Editing Keith Moon (section)

==Destructive behaviour==
{{quote box|align=right|width=25em|quote=When you've got money and you do the kind of things I get up to, people laugh and say that you're eccentric, which is a polite way of saying you're fucking mad.|source=—Keith Moon{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=Inset between p. 436 and 437}}}}

Moon led a destructive lifestyle. During the Who's early days he began taking [[Substituted amphetamine|amphetamines]],{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=165}} and in an ''[[NME]]'' interview said his favourite food was "[[Dexamyl|French Blues]]".{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=178}} He spent his share of the band's income quickly, and was a regular at London clubs such as the [[The Speakeasy Club|Speakeasy]] (where manager [[Roy Flynn]] recalls having to throw him out on three occasions<ref>{{cite news|last=Little|first=Reg|title=Memories of the swinging sixties|url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/5047810.memories-swinging-sixties/|newspaper=[[Oxford Mail]]|date=11 March 2010|access-date=6 March 2022|archive-date=17 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217212456/https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/5047810.memories-swinging-sixties/|url-status=live}}</ref>) and [[The Bag O'Nails]]. The combination of pills and alcohol escalated into alcoholism and drug addiction.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=224}} "[We] went through the same stages everybody goes through&nbsp;– the bloody drug corridor", he later reflected. "Drinking suited the group a lot better."{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=262}}

According to Townshend, Moon began destroying hotel rooms when the Who stayed at the [[Berlin]] Hilton on tour in late 1966.{{sfn|Townshend|2012|p=94}} In addition to hotel rooms, Moon destroyed friends' homes—and even his own—including throwing furniture from upper-storey windows. Andrew Neill and Matthew Kent estimated that his destruction of hotel toilets and plumbing cost as much as £300,000.{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2009|page=265}} These acts, often fuelled by drugs and alcohol, were Moon's way of demonstrating his eccentricity and he enjoyed shocking the public with them. Longtime friend and personal assistant, [[Dougal Butler]], observed: "He was trying to make people laugh and be Mr Funny; he wanted people to love him and enjoy him, but he would go so far. Like a train ride you couldn't stop."<ref name="butler">{{cite web |url=http://www.modculture.co.uk/interview-mark-raison-meets-dougal-butler-keith-moons-right-hand-man/ |title=Interview with Dougal Butler by Mark Raison |publisher=Mod Culture |date=4 July 2012 |access-date=6 April 2013 |archive-date=12 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712165105/http://www.modculture.co.uk/interview-mark-raison-meets-dougal-butler-keith-moons-right-hand-man/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a limousine on the way to the airport, Moon insisted they return to their hotel, saying "I forgot something." At the hotel he ran back to his room, grabbed the television and threw it out of the window into the swimming pool below. He then jumped back into the limo, saying "I nearly forgot."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nme.com/photos/10-bizarre-rocknroll-anecdotes/173961/4/2 |title=10 bizarre rock'n'roll anecdotes |work=[[New Musical Express]] |date=21 May 2010 |access-date=30 August 2013 |archive-date=29 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029225624/http://www.nme.com/photos/10-bizarre-rocknroll-anecdotes/173961/4/2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Fletcher argues that the Who's lengthy break (15 December 1971 – 11 August 1972) between the end of their [[List of The Who tours and performances#Who's Next Tour|1971 Who's Next Tour]] and the beginning of the ''[[Quadrophenia]]'' sessions devastated Moon's health,{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=267}} as without the rigours of lengthy shows and regular touring that had previously kept him in shape, his hard-partying lifestyle took a greater toll on his body. He did not keep a drum kit or practise at [[Tara, Chertsey|Tara]], and began to deteriorate physically as a result of his lifestyle.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=267–268}} Around the same time he became a severe alcoholic, starting the day with drinks. He changed from the "lovable boozer" he presented himself as, to a "boorish drunk".{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=268}} [[David Puttnam]] recalled, "The drinking went from being a joke to being a problem. On ''[[That'll Be the Day (film)|That'll Be the Day]]'' it was social drinking. By the time ''[[Stardust (1974 film)|Stardust]]'' came round it was hard drinking."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=309}}

