Legends: A Short History |url=http://drummagazine.com/double-bass-legends-a-short-history/ |website=Drum! |access-date=30 December 2017 |date=22 March 2013 |archive-date=25 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225025132/http://drummagazine.com/double-bass-legends-a-short-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This kit was not used at the Who's performance at the 1967 [[Monterey Pop Festival]].{{sfn|Doerschuk|1989|p=2}} From 1967 to 1969, Moon used the "Pictures of Lily" drum kit (named for its artwork), which had two {{convert|22|inch|cm|adj=on}} bass drums, two {{convert|16|inch|cm|adj=on}} floor toms and three mounted toms.{{sfn|Doerschuk|1989|p=3}} In recognition of his loyalty to the company, Premier reissued the kit in 2006 as the "Spirit of Lily".<ref name="musicradar">{{cite web |url=http://www.musicradar.com/gear/drums/acoustic/drum-kits/6-piece-drum-kits/spirit-of-lily-8-piece-kit-17453 |title=Premier Spirit of Lily 8 Piece Kit |publisher=Music Radar |date=6 December 2007 |access-date=10 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214072653/http://www.musicradar.com/gear/drums/acoustic/drum-kits/6-piece-drum-kits/spirit-of-lily-8-piece-kit-17453 |archive-date=14 February 2013}}</ref>

By 1970, Moon had begun to use [[timbales]], [[gong]]s and [[timpani]], and these were included in his setup for the rest of his career.{{sfn|Doerschuk|1989|p=3}} In 1973, Premier's marketing manager, Eddie Haynes, began consulting Moon about specific requirements.{{sfn|Doerschuk|1989|p=2}} At one point, Moon asked Premier to make a white kit with gold-plated fittings. 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." The kit was eventually fitted with copper fittings{{sfn|Doerschuk|1989|p=2}} and later given to a young [[Zak Starkey]], Moon's [[godson]].{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=462}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Snapes |first1=Laura |title=The Who fire drummer Zak Starkey after Royal Albert Hall performance |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/apr/16/the-who-appear-to-fire-drummer-zak-starkey-over-royal-albert-hall-performance |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=4 May 2025 |date=17 April 2025}}</ref>

====Destroying instruments and other stunts====
At an early show at the Railway Tavern in [[Harrow, London|Harrow]], Townshend [[Instrument destruction|smashed his guitar]] after accidentally breaking it. When the audience demanded he do it again, Moon kicked over his drum kit.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=125}} Subsequent live sets culminated in what the band later described as "[[auto-destructive art]]", in which band members (particularly Moon and Townshend) elaborately destroyed their equipment. Moon developed a habit of kicking over his drums, claiming that he did so in exasperation at an audience's indifference.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=126}} 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."{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=267}}

In May 1966, Moon discovered that the Beach Boys' [[Bruce Johnston]] was visiting London. After the pair socialised for a few days, Moon and Entwistle brought Johnston to the set of ''[[Ready Steady Go!]]'',{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=159}} which made them late for a show with the Who that evening. During the finale of "[[My Generation]]", an altercation broke out on stage between Moon and Townshend which was reported on the front page of the ''[[New Musical Express]]'' the following week. Moon and Entwistle left the Who for a week (with Moon hoping to join [[the Animals]] or [[the Nashville Teens]]), but they changed their minds and returned.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=156–160}}

On the Who's early US package tour at the RKO 58th Street Theatre in New York in March and April 1967, Moon performed two or three shows a day, kicking over his drum kit after every show.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|pp=241, 247}} Later that year, during their appearance on ''[[The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour]]'', he bribed a stagehand to load [[gunpowder]] into one of his bass drums; the stagehand used about ten times the standard amount.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=275}} During the finale of "My Generation", he set off the charge. The intensity of the explosion singed Townshend's hair and embedded a piece of cymbal in Moon's arm.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=276}} A clip of the incident became the opening scene for the film ''The Kids Are Alright''.<ref name="stein"/>{{Reference page|7:44}}

Although Moon was known for kicking over his drum kit, Haynes claimed that it was done carefully and the kit rarely needed repairs. However, stands and foot pedals were frequently replaced; the drummer "would go through them like a knife through butter".{{sfn|Doerschuk|1989|p=2}}

===Other work===
====Music====
[[File:Don't Worry Baby ad, 1974.png|alt=Advertisement for "Don't Worry Baby"|thumb|Advertisement for "Don't Worry Baby", 1974]]
While Moon generally said he was only interested in working with the Who,{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=238}} he participated in outside musical projects. In 1966, he worked with [[Yardbirds]] guitarist [[Jeff Beck]], pianist [[Nicky Hopkins]] and future Led Zeppelin members [[Jimmy Page]] and [[John Paul Jones (musician)|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 (Jeff Beck album)|Truth]]''. Moon also played [[timpani]] on another track, a cover of [[Jerome Kern]]'s "[[Ol' Man River]]". He was credited on the album as "You Know Who".<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://archive.classicrockmagazine.com/view/july-2005/44/in-the-late-60s-jeff-beck-put-hi-ho-silver-lining- |title=Truth (review) |journal=Classic Rock Magazine |page=44 |date=July 2005 |access-date=30 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029205005/http://archive.classicrockmagazine.com/view/july-2005/44/in-the-late-60s-jeff-beck-put-hi-ho-silver-lining- |archive-date=29 October 2013 }}</ref>

Moon may have inspired the name for Led Zeppelin when he supposedly briefly considered leaving the Who in 1966 and spoke with Entwistle and Page about forming a [[Supergroup (music)|supergroup]]; Moon (or Entwistle) remarked that a particular suggestion had gone down like a "lead [[zeppelin]]" (a play on "lead balloon"). Although this supergroup was never formed, Page remembered the phrase and later adapted it as the name of his new band.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=225}}<!--Since it's only speculation that Moon used the phrase (it could just as easily have been Entwistle), I don't think this paragraph belongs in this article.-->

