The man they called "Moon the Loon," who died in from a Heminevrin overdose at the age of 32, played practical jokes the same way he played the drums — with manic intensity, flamboyant flourishes and zero concern for potential collateral damage. While Moon's reputation for destroying hotel rooms was certainly well earned, he was also fond of pranks that required considerable planning, forethought and creativity. Here, then, are 10 memorable Keith Moon pranks that went well beyond the usual "TV into the swimming pool" brand of rock star barbarism. The Who's powerful early live shows were generally climaxed with Pete Townshend smashing his guitars, Moon upending his drum kit and plenty of smoke bombs going off. While the band's performance of "My Generation" was mostly mimed, the smash-up finale was unforgettably real, thanks to Moon loading his drums with considerably more flash powder than he'd ever used before. The resulting explosion nearly blew the Who themselves off the stage, briefly blinded the TV cameras, and caused actress Bette Davis — who was booked as a guest on the same program — to faint dead away in the wings.


GQ Recommends


Navigation menu
Keith Moon, drummer with The Who, died on 7th Sept of an overdose of heminevrin prescribed to combat alcoholism. A post-mortem confirmed there were 32 tablets in his system, 26 of which were undissolved. As the party had become out of control, the police were called to put an end to the festivities.
Follow The Who
As Roger Daltrey prepares to publish his long-awaited autobiography and release his compelling new solo album, The Who's singer - probably the most garlanded and most singular frontman in the annals of rock - opens up about how his recent brush with death altered his attitude towards mortality. All this in a year that sees the 40th anniversary of the band's last great studio album, Who Are You, and the 40th anniversary of the death of one of the 20th century's most notorious wild men, the thought-to-be indestructible Keith Moon. By Keith Moon was already a legend in his own Bacardi and Coke. Not just the one, mind. His antics were considered so outrageous that he made Keith Richards , Jim Morrison and Ozzy Osbourne all seem like mischievous altar boys. This was then followed by Moon — looking like a demonic Wotan, with a demented glint in his eyes — upending his drum kit and letting off various smoke bombs. When the band made its US television debut on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in , Moon loaded his bass drum with rather more flash powder than usual; the resulting explosion blew the band off the stage, blinded the TV cameras and — legend has it — caused their fellow guest, the actress Bette Davis, to faint. A few months later, on tour in the UK with pop band The Herd, he put firecrackers in their piano and rigged up a wire-and-pulley system to the gong used by their drummer, so every time he attempted to bang the gong it would slightly move just out of his reach.
Relive the funniest moments that happened before the opening credits of " The Office. Watch the video. Looking for some great streaming picks? Check out some of the IMDb editors' favorites movies and shows to round out your Watchlist. Sign In. Up this week. At the age of 12, he had joined the Sea Cadet Corp and was given his first musical instrument, the bugle. He left school by 15 and was in his first band, The Beachcombers; this was around the summer of