===Exploding toilets===
Moon's favourite stunt was to flush powerful explosives down toilets. According to Fletcher, Moon's toilet pyrotechnics began in 1965 when he purchased a case of 500 [[cherry bomb]]s.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=194}} Townshend remembers walking into the bathroom of Moon's hotel room and noticing the toilet had disappeared, with only the [[Trap (plumbing)|S-bend]] remaining. The drummer explained that since a cherry bomb was about to explode, he had thrown it down the toilet and showed Townshend the case of cherry bombs. "And of course from that moment on," the guitarist remembered, "we got thrown out of every hotel we ever stayed in."{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=270}}

Moon moved from cherry bombs to [[M-80 (explosive)|M-80]] fireworks to sticks of [[dynamite]], which became his explosive of choice.<ref name="osley">{{cite news|url=http://www.thecnj.com/review/2009/031209/feat031209_03.html?headline=Who%E2%80%99s_vexed%3F_Rival_%E2%80%98blue_plaque%E2%80%99_for_Moon_puts_heritage_row_centre_stage|title=Who's vexed? Rival 'blue plaque' for Moon puts heritage row centre stage|first=Richard|last=Osley|work=Camden New Journal|date=12 March 2009|access-date=28 August 2013|archive-date=7 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407222006/http://www.thecnj.com/review/2009/031209/feat031209_03.html?headline=Who%E2%80%99s_vexed%3F_Rival_%E2%80%98blue_plaque%E2%80%99_for_Moon_puts_heritage_row_centre_stage|url-status=live}}</ref> "All that porcelain flying through the air was quite unforgettable," Moon remembered. "I never realised dynamite was so powerful. I'd been used to penny bangers before."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=194}} He quickly developed a reputation for destroying bathrooms and blowing up toilets. The destruction mesmerised him, and enhanced his public image as rock's premier hell-raiser. Tony Fletcher wrote that "no toilet in a hotel or changing room was safe" until Moon had exhausted his supply of explosives.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=194}}

Entwistle recalled being close to Moon on tour and both were often involved in blowing up toilets. In a 1981 ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' interview he admitted, "A lot of times when Keith was blowing up toilets I was standing behind him with the matches."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jun-28-me-john28-story.html | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | title=John Entwistle, 57; Innovative Bass Player Co-Founded The Who | first=Geoff | last=Boucher | date=28 June 2002 | access-date=7 May 2010 | archive-date=17 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517061842/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jun-28-me-john28-story.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

Once, a hotel manager called Moon in his room and asked him to lower the volume on his cassette recorder because it made "too much noise". In response the drummer asked him up to his room, excused himself to go to the bathroom, put a lit stick of dynamite in the toilet and shut the bathroom door. Upon returning, he asked the manager to stay for a moment, as he wanted to explain something. Following the explosion, Moon turned the recorder back on and said, "That, dear boy, was noise. This is the 'Oo.{{'"}}{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=435}}

===Flint Holiday Inn incident===
On 23 August 1967, on tour opening for [[Herman's Hermits]], Moon celebrated his 21st birthday at a [[Holiday Inn]] in [[Flint, Michigan]] (though it was initially believed that he was actually turning 20).{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=194}} Entwistle later said, "He decided that if it was a publicised fact that it was his 21st birthday, he would be able to drink."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=195}}

The drummer immediately began drinking upon his arrival in Flint. The Who spent the afternoon visiting local radio stations with Nancy Lewis (then the band's publicist), and Moon posed for a photo outside the hotel in front of a "Happy Birthday Keith" sign put up by the hotel management. According to Lewis, Moon was drunk by the time the band went onstage at [[Atwood Stadium]].{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=196}}

Returning to the hotel, Moon started a food fight and soon cake began flying through the air. The drummer knocked out part of his front tooth; at the hospital, doctors could not give him an anaesthetic (due to his inebriation) before removing the remainder of the tooth. Back at the hotel, a [[melee]] erupted; fire extinguishers were set off, guests (and objects) thrown into the swimming pool and a piano reportedly destroyed. The chaos ended only when police arrived with guns drawn.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=196}}

A furious Holiday Inn management presented the groups with a bill for $24,000 (equivalent to about ${{Inflation|US|24,000|1967|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}), which was reportedly settled by [[Herman's Hermits]] tour manager Edd McCann.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=196–7}} Townshend claimed that the Who were banned for life from all of the hotel's properties,{{sfn|Townshend|2012|p=37}} but Fletcher wrote that they stayed at a Holiday Inn in [[Rochester, New York]], a week later. He also disputed a widely held belief that Moon drove a [[Lincoln Continental]] into the hotel's swimming pool, as claimed by the drummer in a 1972 ''Rolling Stone'' interview.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=196–7}} However, Roger Daltrey, in an interview on [[BBC]]'s ''[[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]]'', stated that the group was banned from "an entire state's worth of Holiday Inns", presumably then Michigan. He also claimed that, while he had not personally seen a car in a swimming pool, he had seen a bill for damages and removal.