[[The Beatles]] became friends with Moon, and this led to occasional collaborations. In 1967, he contributed backing vocals to "[[All You Need Is Love]]".<ref>{{cite book |first=Ian |last=MacDonald |title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles Records and the Sixties |page=261 |publisher=Random House |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-09-952679-7}}</ref> On 15 December 1969, Moon joined [[John Lennon]]'s [[Plastic Ono Band]] for a live performance at the [[Lyceum Theatre, London|Lyceum Theatre]] in London for a [[UNICEF]] charity concert. In 1972, the performance was released as a companion disc to Lennon and Ono's album ''[[Some Time in New York City]]''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=trRB-lo4qR8C&q=%22keith%20moon%22%20lyceum&pg=PT798 |title=The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years |first=Barry |last=Miles |page=798 |publisher=Music Sales Group |isbn=978-0-85712-000-7 |year=2009}}</ref>

Moon's friendship with Entwistle led to an appearance on ''[[Smash Your Head Against the Wall]]'', Entwistle's first solo album and the first by a member of the Who. Moon did not play drums on the album; [[Jerry Shirley]] did, with Moon providing percussion.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/smash-your-head-against-the-wall-mw0000019809/credits |title=Smash Your Head Against The Wall (credits) |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=22 July 2013}}</ref> ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s John Hoegel appreciated Entwistle's decision not to let Moon drum, saying that it distanced his album from the familiar sound of the Who.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c4WiYrfFJSE/Tkh5fMvV4qI/AAAAAAAAC6Q/6ZLbAM5riic/s1600/RS+-+12-9-71.jpg |title=Smash Your Head Against The Wall |last=Hoegel |first=John |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=9 December 1971 |page=58 |access-date=22 July 2013 |archive-date=13 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213155827/http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c4WiYrfFJSE/Tkh5fMvV4qI/AAAAAAAAC6Q/6ZLbAM5riic/s1600/RS+-+12-9-71.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref>

Moon became involved in solo work when he moved to Los Angeles during the mid-1970s. [[Track Records]]-MCA released a Moon solo single in 1974, comprising cover versions of [[the Beach Boys]]' "[[Don't Worry, Baby]]" and "[[Teen Age Idol|Teenage Idol]]". The following year he released his only solo album, entitled ''[[Two Sides of the Moon]]''. Although it featured Moon on vocals, he played drums on only three tracks; most of the drumming was left to others (including [[Ringo Starr]], [[session musician]]s Curly Smith and [[Jim Keltner]], and actor-musician [[Miguel Ferrer]]).{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=402–406}} The album was received poorly by critics. ''[[New Musical Express]]''{{'}}s [[Roy Carr]] wrote, "Moonie, if you didn't have talent, I wouldn't care; but you have, which is why I'm not about to accept ''Two Sides of the Moon''."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=428}} [[Dave Marsh]], reviewing the album in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', wrote: "There isn't any legitimate reason for this album's existence."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=429}} During one of his few televised solo drum performances (for [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''Wide World''), Moon played a five-minute drum solo dressed as a cat on transparent acrylic drums filled with water and goldfish. When asked by an audience member what would happen to the kit, he joked that "even the best drummers get hungry."{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2009|p=259}} His performance was not appreciated by animal lovers, several of whom called the station with complaints.{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2009|p=259}}

====Film====
In the 2007 documentary film ''[[Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who]]'', Daltrey and Townshend reminisced about Moon's talent for dressing as (and embodying) a variety of characters. They remembered his dream of getting out of music and becoming a Hollywood film actor,<ref name="amazingjourney"/>{{Better source needed|date=October 2013}} although Daltrey did not think Moon had the patience and work ethic required of a professional actor. Who manager [[Bill Curbishley]] agreed that Moon "wasn't disciplined enough to actually turn up or commit to doing the stuff".{{sfn|Chapman|1998|p=80}}
[[File:Keith Moon in 200 Motels by Frank Zappa.jpg|thumb|Moon acting as a nun in Zappa's [[200 Motels|''200 Motels'']]]]
Nevertheless, the drummer landed several acting roles. His first was in 1971, a [[Cameo role|cameo]] in [[Frank Zappa]]'s ''[[200 Motels]]'' as a [[nun]] afraid of dying from a drug overdose. Although it only took 13 days to film, fellow cast member [[Howard Kaylan]] remembers Moon spending off-camera time at the Kensington Garden Hotel bar instead of sleeping.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=280}} Moon's next film role was J.D. Clover, drummer for the fictional Stormy Tempest (played by Billy Fury) at a holiday camp during the early days of [[British rock|British rock 'n' roll]], in 1973's ''[[That'll Be the Day (film)|That'll Be the Day]]''.{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2009|p=219}} He reprised the role for the film's 1974 sequel, ''[[Stardust (1974 film)|Stardust]]'',{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2009|p=247}} in Jim MacLaine's ([[David Essex]]) backing band the Stray Cats and played Uncle Ernie in [[Ken Russell]]'s [[Tommy (1975 film)|1975 film adaptation of ''Tommy'']].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spQ751Sv7TUC&q=%22keith%20moon%22%20%22uncle%20ernie%22&pg=PT4456 |page=4456 |title=Broadway Musicals, 1943–2004 |first=John |last=Stewart |publisher=McFarland |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-4766-0329-2}}</ref> Moon's last film appearance was in 1978's ''[[Sextette]]''.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=469}}

==Destructive behaviour==
{{quote box|align=right|width=25em|quote=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.|source=—Keith Moon{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=Inset between p. 436 and 437}}}}

Moon led a destructive lifestyle. During the Who's early days he began taking [[Substituted amphetamine|amphetamines]],{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=165}} and in an ''[[NME]]'' interview said his favourite food was "[[Dexamyl|French Blues]]".{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=178}} He spent his share of the band's income quickly, and was a regular at London clubs such as the [[The Speakeasy Club|Speakeasy]] (where manager [[Roy Flynn]] recalls having to throw him out on three occasions<ref>{{cite news|last=Little|first=Reg|title=Memories of the swinging sixties|url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/5047810.memories-swinging-sixties/|newspaper=[[Oxford Mail]]|date=11 March 2010|access-date=6 March 2022|archive-date=17 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217212456/https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/5047810.memories-swinging-sixties/|url-status=live}}</ref>) and [[The Bag O'Nails]]. The combination of pills and alcohol escalated into alcoholism and drug addiction.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=224}} "[We] went through the same stages everybody goes through&nbsp;– the bloody drug corridor", he later reflected. "Drinking suited the group a lot better."{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=262}}

