Customer Reviews

Moon: The Life and Death of a Rock Legend

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

My enjoyment of the Who's music, curiosity about the legend of Keith Moon, and my interest in drummers and drumming in general led me to check out this rather massive book. By the time I reached the final chapter I was both sad that the story was over and completely emotionally drained, and not exactly sure I was glad to have learned all I had about Moon. Having grown up with an alcoholic/drug-dependant family member, far too much of what Fletcher described of Moon's problems was painfully familiar to me. The way he treated those who cared for him, particularly the women in his life, was quite terrible and sometimes difficult to read about.

Fletcher pulls no punches and presents both Moon's greatnesses and his weaknesses. He illustrates where and how Moon was a genius on the drums yet also where, when and how is performance was sub-par. He does not sugar-coat anything. Still, the end result is not as tawdry and cheap as some celebrity biographies I've read, for the reader gets the impression that Fletcher respects the subject matter instead of simply looking to provide cheap thrills and sensationalism. He also works hard to disprove some of the wilder stories and legends of Moon's behavior and stick with the facts, which may disappoint some who hate to see the legends shattered, but there is still much madness and mayhem that is apparently quite true.

If you are a Who fan and/or interested in the story of one of the most legendary drummers of rock music, you owe it to yourself to check out this book. Just be forewarned that you may find it difficult to look at Keith Moon in the same light ever again.

This is one of the best biographies I have read concerning well-known rock stars. Fletcher succeeds where a lot of other biographers fail in that he's a fan but he is also able to be objective. You get the facts here and he destroys a lot of the myths surrounding Moon's escapades. Moon did so much during his life that there is no need to make up stories about him (as a lot of his friends and aquaintences have done). The things he has done are funny, outrageous, infuriating and sad. Fletcher recounts his life in detail. He also writes about Moon's drumming style and attempts to shed some light on what made him one of the most unique and also one of the great drummers in rock and how the Who simply wouldn't be the Who without him. One of my favorite parts of the book is where he gets quotes from other drummers about Moon's style and where he fits among the other great drummers of that era. During the first half of the book it's pretty evenly split on stories about Moon's personal life and the stories about his musical one. As the book progresses, the personal side starts to be discussed a lot more (his addctions, moving to California, etc.). This is in part due to the fact that in the '70s the Who took longer breaks between albums, something Moon had a very hard time coping with. A lot of the stories are funny, but a lot of them are very disturbing and sad (Moon's insecurity about himself, the drug and alcahol addictions, the spousal abuse and the fact he paid a guy to break Ian MacLagan's fingers). Fletcher recounts these details very well and although the book is quite long, it's never boring. Fletcher was able to get many interviews from friends and family and his research into Moon is very professional. This book coud have come across tawdry; instead it comes out great.

After reading "Full Moon" By Peter "Dougal" Butler, I thought any other book written about Keith Moon would be a rerun of previous published material. I was wrong thinking that!! Tony Fletcher has written a incredible account of Keith Moon's private and public life. Alot more detail into the life of Keith is presented here. I found the book describing in detail the stories that were only mentioned in other books. I felt like I know Keith better after reading this book. I laughed, sighed and even cried for Keith. The pain & loneliness Keith had in his life is described in great detail. The stories come from Keith's family, friends, and business associates. Reading how Keith's family the other WHO members dealt with Keith's death, and seeing how the years after his death effected them was most interesting.Their comments answered alot of my questions I've often thought about. This book answered alot of questions I had about Keith, and his life. I highly recommend it. It will open your eyes as to what it's like to live a rock stars life. And when you finish this book, you'll have a better understanding as to what is really important in one's life.

...as the book was entitled in Europe is a thick one, but this is the definitive biography of one of rock's greatest drummers, and one of its most outrageous personalities.

There have been books written about the Who, and about Moon. "Full Moon," written by his longtime personal assistant Dougal Butler leans heavily on the more salacious aspects of his time with Moon the Loon, but has its moments.

This is deeper; Fletcher examines Moon's early life, his influences, both musically and comedically, and the events that brought him together with the three iconoclasts that would make up one of rock and roll's pioneer bands.

Moon's drumming technique, mostly his own is well-examined here, along with those of his contemporaries, and the bands of that era, both famous and unknown are stacked up well against the Who in their various incarnations.

