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Keith Moon led a very destructive lifestyle. He laid waste to hotel rooms, the homes of friends and even his own home, throwing furniture out of high windows and setting fire to buildings. It has been estimated that his destruction of hotel toilets and plumbing ran as high as UK£300,000 (US$500,000).[12][13] These destructive acts, though often fuelled by drugs and alcohol, were Moon's way of expressing his eccentricity, as well as the joy he got from shocking the public.[7] In Moon's biography, Full Moon, longtime friend and personal assistant Dougal Butler, observed: "He (Moon) would do anything if he knew that there were enough people around who didn't want him to do it."
According to Townshend, Moon cultivated his reputation for erratic behaviour. Once, while riding in a limo on the way to an airport, Moon insisted they return to their hotel, saying, "I forgot something. We've got to go back!". When the limo reached the hotel, Moon ran back to his room, grabbed the television, and threw it out the window into the swimming pool below. Moon then left the hotel and jumped back into the limo, sighing "I nearly forgot".
Moon's destructiveness led to The Who being banned from hotel chains around the world, including Holiday Inn, Sheraton, and Hilton Hotels,[14] as well as the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.[15] Moon's history forced The Who to stay outside of New York City when the band performed there; none of the New York hotels would accept them as guests.
In one case, The Who were due to perform at The Valley, the London (home of Charlton Athletic F.C.). The band members were waiting in the dressing room for Moon to arrive. A witness described the drummer's sudden entry to the building:
"Suddenly, there was a great crash and Keith Moon dropped through the ceiling, having smashed his way through the corrugated iron roof."[16]
Moon even crashed a milk float vehicle that he had purchased on his own property.[17]
Exploding toilets
Moon's favorite stunt was to flush powerful explosives down hotel toilets.[7][18] In later years, musician Nick Harper was asked about his childhood memories spent around The Who; his first recollection was, "I remember Keith blowing up the toilets."[19]
"One day I was in Keith's room and I said, 'Could I use your bog?' and he smiled and said, 'Sure.' I went in there and there was no toilet, just sort of an S bend, and I thought 'Christ, what happened?' He said, 'Well this cherry bomb was about to go off in me hand and I threw it down the toilet to stop it going off.' So I said, 'Are they that powerful?' and he said, 'Yeah, it's incredible!' So I said, 'How many of 'em have you got?' with fear in me eyes. He laughed and said, 'Five hundred,' and opened up a case full to the top with cherry bombs. And of course from that moment on we got thrown out of every hotel we ever stayed in."
—Pete Townshend, from the book Amazing Journey: The Life of Pete Townshend by Mark Wilkerson[20]
According to Moon biographer Tony Fletcher's, Moon's toilet pyrotechnics began in 1965 when he purchased 500 cherry bombs.[7][21] Over time, Moon graduated from cherry bombs to M-80 fireworks to sticks of dynamite, which became his explosive of choice.[22] "All that porcelain flying through the air was quite unforgettable," Moon recalled. "I never realised dynamite was so powerful. I'd been used to penny bangers before."[7] Moon quickly developed a reputation of "leaving holes" in bathroom floors and completely annihilating the toilets. The destruction mesmerized Moon and enhanced his public image as rock and roll's premier hellraiser.[7] Fletcher goes on to state that, "no toilet in a hotel or changing room was safe," until Moon had exhausted his supply of explosives.[7]
Moon often cajoled bandmember John Entwistle into helping him blow up toilets. In a 1981 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Entwistle confessed, "A lot of times when Keith was blowing up toilets I was standing behind him with the matches."[23]
On one occasion, a hotel manager called Moon in his room and asked him to lower the volume on his cassette music player; the manager said The Who were making "too much noise." In response, Moon asked the manager up to his room. When the manager arrived, Moon excused himself to the bathroom, lit a stick of dynamite in the toilet, and shut the bathroom door. Following the explosion, Moon informed the startled manager, "That, dear boy, was noise." Moon then turned the cassette player back on and proclaimed, "This is The Who."[24][25]
On another occasion in Alabama, Moon and Entwistle loaded a toilet with cherry bombs after being told that they could not receive room service. According to Entwistle, "That toilet was just dust all over the walls by the time we checked out. The management brought our suitcases down to the gig and said: 'Don't come back...'"[26]
Flint Holiday Inn incident
In 1967, Moon set new levels of notoriety at a hotel in Flint, Michigan. According to the book Local DJ, a Rock & Roll History, the band was performing in the area as an opening act for Herman's Hermits. After the show, a party was thrown to celebrate Moon's 21st birthday party at the Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan. Already intoxicated, Moon began the celebration by lighting a stick of dynamite in the toilet of his room. When the lit dynamite did not flush, Moon leapt out of the bathroom at the last moment to avoid porcelain toilet shards from the blast.[27]
After destroying the toilet, Moon then allegedly drove a Cadillac (Moon said a Lincoln Continental) into the hotel swimming pool. Author Peter C. Cavanaugh, who witnessed the event, recalled the events for a documentary on the 1960s rock scene.[28] According to the book, The Who In Their Own Words, Moon said he broke his tooth driving the car into the pool. However, according to VH1's Behind the Music, Moon broke his tooth diving into the pool, which was empty of water at the time.
