Keith Moon, one of rock music’s greatest drummers and one of its most eccentric characters, died on September 7, 1978. As a drummer, he defined the term “one of a kind,” not only because of his skill and technique, but because of his absolute irreverence and outlandishness.
On August 23, 1946, Moon was born. He was already attracting attention as a drummer by the time he was a teenager. The Who’s decision to bring him on board was flawless. He provided a much-needed comedic counterpoint to Pete Townshend’s frequently solemn demeanour. The frantic edge provided by Moon’s drumming approach set the Who’s sound apart from its contemporaries.
Unlike his predecessors Charlie Watts and Ringo Starr, who used a subtle but effective technique to the drum kit, Moon brought a whole new approach to the instrument, influencing a generation of drummers. The Who had an orchestral rhythm section with the addition of bassist John Entwistle.
After a night of revelry – and, to be fair, a lifetime of pushing himself to the maximum – Moon’s brief but wonderful existence came to an end. He died as a result of an accidental overdose of anti-alcohol medication. Only a few of the sedatives in the prescription may have been lethal. According to police accounts, he drank roughly a third of his prescribed 100-pill supply.
Cause of Death
From Harry Nilsson, Moon rented a flat in Shepherd’s Market in Mayfair, London, at 9 Curzon Place (later Curzon Square). In the wake of Cass Elliot’s death at the age of 32, Nilsson was apprehensive about renting the flat to Moon, fearing it was cursed.. “Lightning would not hit the same location twice,” Townshend assured him.
Moon was taken Heminevrin (clomethiazole, a sedative) to treat his alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he moved into his new home. Because of his apprehension about mental institutions, he opted to become sober at home. Addiction potential, tolerance induction, and danger of mortality when combined with alcohol make clomethiazole unsuitable for unsupervised detoxification. Moon’s doctor, Geoffrey Dymond, administered the medication, unknowing of his lifestyle. It wasn’t long until Dymond gave him a bottle of 100 tablets, telling him to take them as needed, but not more than three a day.
Keith Moon’s Death Remembered
It was on Sep. 7, 1978, that the drummer for The Who, Ringo Starr, was tragically killed.
The Who released their first new album in three years just a month before Roger Daltrey died. Moon was under the influence of alcohol and narcotics at the time, which had an adverse effect on his performance and look. As a result of his illness, the band was unable to tour, and he became concerned and upset about it.
Dr. Geoffrey Dymond recommended him Heminevrin to help him overcome his alcoholism, and he began taking it. It wasn’t long until the advised dosage of the pharmaceutical was surpassed, just like he overused medicines when he successfully cut back on his alcohol consumption.
A biography by Tony Fletcher claims that the drummer’s girlfriend, Annette Walter-Lax, was unaware of how many pills he was taking. She discovered him the next day, laying on his stomach with no sound coming from his mouth.
She dialled Dr. Dymond’s number and helped her locate an ambulance. He was already dead when she discovered him, thus she was unable to save him. At Middlesex Hospital, he was formally declared deceased.
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Early Life
Keith John Moon was born on August 23, 1946, at Central Middlesex Hospital in northwestern London to Alfred Charles (Alf) and Kathleen Winifred (Kit) Moon. He grew up in Wembley. The Goon Show and music were two of his favourite pastimes as a child, and he was always on the go.
After failing his eleven plus test and so being unable to join a grammar school, Moon enrolled at Alperton Secondary Modern School.
In a report, his art teacher stated: “Stifled creatively. Other than that, it’s completely pointless “For further information, please see the following link: “Moon has remarkable ability, but must guard against a desire to show off,” Moon’s music instructor noted.
Initially intending to play bugle in his local Sea Cadet Corps band at the age of twelve, Moon found the instrument to be too challenging and switched to drums. He loved home science kits and practical pranks, and he had a special passion for anything involving explosives.
After school, Moon would frequently stop by Macari’s Music Studio on Ealing Road to work on his drumming technique and gain a rudimentary understanding of the instrument. Around the time of Easter in 1961, he was fourteen years old and had already dropped out of school. Harrow Technical College led to Moon getting a job fixing radios, which let him buy his first drum set.
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Personal Life and Relationships
According to Moon’s autobiography, Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon, he was born on August 23, 1947. Many respectable publications, including Townshend’s authorised history Before I Get Old: The Story of The Who, included this erroneous date. Before Fletcher’s correction, Moon had given interviews in which the incorrect year was given as 1945.
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Career
Moon paid 10 shillings per lesson to Screaming Lord Sutch’s Carlo Little for drumming tuition. Jazz, American surf and rhythm and blues impacted Moon’s early approach, represented by the notable Los Angeles studio drummer Hal Blaine. Jazz performers, in notably Gene Krupa, were among his musical heroes (whose flamboyant style he subsequently copied).
As a drummer, Moon was a fan of Viv Prince of the Pretty Things and Viv Fontana of Elvis Presley’s first drummer, DJ Fontana of the Shadows. In addition to music, he loved singing, with a preference for the Motown sound. In subsequent years, Roger Daltrey remarked that Moon would have quit the Who to join the Beach Boys if he had the chance, even at the height of their glory.