Fletcher gets a good insight into the Mod movement, which has been look at elsewhere, but also the many things that interested and drove Moon himself...he was an early Carnaby Street regular, whose appearance and style would have put Austin Powers to shame!

Moon's health problems are also examined, especially the mental ones: Keith was obviously a hyperactive child, but growing up in post-war Britian, that kind of affliction was considered something you grew out of. Some of us did, like myself, but with Moon is stayed, and I think it can now be said he suffered from some form of manic depression.

This made for great energy, whether playing a powerful, improvisational style of drumming or coming up with bizarre ideas and practical jokes. It also made for great publicity, something his Who mates now seem to regret a great deal.

Moon is such a fascinating figure--one of the nicest people one minute, a complete jerk the next. The way he treated his wife Kim, and later Annette Walter-Lax would have him in jail today. How they both dealt with him I have no idea.

But it's obvious he is troubled; unable to get offstage and just be himself, the self-blame he takes for the accident that causes the death of a close friend, and the loss of his marriage. He sometimes becomes a pathetic figure, alone and terribly lonely amidst fame and fortune, the latter of which he blew in huge quantities.

Townshend once said he believed that Moon was never truly happy, and never had one true close friend. That may be. At least at the end Moon was trying to clean up, get off the booze, etc. But sadly, an overdose of a drug he should never have had his hands on ended his life.

Whatever the case, this book tells the story and tells it without pulling any punches about one of the greatest drummers in rock history, one who should not be remembered just for his lunacy.

Not knowing a lot about the band The Who, I started to read Keith Moons story to find out if all the rumours I had heard about him throughout the years could be true, and boy weren't they. This book is intriging Keith was not only the best drummer in the world but also the best party animal ever. I found this book to be a very honest account of what Keith must have been thinking when getting up to all kinds of mischief, it also looks at the darker sides of Keith (his battle with the booze,the endless supplies of drugs,and the mental/physical abuse endured by his loved ones).It also suggests that Keith had some sort of personality disorder and was in turmoil. Whatever the real truth is for his behaviour this book also shows the loving side of keith and his strong longing to be loved and the centre of attention,however he could get it. I could not put this book down, the attention to detail regarding his music abilities and his role within the band is staggering. A real insight into the life of a rock star and the real Keith Moon.

When I was 14, 30 years ago, I discovered the Who. Not long thereafter, I started fiddling about with the drums. Keith Moon was my inspiration, because listening to him made it seem the drums were important, that they were as an intregal part of the music as any other element of the ensemble. That serves as testamment, everso redundantly, what he meant to music. First and foremost it should be made needlessly apparent that Keith Moon was an incredible musician. This book would lead me to believe that drumming came as naturally to Keith as walking.
This book paints a portrait of someone that was so many things to so many people. It's a disappointment that Keith could be such an arse, yet it's as if he always redeemed himself by being his jovial, generous way, and of course what he made for our listening enjoyment.
This book is excellently researched. Having been someone that thought they knew much about the legend of Keith Moon, there was much in this book I'd never heard and/or read. It was revealing, and disturbing to see how much Moon actually made his self destruciton a full time job. I sympathize with Kim, Mandy and Annette. It's sad to realize how badly he treated some people, disspelling this idea of such a jolly fellow, always the loon and funmonger. Fletcher does an admirable task of breaking down who this guy was, that I empathize with him, where in reading this, he like I, must have had difficulty coming to grips with that as much we loved Keith, that sadly he was the orchestater of his demise. Yet at the same time I can't help but to feel more than ever for Keith Moon because certainly he needed help that no one seemed able to give him, and was perhaps destined to die before he got old.
God bless you Keith Moon. God bless the Who.