According to Townshend, Moon began destroying hotel rooms when the Who stayed at the Berlin Hilton on tour in late 1966.{{sfn|Townshend|2012|p=94}} In addition to hotel rooms, Moon destroyed friends' homes—and even his own—including throwing furniture from upper-storey windows. Andrew Neill and Matthew Kent estimated that his destruction of hotel toilets and plumbing cost as much as £300,000.{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2009|page=265}} These acts, often fuelled by drugs and alcohol, were Moon's way of demonstrating his eccentricity and he enjoyed shocking the public with them. Longtime friend and personal assistant, [[Dougal Butler]], observed: "He was trying to make people laugh and be Mr Funny; he wanted people to love him and enjoy him, but he would go so far. Like a train ride you couldn't stop."<ref name="butler">{{cite web |url=http://www.modculture.co.uk/interview-mark-raison-meets-dougal-butler-keith-moons-right-hand-man/ |title=Interview with Dougal Butler by Mark Raison |publisher=Mod Culture |date=4 July 2012 |access-date=6 April 2013 |archive-date=12 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712165105/http://www.modculture.co.uk/interview-mark-raison-meets-dougal-butler-keith-moons-right-hand-man/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a limousine on the way to the airport, Moon insisted they return to their hotel, saying "I forgot something." At the hotel he ran back to his room, grabbed the television and threw it out of the window into the swimming pool below. He then jumped back into the limo, saying "I nearly forgot."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nme.com/photos/10-bizarre-rocknroll-anecdotes/173961/4/2 |title=10 bizarre rock'n'roll anecdotes |work=[[New Musical Express]] |date=21 May 2010 |access-date=30 August 2013 |archive-date=29 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029225624/http://www.nme.com/photos/10-bizarre-rocknroll-anecdotes/173961/4/2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Fletcher argues that the Who's lengthy break (15 December 1971 – 11 August 1972) between the end of their [[List of The Who tours and performances#Who's Next Tour|1971 Who's Next Tour]] and the beginning of the ''[[Quadrophenia]]'' sessions devastated Moon's health,{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=267}} as without the rigours of lengthy shows and regular touring that had previously kept him in shape, his hard-partying lifestyle took a greater toll on his body. He did not keep a drum kit or practise at [[Tara, Chertsey|Tara]], and began to deteriorate physically as a result of his lifestyle.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=267–268}} Around the same time he became a severe alcoholic, starting the day with drinks. He changed from the "lovable boozer" he presented himself as, to a "boorish drunk".{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=268}} [[David Puttnam]] recalled, "The drinking went from being a joke to being a problem. On ''[[That'll Be the Day (film)|That'll Be the Day]]'' it was social drinking. By the time ''[[Stardust (1974 film)|Stardust]]'' came round it was hard drinking."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=309}}

===Exploding toilets===
Moon's favourite stunt was to flush powerful explosives down toilets. According to Fletcher, Moon's toilet pyrotechnics began in 1965 when he purchased a case of 500 [[cherry bomb]]s.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=194}} Townshend remembers walking into the bathroom of Moon's hotel room and noticing the toilet had disappeared, with only the [[Trap (plumbing)|S-bend]] remaining. The drummer explained that since a cherry bomb was about to explode, he had thrown it down the toilet and showed Townshend the case of cherry bombs. "And of course from that moment on," the guitarist remembered, "we got thrown out of every hotel we ever stayed in."{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=270}}

Moon moved from cherry bombs to [[M-80 (explosive)|M-80]] fireworks to sticks of [[dynamite]], which became his explosive of choice.<ref name="osley">{{cite news|url=http://www.thecnj.com/review/2009/031209/feat031209_03.html?headline=Who%E2%80%99s_vexed%3F_Rival_%E2%80%98blue_plaque%E2%80%99_for_Moon_puts_heritage_row_centre_stage|title=Who's vexed? Rival 'blue plaque' for Moon puts heritage row centre stage|first=Richard|last=Osley|work=Camden New Journal|date=12 March 2009|access-date=28 August 2013|archive-date=7 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407222006/http://www.thecnj.com/review/2009/031209/feat031209_03.html?headline=Who%E2%80%99s_vexed%3F_Rival_%E2%80%98blue_plaque%E2%80%99_for_Moon_puts_heritage_row_centre_stage|url-status=live}}</ref> "All that porcelain flying through the air was quite unforgettable," Moon remembered. "I never realised dynamite was so powerful. I'd been used to penny bangers before."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=194}} He quickly developed a reputation for destroying bathrooms and blowing up toilets. The destruction mesmerised him, and enhanced his public image as rock's premier hell-raiser. Tony Fletcher wrote that "no toilet in a hotel or changing room was safe" until Moon had exhausted his supply of explosives.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=194}}

Entwistle recalled being close to Moon on tour and both were often involved in blowing up toilets. In a 1981 ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' interview he admitted, "A lot of times when Keith was blowing up toilets I was standing behind him with the matches."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jun-28-me-john28-story.html | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | title=John Entwistle, 57; Innovative Bass Player Co-Founded The Who | first=Geoff | last=Boucher | date=28 June 2002 | access-date=7 May 2010 | archive-date=17 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517061842/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jun-28-me-john28-story.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

Once, a hotel manager called Moon in his room and asked him to lower the volume on his cassette recorder because it made "too much noise". In response the drummer asked him up to his room, excused himself to go to the bathroom, put a lit stick of dynamite in the toilet and shut the bathroom door. Upon returning, he asked the manager to stay for a moment, as he wanted to explain something. Following the explosion, Moon turned the recorder back on and said, "That, dear boy, was noise. This is the 'Oo.{{'"}}{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=435}}

===Flint Holiday Inn incident===
On 23 August 1967, on tour opening for [[Herman's Hermits]], Moon celebrated his 21st birthday at a [[Holiday Inn]] in [[Flint, Michigan]] (though it was initially believed that he was actually turning 20).{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=194}} Entwistle later said, "He decided that if it was a publicised fact that it was his 21st birthday, he would be able to drink."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=195}}

The drummer immediately began drinking upon his arrival in Flint. The Who spent the afternoon visiting local radio stations with Nancy Lewis (then the band's publicist), and Moon posed for a photo outside the hotel in front of a "Happy Birthday Keith" sign put up by the hotel management. According to Lewis, Moon was drunk by the time the band went onstage at [[Atwood Stadium]].{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=196}}

Returning to the hotel, Moon started a food fight and soon cake began flying through the air. 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. Back at the hotel, a [[melee]] erupted; fire extinguishers were set off, guests (and objects) thrown into the swimming pool and a piano reportedly destroyed. The chaos ended only when police arrived with guns drawn.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=196}}

