Perhaps he'll perform at the Olympic Swimming Pool. In a car...
There’s a great story reported by RollingStone.com that says the London Olympic Committee has approached Keith Moon’s agent to see if the drummer would like to take part in the summer’s festivities?
It is of course refreshing that the Olympic Committee is not being ageist, and is prepared to overlook Moon’s past bad behaviour at parties. In the seventies this included driving his car into a hotel swimming pool.
They have clearly been swayed by the fact that Moon has cleaned up his act considerably in the last 34 years, with his indiscretions being relatively few, what with his being dead and everything.
There’s a terrific quote from Moon’s agent who appears to have taken it all in good humour. “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”. If they have a round table, some glasses and candles, we might contact him.”
There is no truth in the rumour that the same committee have approached the representatives of Jimi Hendrix, John Entwhistle and Jerry Garcia to ask them to reform The Grateful Dead….
There are two Keith Moon books I can recommend to those who like their rock biographies. Dear Boy is a wonderful account of Moon’s life. The author, Tony Fletcher attempts to debunk some of the myths that have arisen around Moon, including the “Car in hotel swimming pool” story. As Fletcher found out however, the trouble is, Townsend insists he saw a car in a swimming pool! It’s difficult to know what to believe…
The other is Moon the Loon. Now out of print, this paperback was written by Moon’s personal assistant Dougal Butler, published in 1981 and gives a very funny account of the great man. Read them in tandem, and there’s a fun and potentially factually accurate account of the great man.
If you’re quick, you might finish them both just in time to see him perform at the London Olympics. I hear Freddie Mercury is on standby…
Share:
Categories: Music, Rock Music
The Moment Adam Clayton’s Wedding Tackle Became The Cover Star of U2’s Achtung Baby 
The Origins of Elton John: From The Archives of Jackie Magazine 
Pink Floyd’s Pulse Reissued: How Not To Break The Bank 
The Neil Young Deluxe Vinyl Box Set Project: Part 2: the records 
Personally I think Messrs. Moon and Cobain would clean up at the Olympics. In fact, were they even competing in something as benign and dull as javelin, I for one, most certainly be there…
LikeLike
I guess it depends upon whom they are aiming their javelins at….?
LikeLike
Never have I seen anyone else attack a drum kid like Keith Moon – whirling flailing maniacal vortex of absolutely perfect music.
LikeLike
You are lucky to have seen him – for the rest of us there’s YouTube…
LikeLike
I think that Moon The Loon book is the one I did a thesis on in 9th grade, Is one of the last lines in the book, “Keith just upped and fucking died”? It was that quote which I used in the oral presentation that got me kicked out of class…twas a Catholic High School. haha
LikeLike
That is pretty much exactly how the book ends! I can see why the teachers might have objected to your use of that quote in your exam….
LikeLike
That is hilarious. Since Moon won’t be available, I think they ought to ask John Bonham instead.
LikeLike
Good one…
LikeLike
He he he… 🙂
LikeLike
sweet. i think i may still have a copy of that book somewhere. i remember it had a glossary of terms in it
LikeLike
Yes – mainly cockney rhyming slang and dirty words: a precursor of Roger’s Profanisaurus… Including a factually accurate description of what a Berk really means…
LikeLike
I hate to ask how old the Olympics Committee members are. It almost sounds like they wanted to hire “that far-out drummer bloke” they’d heard about in 1964 without checking on him since then.
Thanks for the tip about the books; I’ve wondered if there was a definitive bio out there. Isn’t there also one called “Full Moon”?
LikeLike
Haven’t come across that one unless you mean the PG Wodehouse book, which is quite light on drunken drummers in rock bands.
I plan to unleash a few more rock bio posts in future weeks…
LikeLike