===Passing out on stage===
[[File:Keith Moon.jpg|alt=Keith Moon playing the drums|thumb|Moon at [[Maple Leaf Gardens]], Toronto, 21 October 1976. By this point in his career, it was uncertain whether he could finish a show without incident. Except for two informal shows filmed for ''The Kids are Alright'', this was his last public performance with the Who.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=464–466}}]]

Moon's lifestyle began to undermine his health and reliability. During the 1973 [[Quadrophenia]] tour, at the Who's debut US date at the [[Cow Palace]] in [[Daly City, California]], Moon ingested a mixture of [[sedative]]s and [[brandy]]. During the concert, Moon passed out on his drum kit during "[[Won't Get Fooled Again]]". The band stopped playing, and a group of [[road crew|roadies]] carried Moon offstage. They gave him a shower and an injection of [[cortisone]], sending him back onstage after a thirty-minute delay.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/roger-daltrey-interview-2018|title=Roger Daltrey: 'Keith Moon lived his entire life as a fantasy'|first=Dylan|last=Jones|website=British GQ|date=11 August 2018|access-date=12 May 2019|archive-date=6 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706140351/https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/roger-daltrey-interview-2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Moon passed out again during "[[Magic Bus (song)|Magic Bus]]", and was again removed from the stage. The band continued without him for several songs before Townshend asked, "Can anyone play the drums? – I mean somebody good?" A drummer in the audience, [[Scot Halpin]], came up and played the rest of the show.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=361–362}}

During the opening date of the band's March 1976 US tour at the [[Boston Garden]], Moon passed out over his drum kit after two numbers and the show was rescheduled. The next evening, Moon systematically destroyed everything in his hotel room, cut himself doing so, and passed out. He was discovered by manager Bill Curbishley, who took him to a hospital, telling him "I'm gonna get the doctor to get you nice and fit, so you're back within two days. Because I want to break your fucking jaw&nbsp;... You have fucked this band around so many times and I'm not having it any more."{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=475}} Doctors told Curbishley that if he had not intervened, Moon would have bled to death.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=457}} Marsh suggested that at this point Daltrey and Entwistle seriously considered firing Moon, but decided that doing so would make his life worse.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=476}}

Entwistle has said that Moon and the Who reached their live peak in 1975–76. At the end of the 1976 US tour in Miami that August, Moon became delirious and was treated in Hollywood Memorial Hospital for eight days. The group was concerned that he would be unable to complete the last leg of the tour, which ended at [[Maple Leaf Gardens]] in Toronto on 21 October (Moon's last public show).{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|pp=464–466}}  During the band's recording sabbatical between 1976 and 1978, Moon gained a considerable amount of weight.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=492}} By the time of the Who's invitation-only show at the [[Gaumont State Cinema]] on 15 December 1977 for ''The Kids are Alright'', Moon was visibly overweight and had difficulty sustaining a solid performance.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=494}} After recording ''[[Who Are You]]'', Townshend refused to follow the album with a tour unless Moon stopped drinking{{sfn|Townshend|2012|p=264}} and said that if Moon's playing did not improve he would be fired.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=496}} Daltrey later denied threatening to fire him, but said that by this time Moon was out of control.{{Sfn|Chapman|1998|p=84}}

===Financial problems===
Because the Who's early stage act relied on smashing instruments and owing to Moon's enthusiasm for damaging hotels, the group were in debt for much of the 1960s; Entwistle estimated they lost about £150,000.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=304}} Even when the group became relatively financially stable after ''Tommy'', Moon continued to rack up debts. He bought a number of cars and gadgets and flirted with bankruptcy.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=354}} Moon's recklessness with money reduced his profit from the group's 1975 UK tour to £47.35 ({{Inflation|UK|47.35|1975|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK}}{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=441}}