A furious Holiday Inn management presented the groups with a bill for $24,000 (equivalent to about ${{Inflation|US|24,000|1967|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}), which was reportedly settled by [[Herman's Hermits]] tour manager Edd McCann.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=196–7}} Townshend claimed that the Who were banned for life from all of the hotel's properties,{{sfn|Townshend|2012|p=37}} but Fletcher wrote that they stayed at a Holiday Inn in [[Rochester, New York]], a week later. He also disputed a widely held belief that Moon drove a [[Lincoln Continental]] into the hotel's swimming pool, as claimed by the drummer in a 1972 ''Rolling Stone'' interview.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=196–7}} However, Roger Daltrey, in an interview on [[BBC]]'s ''[[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]]'', stated that the group was banned from "an entire state's worth of Holiday Inns", presumably then Michigan. He also claimed that, while he had not personally seen a car in a swimming pool, he had seen a bill for damages and removal.

===Passing out on stage===
[[File:Keith Moon.jpg|alt=Keith Moon playing the drums|thumb|Moon at [[Maple Leaf Gardens]], Toronto, 21 October 1976. By this point in his career, it was uncertain whether he could finish a show without incident. Except for two informal shows filmed for ''The Kids are Alright'', this was his last public performance with the Who.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=464–466}}]]

Moon's lifestyle began to undermine his health and reliability. 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 [[sedative]]s and [[brandy]]. During the concert, Moon passed out on his drum kit during "[[Won't Get Fooled Again]]". The band stopped playing, and a group of [[road crew|roadies]] carried Moon offstage. They gave him a shower and an injection of [[cortisone]], sending him back onstage after a thirty-minute delay.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/roger-daltrey-interview-2018|title=Roger Daltrey: 'Keith Moon lived his entire life as a fantasy'|first=Dylan|last=Jones|website=British GQ|date=11 August 2018|access-date=12 May 2019|archive-date=6 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706140351/https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/roger-daltrey-interview-2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Moon passed out again during "[[Magic Bus (song)|Magic Bus]]", and was again removed from the stage. The band continued without him for several songs before Townshend asked, "Can anyone play the drums? – I mean somebody good?" A drummer in the audience, [[Scot Halpin]], came up and played the rest of the show.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=361–362}}

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. The next evening, Moon systematically destroyed everything in his hotel room, cut himself doing so, and passed out. He was discovered by manager Bill Curbishley, who took him to a hospital, telling him "I'm gonna get the doctor to get you nice and fit, so you're back within two days. Because I want to break your fucking jaw&nbsp;... You have fucked this band around so many times and I'm not having it any more."{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=475}} Doctors told Curbishley that if he had not intervened, Moon would have bled to death.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=457}} Marsh suggested that at this point Daltrey and Entwistle seriously considered firing Moon, but decided that doing so would make his life worse.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=476}}

Entwistle has said that Moon and the Who reached their live peak in 1975–76. 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. The group was concerned that he would be unable to complete the last leg of the tour, which ended at [[Maple Leaf Gardens]] in Toronto on 21 October (Moon's last public show).{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=464–466}}  During the band's recording sabbatical between 1976 and 1978, Moon gained a considerable amount of weight.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=492}} By the time of the Who's invitation-only show at the [[Gaumont State Cinema]] on 15 December 1977 for ''The Kids are Alright'', Moon was visibly overweight and had difficulty sustaining a solid performance.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=494}} After recording ''[[Who Are You]]'', Townshend refused to follow the album with a tour unless Moon stopped drinking{{sfn|Townshend|2012|p=264}} and said that if Moon's playing did not improve he would be fired.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=496}} Daltrey later denied threatening to fire him, but said that by this time Moon was out of control.{{Sfn|Chapman|1998|p=84}}

===Financial problems===
Because the Who's early stage act relied on smashing instruments and owing to Moon's enthusiasm for damaging hotels, the group were in debt for much of the 1960s; Entwistle estimated they lost about £150,000.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=304}} Even when the group became relatively financially stable after ''Tommy'', Moon continued to rack up debts. He bought a number of cars and gadgets and flirted with bankruptcy.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=354}} Moon's recklessness with money reduced his profit from the group's 1975 UK tour to £47.35 ({{Inflation|UK|47.35|1975|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK}}{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=441}}

==Personal life and relationships==

===Birthdate===
Before the 1998 release of Tony Fletcher's ''Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon'', Moon's date of birth was presumed to be 23 August 1947. This erroneous date appeared in several otherwise-reliable sources, including the Townshend-authorised biography ''Before I Get Old: The Story of The Who''.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=80}} The incorrect date had been supplied by Moon in interviews before it was corrected by Fletcher to 1946.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=1}}

===Kim Kerrigan===
{{main|Kim McLagan}}
Moon's first serious relationship was with 16-year-old [[Kim McLagan|Kim Kerrigan]], whom he started dating in January 1965 after she saw the Who play at [[The Downstairs Club (later Le Disque a Go! Go!)|Le Disque a Go! Go!]] in Bournemouth.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=112}} By the end of the year she discovered she was pregnant. Her parents, who were furious, met with the Moons to discuss their options, and she moved into the Moon family home in Wembley.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=139–141}} She and Moon were married on 17 March 1966 at Brent Register Office,{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=146}} and their daughter Amanda was born on 12 July.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=163}} The marriage (and child) were kept secret from the press until May 1968.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=220}} Moon was occasionally violent towards Kim:{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=184}} "if we went out after I had Mandy", she later said, "if someone talked to me, he'd lose it. We'd go home and he'd start a fight with me."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=186}} He loved Amanda, but his absences due to touring and fondness for practical jokes made their relationship uneasy when she was very young. "He had no idea how to be a father", Kim said. "He was too much of a child himself."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=220}}

From 1971 to 1975 Moon owned [[Tara, Chertsey|Tara]], a home in Chertsey where he initially lived with his wife and daughter.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=290}} The Moons entertained extravagantly at home, and owned a number of cars. Jack McCullogh, then working for [[Track Records]] (the Who's label), recalls Moon ordering him to purchase a [[milk float]] to store in the garage at Tara.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=295}}

