Saturday, May 29th, 1976
Record Mirror features a story titled "The Man In The Moon". They also carry an ad for Sounds magazine which indicates they have a story about Keith as well.
Transcript: (unverified)
The Man In The Moon
Meeting the Who’s drummer came as a slight disappointment for David Hancock. Y’see, Keith sips his Tequila Sunrise rather than Karate chops it. In short, he’s just a regular fella . . .
LOCK UP your windows, Keith Moon is in town and he’s found a hotel where the manager is on a week’s holiday.
Moony’s already had his holiday — on the obscure Pacific island of Bora Bora.
“I said to this travel agent in Los Angeles: ‘Book me into the most absurd far-away place from civilisation as possible,’ and he did.”
Luckily Keith took a liking to the island that has no telephone, no radio and no television. In fact he even left the coconut grove standing.
You see Moony is one of the few real stars in the rock game. Someone who’s reputation is so great that the fact he’s a drummer and company director with the Who is almost incidental.
Lurid
But the fact that he enjoys smashing things and hotel rooms in particular, has invested him with the type of aura usually reserved for Hollywood hell-raisers from the Fifties.
“He’s a dream for the editor of every lurid sensational moralising newspaper throughout the world. Keith Moon is instant outrage.
“When I flew into Tahiti I was there for about one day but I found myself on the front page of the Tahiti Tornado — it’s only about three pages thick — and inside was a whole discography on the Who.
“Wherever he goes, he’s news.
“He arrives at Heathrow Airport and every paper carries a story of how he’s going to buy a hotel so he can strategically destroy it.
“When Jimi Hendrix died they needed another wild man of pop and I fitted the bill,” he says.
So meeting him for drinks could come as a slight disappointment.
He sips rather than karate chops his Tequila Sunrise; he uses a distinctly educated voice rather than the ravings of a loon.
Mafia
In fact Keith Moon is a regular fella — well for the next 30 minutes at least!
He hints there’s little truth in the story he’s going to buy a series of bungalows so he can destroy them, but he doesn’t actually deny it either: “It was an idea,” he says.
Home for Keith is the 83-mile stretch of California freeway known as Los Angeles — the centre of Rock ’n’ Roll.
“Los Angeles is a nucleus for good musicians — the professional mafia. It’s a terrific place to work and all my friends are there. Ringo lives there and there’s always rock concerts. Los Angeles is a lot more decadent than London,” he laughs with relish, “I like things a bit more squalid and debauched, it’s more fun like that.”
But it’s exactly that vibe that’s got him banned from at least a couple of London’s top hotels and others in the States. But things could be changing.
“What hotels do now is book either me or Led Zeppelin into a room that they’re thinking of having decorated and when we move out they redecorate it and charge me.”
“I’m thinking of having some parties while I’m in London but I’ve yet to make the arrangements.”
Moony is in London because the Who are about to start touring Britain.
The four members of the Who each have a separate corporation and Keith’s is set up in Delaware, but he was in Tahiti when the telex came through requesting him to be in London for rehearsals.
“It’s working for a corporation but we are still a rock ’n’ Roll outfit and if it wasn’t something I enjoyed doing then, of course, I wouldn’t bother.”
Moony has a droll, realistic sense of humour that never goes over the top into cynicism. When questioned that he plays to his destruction antics he enhances his star image he replies: “What have you got against good copy?”
In Los Angeles Keith Moon keeps three houses, two of which are in good nick and a third which is solely for parties.
“You see whenever people come to visit me they think that if they don’t smash something I’m not going to invite them back.
Album
“There are a couple of people who can keep pace with me,” he admits. “There’s Oliver Reed and Bonzo (John Bonham — Led Zeppelin), Ron Wood and Richard.
“But when Moony’s not partying he’s in the studio and recently it’s been the case of ‘I’ve got yet another album to do.’ This newie includes Steve Cropper, Ron Wood, David Bowie and Klaus Voorman — as you can see Keith is in the very highest echelon of today’s hit figures.
“He talks of them nonchalantly: ‘Bowie and I very noticeable have a great studio and I go to work with him, but he doesn’t smash anything at parties. Mind you he’s only as together as anybody can be when they party with me.
Aggression
“Yes I suppose I am an excuse for aggression in the music business, but somebody has to be. It doesn’t bother me, they can call me what they like. I’d rather they do it in print than behind my back.
“He’s the kind of person that quite openly admits to wanting a Number One hit record and at the same time says it would not interfere with his duties as drummer to the Who.
“When I’ve got some time off, rather than sit kicking my heels in LA it’s nice to get into the studio.
“I’d like to do a couple of selected venues in the States with my own band and I’ve already spoken to the booking agency but so far I haven’t really had time to get the band together.”
He doesn’t see why he can’t use the same musicians he does on the album — that would mean a band outstarring the Rolling Thunder Revue.
He doubts whether he has really become a celebrity figure and argues that if he wasn’t a part of the Who then he wouldn’t get any public attention.
“The hotel asking is really just a bit of fun and it hasn’t got anything to do with what I’m really about. It doesn’t detract from it either, but it’s just something on the side.
“I’m a pretty good PR man for the Who.”
Who music is what Moon is really all about and there are plans for a new album due out in the Autumn — Pete Townshend already has ideas for the songs. After that the Who will possibly release another live album.
“At the moment I can’t see the Who ever coming to an end,” he frankly admits. “But if it came to a natural conclusion I don’t think there would be anything to be disappointed about.”
One thing the Who still do together is fight.
“But they’re only family fights,” says Keith. “There’s nothing to it; there’s no deep-rooted hatred.
“The Who haven’t mellowed over the years — they never will. It’s what keeps the energy levels up. We are all emotionally involved in the group and that’s why we clash because we care about the Who so much.”
Movies
Quite a decisive statement but Keith Moon has as many strings to his bow as hotel rooms to his reputation. One of those is movies.
“I’ve been approached for a few films and after Tommy I would like to move into more acting. I’ve had a long discussions with Oliver Reed about acting and about making a film together. If it comes to fruition terrific — but if it doesn’t so what.”
Moony did mention he had been offered a part in “Airport ’77.” It should be noted that Airport 75 was one of the biggest money spinning disasters films of recent years.
He seems tailor made for the new part.
Pull quote:
“What hotels do now is book me into a room they’re thinking of having redecorated”