Let me just start by saying that the Who is probably my favorite band ever, and Keith Moon is a huge part of that love affair. I was particularly pleased with this bio because it presents an unflinching account of a true talent whose death came as no surprise to those who witnessed his self-destructive nature first hand. Many of the stories of Moon's legendary acts of wanton mayhem and mischief are indeed true, and have been well-documented, and it's a credit to Tony Fletcher's exhaustive research that he does not repeat stories which have been done so ad infinitum. Instead, he paints Moon as a gifted musician whose wildly assaultive, innovative drumming was perfect for the Who (and especially Pete Townshend) and not for any other band, whose drumming influence early peers such as Zeppelin's John Bonham (who probably was the only rock drummer who could match Moon's debauchery on and off stage, according to Fletcher), as well as contemporary rock drummers of today. He also details Moon's chaotic personal life, filled with moments both uproariously funny (witness the countless banishments from top-echelon hotels) and cruelly pathetic (witness Moon having to ask contemporaries to loan him some cash, as he has squandered his fortune on drink, drugs and excess).
A recurring theme prevails throughout this bio; Moon was perhaps a borderline psychotic, a narcissist fueled by both deepening insecurity and a thirst for fame and fortune no matter the cost (and how!). Yet, despite his reckless consumption of alcohol and drugs, many of those surrounding Moon all felt that deep down inside Keith Moon was a warm-hearted, funny human being who thrived on being unpredictable, but could also being extremely loyal to those around him. After all, not only was he the dynamic drummer of perhaps the most aggressive, passionate rock band ever, he was also their biggest fan.
Moon's life was truly a cauldron of chaos, side-splitting humor and dark tragedy, much of which he either took part on or invented to further his reputation. Indeed, much has been written of Keith's antics, many of which have been passed as truth but are in fact fiction, and Fletcher, through careful, exhaustive research, debunks many of these myths. For example,
the oft-told story of Moon driving a Lincoln Continental (or any other car, take your pick) into the swimming pool of the Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan, and the Who's subsequent permanent ban from all Holiday Inns, is put to rest. According to Fletcher, and to those who have participated in this so-called incident, Moon was never involved in the car-in-pool act, nor was the ban ever forbidden from staying at any worldwide Holiday Inn. These myths, says Fletcher, helped fuel the interest in Moon's antics (many of these myths Moon supported, actually). In the end, however, not even a well-placed smoke bomb in an airplane latrine could disguise the fact that Moon was slowly killing himself.
From first hand accounts from those closest to Moon, including ex-wife Kim and Who lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, Fletcher's bio is a passionate, blood and guts account of a man who, possesed of all the talent in the world, embarks on a journey of fame and wealth but sadly becomes the poster child of rock-n-roll excess.

As a drummer myself, I learned from an early age that Keith Moon was a dynamic figure to be emulated. In many ways, I was able to relate to Keith Moon as he was portrayed in this excellent narrative because he was very innocent and naive during his younger and rambunctious years. At his young age of achieving fame, he didn't have the maturity to properly handle his quickly found fame and wealth. This book provides insightful and detailed accounts of his quick rise to the top of rock stardom and the equally quick fall through his own personal abuse of drugs, alcohol and inability to control his behavior and passions off the stage. When I finally put this book down after completing it, I was left with the satisfying feeling of really getting to know an old friend that I never had the opportunity to meet. At the time I was learning to play the drums myself at a young age, "Who's Next" was released with some of the numbers from "Tommy" already enjoying considerable airplay as it still does today. Keith Moon always was an inspiration to me and I recommend this book to anyone else who wants to learn of a great but unhappy man. His story has many similarities to ordinary people who never achieve fame and wealth.

Of all of the books and music I own, this is the first time I have been compelled to write a review on Amazon.com. This book was crafted with great care and is founded upon thorough research. It does a great job capturing the feel of Moon's life: it is exciting to read about the early years before the Who and during their rise to superstardom. Quite appropriately, it then becomes more tedious and depressing as the nonstop partying and pranks get old, signaling the beginning of the end. Those looking for a manual on how to be the life of the party will find it here, but just as there was so much more to Keith Moon, there is much more to the story and, thankfully, it has been included here. The only weakness is that Moon's incredible drumming could be analyzed in greater detail. However, it would be fair to point out that the task of successfully describing and analyzing his drumming might be impossible!

An extensive and insightful look into the too-short life of "the world's greatest Keith Moon-type drummer." While telling the story of Keith, it also tells the story of The Who, and provides tidbits of the band's history you may not have heard before (having been a rabid fan for over thirty-five years, I thought I knew it all, but I learned things I hadn't known previously). Many myths, most of which were propagated by Keith, are debunked here. That said, the book is also a sad and sometimes horrifying examination of the inevitable downward spiral that accompanies drug addiction and alcoholism unchecked. If you're in recovery, reading the last third of this is like going to an AA or NA meeting and hearing all the stories that say, "there but for the grace of God go I." If you're not an addict or alcoholic (or a spouse, close friend or relative of one), you can get a good look at the misery you've been fortunate enough to avoid. We love you, Keith.