In 1973 Kim, convinced that neither she nor anyone else could moderate Keith's behaviour, left her husband and took Amanda;{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=352}} she sued for divorce in 1975 and later married [[Faces (band)|Faces]] keyboard player [[Ian McLagan]].{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=323, 365}} Marsh believes that Moon never truly recovered from the loss of his family.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=413}} Butler agrees; despite his relationship with [[Annette Walter-Lax]], he believes that Kim was the only woman Moon loved.<ref name="butler"/> McLagan commented that Moon "couldn't handle it".{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=323}} Moon would harass them with phone calls, and on one occasion before Kim sued for divorce, he invited McLagan for a drink at a [[Richmond, London|Richmond]] pub and sent several "heavies" to break into McLagan's home on Fife Road and look for Kim, forcing her to hide in a [[walk-in closet]].{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=323}} She died in a car accident in [[Austin, Texas]], on 2 August 2006.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/iconic-model-who-married-keith-moon-dies-in-crash-410477.html |title=Iconic model who married Keith Moon dies in car crash |work=[[The Independent]] |last=Herbert |first=Ian |date=4 August 2006 |access-date=6 April 2013 |archive-date=21 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080321060059/http://www.canada.com/topics/entertainment/story.html?id=06ccba15-3e88-4d88-b46f-895b1ce2b81c&k=5326 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Annette Walter-Lax===
In 1975 Moon began a relationship with Swedish model Annette Walter-Lax, who later said that Moon was "so sweet when he was sober, that I was just living with him in the hope that he would kick all this craziness."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=Inset between p. 436 and 437}} She begged [[Malibu, California|Malibu]] neighbour [[Larry Hagman]] to check Moon into a clinic to dry out (as he had attempted to do before), but when doctors recorded Moon's chemical intake at breakfast, a bottle of champagne, [[Courvoisier]] and [[amphetamines]], they concluded that there was no hope for his rehabilitation.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=424–425}}

===Friends===
[[File:Keith the ballerina.jpg|alt=Keith Moon on stage at a gig in Toronto, 21 October 1976|thumb|Moon onstage in Toronto, 21 October 1976]]

Moon enjoyed being the life of the party. Bill Curbishley remembered that "he wouldn't walk into any room and just listen. He was an attention seeker and he had to have it."{{sfn|Chapman|1998|p=80}}

Early in the Who's career, Moon got to know [[the Beatles]]. He would join them at clubs, forming a particularly close friendship with [[Ringo Starr]].{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=127}} Moon later became friends with [[Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band]] members [[Vivian Stanshall]] and [[Larry Smith (musician)|"Legs" Larry Smith]], and the trio would drink and play practical jokes together. Smith remembers one occasion where he and Moon tore apart a pair of trousers, with an accomplice later looking for one-legged trousers.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=245–246}} In the early 1970s, Moon helped Stanshall with his "Radio Flashes" radio show for [[BBC Radio 1]], filling in for the vacationing [[John Peel]]. Moon filled in for Peel in 1973's "A Touch of the Moon", a series of four programmes produced by [[John Walters (broadcaster)|John Walters]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/radio1/england/1973-08-21#at-22.00 |title=BBC Genome beta, Radio 1, 1973-08-2 |access-date=31 December 2014 |archive-date=31 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231175616/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/radio1/england/1973-08-21#at-22.00 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Guitarist [[Joe Walsh]] enjoyed socialising with Moon. In an interview with ''Guitar World'' magazine, he recalled that the drummer "taught me how to break things".<ref>{{cite book |title=Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music, Volume 5 |first=Michael |last=LaBlanc |publisher=Gale |page=[https://archive.org/details/contemporarymusi00mich_0/page/194 194] |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-8103-2215-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/contemporarymusi00mich_0/page/194}}</ref> In 1974, Moon struck up a friendship with actor [[Oliver Reed]] while working on [[Tommy (1975 film)|the film version of ''Tommy'']].{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=388–389}} Although Reed matched Moon drink for drink, he appeared on set the next morning ready to perform; Moon, on the other hand, would cost several hours of filming time.{{sfn|Chapman|1998|p=80}} Reed later said that Moon "showed me the way to insanity".<ref>{{cite news |title='Moon the Loon' tops poll as rock's most excessive rogue |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/moon-the-loon-tops-poll-as-rocks-most-excessive-rogue-84518.html |work=The Independent |date=15 July 2015 |archive-date=28 September 2020 |access-date=2 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928061330/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/moon-the-loon-tops-poll-as-rocks-most-excessive-rogue-84518.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Dougal Butler===
{{main|Dougal Butler}}
Peter "Dougal" Butler began working for the Who in 1967, becoming Moon's personal assistant the following year<ref name="butler2012">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ItYpSpum6IIC |title=Interview with Dougal Butler by Richard T. Kelly, from Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon|year=2012 |isbn=978-0-571-29585-2|last1=Butler|first1=Dougal|publisher=Faber & Faber }}</ref> to help him stay out of trouble. He remembers managers [[Kit Lambert]] and [[Chris Stamp]] saying, "We trust you with Keith but if you ever want any time off, for a holiday or some sort of rest, let us know and we'll pay for it." Butler never took them up on the offer.<ref name="butler"/>

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."<ref name="butler2012"/> Townshend agreed, saying that by 1975 Butler had "no influence over him whatsoever."{{sfn|Townshend|2012|p=248}} Although he was a loyal companion to Moon, the lifestyle eventually became too much for him; he phoned Curbishley, saying that they needed to move back to England or one of them might die.<ref name="butler"/> Butler quit in 1978, and later wrote of his experiences in a book entitled ''Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon''.<ref name="butler2012"/>

===Neil Boland===
On 4 January 1970, Moon accidentally killed his friend, driver and [[bodyguard]], Neil Boland, outside the [[The Red Lion, Hatfield|Red Lion pub]] in [[Hatfield, Hertfordshire]]. Pub patrons had begun to attack his [[Bentley]]; Moon, drunk, began driving to escape them and hit Boland. After an investigation, the [[coroner]] ruled Boland's death an accident; Moon, having been charged with a number of offences, received an [[absolute discharge]].{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=355}}

Those close to Moon said that he was haunted by Boland's death for the rest of his life. According to [[Pamela Des Barres]], Moon had nightmares (which woke them both) about the incident and said he had no right to be alive.<ref name="DesBarres1">{{cite book |last=Des Barres |first=Pamela |title=I'm with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie |url=https://archive.org/details/imwithbandconfes00barr |url-access=limited |publisher=Chicago Review Press |year=2005 |edition=2nd |pages=[https://archive.org/details/imwithbandconfes00barr/page/n133 254]–258 |isbn=1-55652-589-3}}</ref>

==Death==
[[File:MoonflatCurzonPlace.JPG|alt=Curzon Square, Mayfair, London|thumb|left|9 Curzon Square in 2012; Moon lived on the third floor (top left) in 1978.]]

