The Who’s early live performances invariably ended with the following: Pete Townsend broke his guitar, and Keith Moon turned over the drum kit. This was followed by an explosion accompanied by puffs of smoke. But unlike his bandmates, the drummer loved to arrange shows not only on stage, but also beyond ...
Unlimited creativity
Friends recall that the great drummer “didn’t have a switch”: when the Ze Hu band did not give concerts or record in the studio, Keith Moon tried to find other ways to express himself.
One of the hero's favorite jokes in this article is to disturb the peace of large British villages with shocking ads. For this purpose, he used a police loudspeaker, in addition, the rock star machine was equipped with an amplifier and speakers. This equipment allowed him to inform the population of non-existent dangers, such as impending floods, the invasion of poisonous snakes and so on.
However, drummer Keith Moon is not only famous for such jokes.
Performing style
Many music publications call the hero of this article the greatest drummer in history. He himself spoke more modestly about his art. "I think that I just fit in perfectly with The Who. I never had a desire to become a great drummer. I just wanted to play the drums in The Who. That's all," he once said. Roger Daltry, the vocalist of the band, recalls that when he first heard Keith Moon play behind him, he experienced the sensations that exist when you are standing near an airplane, and it starts up jet engines.
The bass player admitted that sometimes it was hard for him to play with this drummer, because he was constantly changing the pace: accelerating or slowing down.
Among the most striking works of the hero of this article is usually called the album Who's next, which captivates the audience with a brilliant drummer.
Kit Moon's attitude to drum solo
Unlike his contemporaries such as Ginger Baker and John Bonham, the drummer The Who did not like solo and refused to play them at the concerts of the group. During a performance in Madison Square Garden on June 10, 1974, Townsend and Entwistle suddenly stopped playing the Wasp man song to listen to Keith Moon.
The drummer continued to play, and then stopped and shouted: “Drum solos are boring!” However, in 1977 he participated as a guest in a Led Zeppelin concert. Then he joined John Bonham during the performance of his solo composition "Moby Dick". The illegal recording of this concert was widely known among fans of both groups.
Drum kit
Throughout his career, Keith Moon has expanded the drum kit. At first, its installation consisted of four, then of five tools. And in the seventies, the traditional set was supplemented with timballs (ethnic Cuban drums), gongs and timpani. These are boiler-shaped tools with a leather membrane stretched on top of their case. They, unlike many other drums, have a sound of a certain pitch. They remained in the arsenal of the musician until the end of his life.
Keith Moon is also known as one of the pioneers of using two bass drums. This technique later became widely used in the difficult areas of rock music.
In the late sixties, Premier made a special drum kit for Moon called Pictures Of Lily. In 2006, such kits went on sale. Now they were called Spirit Of Lily.
Biography
Keith Moon was born in London on August 23, 1946. He was an agile, imaginative boy. As a child, he loved a variety of music broadcasts. Keith Moon (see the article for the photo of the musician) played the trumpet in the cadet corps orchestra. Over time, he felt that this instrument was too complicated, and switched to drums. Also in childhood, the hero of this article loved to arrange small explosions with the help of sets of a young chemist. He has a passion for pyrotechnics for his whole life. It manifested itself in the frequent use of fireworks during the early concerts of The Who.
On the way home from school, Kit Moon often went to Macari's music studio, as there was an opportunity to practice playing the drums. The young man entered to study at a technical college, where he received the profession of radio installer. Working in his specialty, he was able to accumulate a sufficient amount to buy his first drum kit.
Teacher
The future drummer The Who studied with one of the most famous drummers of the time, Carlo Little, paying 10 shillings per lesson. Keith Moon's playing style in the early years of his career was influenced by jazz, surf rock and rhythm and blues. Then his idol was Hal Blaine - a drummer from a recording studio in Los Angeles.
Groups
The first group in which Keith Moon played the drums was called The Escorts. In December 1962, he joined The Beachcombers. This ensemble played hits of other musicians such as The Shadows.
The who
The story of Keith Moon joining The Who is pretty interesting. This team was already quite famous when he first attended their concert. A constant drummer then left them, and the group invited a session musician to one performance.
After the first part, drummer Keith Moon approached his future colleagues and said without embarrassment that if he played with them their music would sound much better. He was invited to the stage, and after the team played several songs, it became clear to all members of the collective that they had found a great drummer.
The outstanding musician recorded eight albums with the group and one solo disc.
Keith Moon died in 1978 from a drug overdose.