Editing Keith Moon (section)

===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:Pictures of Lily drumkit.jpg|alt="Pictures of Lily" drum kit|thumb|[[Premier Percussion|Premier]]'s replica of 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}}