In mid-1978, Moon moved into Flat 12, 9 [[Curzon Place]] (later Curzon Square), [[Mayfair]], London, renting from [[Harry Nilsson]]. Singer [[Cass Elliot]] of [[the Mamas & the Papas]] had died there four years earlier, at the age of 32;<ref name="wilkes">{{cite news |last=Wilkes |first=Roger |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/4812977/Inside-story-9-Curzon-Place.html |title=Inside story: 9 Curzon Place |date=17 February 2001 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |access-date=29 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629215613/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/4812977/Inside-story-9-Curzon-Place.html |archive-date=29 June 2011 }}</ref> Nilsson was concerned about letting the flat to Moon, believing it was cursed. Townshend disagreed, assuring him that "lightning wouldn't strike the same place twice".{{sfn|Townshend|2012|p=268}}

After moving in, Moon began a prescribed course of Heminevrin ([[clomethiazole]], a [[sedative]]) to alleviate his [[Alcohol withdrawal syndrome|alcohol withdrawal]] symptoms. He wanted to get sober, but because of his fear of psychiatric hospitals, he wanted to do it at home. Clomethiazole is discouraged for unsupervised [[Alcohol detoxification|detoxification]] because of its addictive potential, its tendency to induce [[Drug tolerance|tolerance]], and its risk of death when mixed with alcohol.<ref>{{cite book |title=Meyler's Side Effects of Psychiatric Drugs |editor1-first=J K |editor1-last=Aronson |publisher=Elsevier |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-444-53266-4 |page=439}}</ref> The pills were prescribed by Geoffrey Dymond, a physician who was unaware of Moon's lifestyle. Dymond prescribed a bottle of 100 pills, instructing him to take one pill when he felt a craving for alcohol but not more than three pills per day.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=524}}

By September 1978, Moon was having difficulty playing the drums, according to roadie Dave "Cy" Langston. After seeing Moon in the studio trying to overdub drums for ''The Kids Are Alright'', he said, "After two or three hours, he got more and more sluggish, he could barely hold a drum stick."{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2009|p=292}}

[[File:Keith Moon plaque (Golders Green Crematorium).jpg|alt=Keith Moon's plaque at Golders Green Crematorium|thumb|upright|Moon's plaque at [[Golders Green Crematorium]], London]]

On 6 September, Moon and Walter-Lax were guests of [[Paul McCartney|Paul]] and [[Linda McCartney]] at a preview of a film, ''[[The Buddy Holly Story]]''. After dining with the McCartneys at Peppermint Park in [[Covent Garden]], Moon and Walter-Lax returned to their flat. He watched a film (''[[The Abominable Dr. Phibes]]''), and asked Walter-Lax to cook him [[Lamb and mutton|lamb cutlets]] (which Walter-Lax had stated was his favourite meal).<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Trapp |first=Philip |date=14 June 2023 |title=What 10 Famous Rock Stars Had for Their Last Meals |url=https://loudwire.com/rock-stars-last-meals/ |access-date=15 November 2023 |website=Loudwire |language=en |archive-date=15 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115043912/https://loudwire.com/rock-stars-last-meals/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Keith Moon: The Final 24 (Full Documentary) |date=29 October 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxtp4xV1xMw |access-date=15 November 2023 |language=en |archive-date=15 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115044004/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxtp4xV1xMw |url-status=live }}</ref> When she objected, Moon replied, "If you don't like it, you can fuck off!" These were his [[last words]].<ref name="wilkes"/> Moon then took some clomethiazole tablets. When Walter-Lax checked on him the following afternoon, she discovered he was dead.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=517}}

Curbishley phoned the flat at around 5:00{{spaces}}p.m. looking for Moon, and Dymond gave him the news. Curbishley told Townshend, who informed the rest of the band. Entwistle was giving an interview to two journalists when he was interrupted by a phone call with the news of Moon's death. When asked about the band's future plans, Entwistle burst into tears and quickly ended the interview.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=518}}

Moon's death came shortly after the release of their eighth studio album ''[[Who Are You]]''. On the album cover, he is straddling a chair to hide his weight gain; the words "Not to be taken away" are on the back of the chair.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=504}} Police determined that there were 32 clomethiazole pills in Moon's system. Six were digested; the other 26 were undigested when he died.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=524}} [[Max Glatt]], an authority on alcoholism, wrote in ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' that Moon should never have been given the drug.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/keith-moon-1947-1978-19781019 |title=Keith Moon: 1947(''sic'')-1978 |first=Dave|last=Marsh|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=19 October 1978 |access-date=23 September 2013}}</ref> Moon was cremated on 13 September 1978 at [[Golders Green Crematorium]] in London, and his ashes were scattered in its Gardens of Remembrance.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=522}}

Townshend persuaded Daltrey and Entwistle to carry on touring as the Who, although he later said that it was his means of coping with Moon's death and "completely irrational, bordering on insane". [[AllMusic]]'s Bruce Eder said, "When Keith Moon died, the Who carried on and were far more competent and reliable musically, but that wasn't what sold rock records."<ref name="eder"/>{{sfn|Townshend|2012|p=268}} In November 1978, [[Faces (band)|Faces]] drummer [[Kenney Jones]] joined the Who. Townshend later said that Jones "was one of the few British drummers who could fill Keith's shoes";{{sfn|Townshend|2012|p=287}} Daltrey was less enthusiastic, saying that Jones "wasn't the right style".{{sfn|Townshend|2012|p=288}} Keyboardist [[John Bundrick|John "Rabbit" Bundrick]], who had rehearsed with Moon earlier in the year,{{sfn|Townshend|2012|p=264}} joined the live band as an unofficial member.{{sfn|Atkins|2000|p=27}}{{sfn|Townshend|2012|p=289}}

