7 Sep 2018

Keith John Moon 1946-1978

It’s hard to believe that it’s forty years to the day since Keith passed away. It’s hard to imagine what he would have been like had he lived. He would have celebrated his 72nd birthday last month. Keith Moon at 72? Really? Would he have settled down, become a gentleman rock star with a nice pad in the country and a couple of hounds at his heel like John? Would he be living the life of a Hollywood star in California with a golden tan, velvet smoking jacket and white flares with a touch of Peter Sellers about him as in the photo above? Probably. Would he still be drumming? Would The Who be taking the stage these days with two drummers, Keith and his godson Zak, side-by-side, pounding away at the skins, four bass drums and a plethora of toms, cymbals and gongs between them? Now there’s a thought.

We’ll never know, of course. But it’s on days such as these – anniversaries of deaths, of birthdays, of that particular Who gig that stood out as a highlight of the past 50 or so years – Charlton ’76, San Francisco ’68, Woodstock ’69, Philly ’73, Isle of Wight ’70, or maybe Keith’s last, Shepperton ’78 – when we think of all the good times, the gigs, the laughs and pranks, the hilarious anecdotes, the exhilaration that going to see The Who can bring, that not only Keith – but John, Roger and Pete – have given us.

Good times, good music, good records. Good memories.

Rest in peace, Keith.

Keith John Moon  23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978