Jones left the Who in 1988,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kenney-jones-mn0000068047/biography |title=Kenny Jones – biography |first=Greg |last=Prato |website=Allmusic |access-date=30 August 2013 |archive-date=5 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005084921/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/kenney-jones-mn0000068047/biography |url-status=live }}</ref> and drummer [[Simon Phillips (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.{{sfn|Chapman|1998|p=79}} Since 1996, the Who's drummer has been Ringo Starr's son [[Zak Starkey]] who, as a child, had been given a drum kit by Moon (whom he called "Uncle Keith").<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thewholive.net/the-who/|title=The Who Concert Guide|access-date=5 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thewholive.net/tour-list/index.php?GroupID=1&Year=1996|title=The Who 1996|access-date=5 October 2016|archive-date=6 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006153254/http://www.thewholive.net/tour-list/index.php?GroupID=1&Year=1996|url-status=live}}</ref> Starkey had previously toured in 1994 with Roger Daltrey, and contributed to solo studio albums by Daltrey, and John Entwistle.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1631463/who-drummer-zak-starkey-holds-down-super-bowl-halftime/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517004457/http://www.mtv.com/news/1631463/who-drummer-zak-starkey-holds-down-super-bowl-halftime/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 May 2015 |title=Who Drummer Zak Starkey Holds Down Super Bowl Halftime |publisher=www.mtv.com |access-date=6 October 2016}}</ref>

The [[London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games]] contacted Curbishley about Moon performing at the [[2012 Summer Olympics]], evidently unaware he had been dead for 34 years. In an interview with ''[[The Times]]'' Curbishley quipped, "I emailed back saying Keith now resides in Golders Green Crematorium, having lived up to the Who's anthemic line 'I hope I die before I get old'&nbsp;... If they have a round table, some glasses and candles, we might contact him."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/us-news-blog/2012/apr/13/keith-moon-london-olympics-organisers |title=London 2012 organisers wanted Keith Moon to play at Olympics ceremony |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=13 April 2012 |access-date=26 July 2013}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Keith moon at marquee.JPG|alt=Keith Moon's blue plaque at the Marquee Club, London|thumb|right|Moon's [[blue plaque]] at the site of the former [[Marquee Club]]]]

Moon's drumming has been praised by critics. Author Nick Talevski described him as "the greatest drummer in rock", adding that "he was to the drums what [[Jimi Hendrix]] was to the guitar."<ref name="Talevski">{{cite book|last=Talevski|first=Nick|title=Rock Obituaries – Knocking on Heaven's Door|publisher=Omnibus Press|year=2010|page=437|isbn=978-0-85712-117-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DykffzkFALoC&q=keith+moon+drumming&pg=PA436}}</ref> Holly George-Warren, editor and author of ''The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The First 25 Years'', said: "With the death of Keith Moon in 1978, rock arguably lost its single greatest drummer."<ref>{{cite book|first=Holly|last=George-Warren|title=The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The First 25 Years|page=54|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-200734-6|date=15 March 2011}}</ref> According to [[AllMusic]] critic Bruce Eder, "Moon, with his manic, lunatic side, and his life of excessive drinking, partying, and other indulgences, probably represented the youthful, zany side of rock & roll, as well as its self-destructive side, better than anyone else on the planet."<ref name="eder">{{cite web |last=Eder |first=Bruce |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/keith-moon-p19411/biography |title=Keith Moon Biography |website=Allmusic |access-date=26 July 2013 |archive-date=24 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110324093114/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/keith-moon-p19411/biography |url-status=live }}</ref> 

''The New Book of Rock Lists'' ranked Moon No.&nbsp;1 on its list of "50 Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Drummers",<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_dEddefiYx0C&q=new+book+of+rock+lists+greatest+drummers&pg=PR14 |title=The New Book of Rock Lists |publisher=Touchstone|year=1994 |isbn=978-0-671-78700-4|page=355}}</ref> and he was ranked No.&nbsp;2 on the 2011 ''Rolling Stone'' "Best Drummers of All Time" readers' poll. In 2016, the same magazine ranked him No. 2 in their list of the 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time, behind [[John Bonham]].<ref name="RS Readers Poll 2011">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/rolling-stone-readers-pick-best-drummers-of-all-time-20110208 |title=Rolling Stone Readers Pick Best Drummers of All Time |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=February 2011 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=12 February 2011 |archive-date=11 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211191417/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/rolling-stone-readers-pick-best-drummers-of-all-time-20110208 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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."<ref name="budofsky">{{cite book |last=Budofsky |first=Adam |title=The Drummer: 100 Years of Rhythmic Power And Invention |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |isbn=978-1-4234-0567-2 |page=63 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MWA6a9AKhzUC&q=keith+moon+drumming |year=2006}}</ref>

Several rock drummers, including [[Neil Peart]]<ref>Anatomy of a Drum Solo DVD, Neil Peart (2005) accompanying booklet. (Republished in Modern Drummer Magazine, April 2006)</ref> have cited Moon as an influence.<ref>{{cite news|last=Light |first=Alan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/arts/music/15ligh.html |title=Dave Grohl in the New York Times |work=The New York Times |date=13 November 2009 |access-date=22 October 2011}}</ref> [[The Jam]] paid homage to Moon on the second single from their third album, "[[Down in the Tube Station at Midnight]]"; the B-side of the single is a Who [[cover song|cover]] ("[[So Sad About Us]]"), and the back cover of the record has a photo of Moon's face. The Jam's single was released about a month after Moon's death.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=521}} [[Animal (Muppet)|Animal]], one of [[Jim Henson]]'s [[The Muppets|Muppet]] characters, may have been based on Keith Moon due to their similar hair, eyebrows, personality and drumming style.<ref>{{cite news |title=Myers 'to play' Who's Keith Moon |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4298548.stm |date=30 September 2005 |work=[[BBC News]] |archive-date=15 January 2016 |access-date=22 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115060446/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4298548.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Bogovich|Posner|2003|p=89}} Jazz drummer [[Elvin Jones]] praised Moon's work during "[[Tommy (The Who album)|Underture]]", as integral to the song's effect.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Albert |last=Goldman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1AEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12 |title=Elvin Jones's kinesthetic trip |magazine=LIFE |date=6 February 1970 |volume=68 |issue=4 |page=12 }}</ref>

[[Ray Davies]] 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."<ref>{{cite book |first=Holly |last=George-Warren |title=The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The First 25 Years |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ARwKAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Keith+Moon+changed+the+sound+of+drumming%22 |location=New York |publisher=CollinsDesign |year=2009 |isbn=9780061794681 |page=54}}</ref>

"God bless his beautiful heart&nbsp;..." [[Ozzy Osbourne]] told ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'' a month after the drummer's death. "People will be talking about Keith Moon 'til they die, man."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Interview with Ozzy Osbourne|magazine=[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]|date=21 October 1978}}</ref>

[[Clem Burke]] of [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]] said: "Early on all I cared about was Keith Moon and the Who. 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. I'd bring in 'My Generation'. At the end of the song, the drums go nuts. 'My Generation' was a turning point for me because before that it was all the [[Charlie Watts]] and Ringo type of thing."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurythmics-ultimate.com/interview-1985-clem-burke-talks-about-eurythmics-to-modern-drummer/ |title=Interview: 1985–??: Clem Burke Talks About Eurythmics To Modern Drummer |date=21 April 2012 |publisher=Eurythmics-ultimate.com |access-date=15 July 2014}}</ref>

In 1998 Tony Fletcher published a biography of Moon, ''Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon'', in the United Kingdom. The phrase "Dear Boy" became a [[catchphrase]] of Moon's when, influenced by Kit Lambert, he began affecting a pompous English accent. In 2000, the book was released in the US as ''Moon (The Life and Death of a Rock Legend)''. ''[[Q (magazine)|Q Magazine]]'' called the book "horrific and terrific reading", and ''[[Record Collector]]'' said it was "one of rock's great biographies."<ref>{{cite book |title=Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon |id={{ASIN|1844498077 |country=uk}}}}</ref>

In 2008, [[English Heritage]] declined an application for Moon to be awarded a [[blue plaque]]. Speaking to ''[[The Guardian]]'', [[Christopher Frayling]] said they "decided that bad behaviour and overdosing on various substances wasn't a sufficient qualification." The UK's Heritage Foundation<!--NOT the US think tank...--> disagreed with the decision, presenting a plaque which was unveiled on 9 March 2009. Daltrey, Townshend, [[Robin Gibb]] and Moon's mother Kit were present at the ceremony.<ref name="osley"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/feb/02/who-keith-moon-blue-plaque |title=The Who's Keith Moon to be honoured with 'blue plaque' |first=Sean |last=Michaels |date=2 February 2009 |work=The Guardian |access-date=28 August 2013}}</ref>

==Discography==
{{Main|The Who discography}}
;Solo albums
*''[[Two Sides of the Moon]]'' (1975)
'''Other appearances'''

* ''When I'm Sixty-Four'' for ''[[All This and World War II]]'' (1976)<ref>{{Citation |title=Various - All This And World War II |date=1976 |url=https://www.discogs.com/master/23872-Various-All-This-And-World-War-II |access-date=22 April 2023 |language=en |archive-date=22 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422185618/https://www.discogs.com/master/23872-Various-All-This-And-World-War-II |url-status=live }}</ref>

* '''With The Who'''
*My Generation (1965)
*A Quick One (1966)
*The Who Sell Out (1967)
*Magic Bus (1968)
*Tommy (1969)
*Live at Leeds (1970)
*Who's Next (1971)
*Quadrophenia (1973)
*The Who By Numbers (1975)
*Who Are You (1978)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Atkins |first=John |title=The Who on Record: A Critical History, 1963–1998 |publisher=McFarland |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-7864-0609-8 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Bogovich |first1=Richard |last2=Posner |first2=Cheryl |title=The Who: A Who's Who|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ai8UAQAAIAAJ&q=%22keith+moon%22+%22beach+Boys%22|access-date=28 April 2013 |year=2003 |publisher= McFarland & Company |isbn=978-0-7864-1569-4 }}
* {{cite book |last=Case |first=George |title=Out of Our Heads: Rock 'n' Roll Before the Drugs Wore Off |publisher=[[Hal Leonard|Hal Leonard Corporation]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-87930-967-1 }}
* {{cite journal |url=http://www.drummagazine.com/gear/post/keith-moons-love-hate-with-his-drum-set/ |title=Keith Moon's Love/Hate Relationship With His Drum Set |first=Andy |last=Doerschuk |journal=Drum Magazine |year=1989 |issue=October/November |access-date=9 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055150/http://www.drummagazine.com/gear/post/keith-moons-love-hate-with-his-drum-set/ |archive-date=21 September 2013 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite magazine|title=Moon: The Ultimate Rock Disaster Epic |last=Chapman |first=Rob |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |issue=58 |year=1998 |url=http://beta.thewho.net/sites/default/files/1998_09%20Mojo.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514111526/http://beta.thewho.net/sites/default/files/1998_09%20Mojo.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 May 2013 }}
* {{cite book |title=Before I Get Old: The Story of The Who |last=Marsh |first=Dave |author-link=Dave Marsh |publisher=Plexus Publishing Ltd |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-85965-083-0 }}
* {{cite book |last=Fletcher |first=Tony |author-link=Tony Fletcher |title=Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=978-1-84449-807-9 |year=1998 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Neill |first1=Andrew |last2=Kent |first2=Matthew |title=Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of The WHO 1958–78|year=2009|publisher=Sterling Publishing|isbn=978-1-4027-6691-6 }}
* {{cite book |last=Townshend |first=Pete |author-link=Pete Townshend |title=Who Am I: A Memoir |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-212726-6 |year=2012 }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Barnes|first=Richard|title=The Who: Maximum R&B|publisher=Plexus Publishing|year=2004|isbn=978-0-85965-351-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Clayson|first=Alan|title=Keith Moon: Instant Party: Musings, Memories and Minutiae|publisher=Chrome Dreams|year=2005|isbn=978-1-84240-310-5}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Keith Moon}}
*[http://www.thewho.com/keith-moon/ Biography of Keith Moon] at thewho.com

{{The Who}}
{{1990 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon, Keith}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century English drummers]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths in London]]
[[Category:British rhythm and blues boom musicians]]
[[Category:Drug-related deaths in London]]
[[Category:English expatriate musicians in the United States]]
[[Category:English male drummers]]
[[Category:English rock drummers]]
[[Category:Golders Green Crematorium]]
[[Category:Musicians from the London Borough of Brent]]
[[Category:People from Wembley]]
[[Category:Plastic Ono Band members]]
[[Category:The Who members]]