Other people who attended the event, including Entwistle, cast doubt on the car-in-the-swimming-pool story, but confirm some other parts of the tale. Another version of the night in Flint was recounted by Moon biographer Fletcher;
"It was (after a cake fight) that the cry came to 'debag' the birthday boy... Various members of (Herman's Hermits and The Who) launched themselves on Keith, pinned him to the floor and successfully pulled his trousers down... As the teenage girls began gasping and giggling and the cops started grunting their disapproval, Keith, naked from the waist down, made a good-natured dash for it out of the room...and smashed one of his front teeth out".(p210)
After Moon went to the dentist, the party was disbanded. The 30 to 40 guests filed out, a few taking fire extinguishers to cars and dirtying the swimming pool.
Holiday Inn management had previously tolerated Moon's behaviour as long as someone paid the damages. However, after the Flint party, the company permanently banned Moon and the rest of The Who from all their hotel properties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Moon#Destructive_behaviour
According to Townshend, Moon cultivated his reputation for erratic behaviour. Once, while riding in a limo on the way to an airport, Moon insisted they return to their hotel, saying, "I forgot something. We've got to go back!". When the limo reached the hotel, Moon ran back to his room, grabbed the television, and threw it out the window into the swimming pool below. Moon then left the hotel and jumped back into the limo, sighing "I nearly forgot".
Moon's destructiveness led to The Who being banned from hotel chains around the world, including Holiday Inn, Sheraton, and Hilton Hotels,[14] as well as the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.[15] Moon's history forced The Who to stay outside of New York City when the band performed there; none of the New York hotels would accept them as guests.
In one case, The Who were due to perform at The Valley, the London (home of Charlton Athletic F.C.). The band members were waiting in the dressing room for Moon to arrive. A witness described the drummer's sudden entry to the building:
"Suddenly, there was a great crash and Keith Moon dropped through the ceiling, having smashed his way through the corrugated iron roof."[16]
Moon even crashed a milk float vehicle that he had purchased on his own property.[17]
Exploding toilets
Moon's favorite stunt was to flush powerful explosives down hotel toilets.[7][18] In later years, musician Nick Harper was asked about his childhood memories spent around The Who; his first recollection was, "I remember Keith blowing up the toilets."[19]
"One day I was in Keith's room and I said, 'Could I use your bog?' and he smiled and said, 'Sure.' I went in there and there was no toilet, just sort of an S bend, and I thought 'Christ, what happened?' He said, 'Well this cherry bomb was about to go off in me hand and I threw it down the toilet to stop it going off.' So I said, 'Are they that powerful?' and he said, 'Yeah, it's incredible!' So I said, 'How many of 'em have you got?' with fear in me eyes. He laughed and said, 'Five hundred,' and opened up a case full to the top with cherry bombs. And of course from that moment on we got thrown out of every hotel we ever stayed in."
—Pete Townshend, from the book Amazing Journey: The Life of Pete Townshend by Mark Wilkerson[20]
According to Moon biographer Tony Fletcher's, Moon's toilet pyrotechnics began in 1965 when he purchased 500 cherry bombs.[7][21] Over time, Moon graduated from cherry bombs to M-80 fireworks to sticks of dynamite, which became his explosive of choice.[22] "All that porcelain flying through the air was quite unforgettable," Moon recalled. "I never realised dynamite was so powerful. I'd been used to penny bangers before."[7] Moon quickly developed a reputation of "leaving holes" in bathroom floors and completely annihilating the toilets. The destruction mesmerized Moon and enhanced his public image as rock and roll's premier hellraiser.[7] Fletcher goes on to state that, "no toilet in a hotel or changing room was safe," until Moon had exhausted his supply of explosives.[7]
Moon often cajoled bandmember John Entwistle into helping him blow up toilets. In a 1981 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Entwistle confessed, "A lot of times when Keith was blowing up toilets I was standing behind him with the matches."[23]
On one occasion, a hotel manager called Moon in his room and asked him to lower the volume on his cassette music player; the manager said The Who were making "too much noise." In response, Moon asked the manager up to his room. When the manager arrived, Moon excused himself to the bathroom, lit a stick of dynamite in the toilet, and shut the bathroom door. Following the explosion, Moon informed the startled manager, "That, dear boy, was noise." Moon then turned the cassette player back on and proclaimed, "This is The Who."[24][25]
On another occasion in Alabama, Moon and Entwistle loaded a toilet with cherry bombs after being told that they could not receive room service. According to Entwistle, "That toilet was just dust all over the walls by the time we checked out. The management brought our suitcases down to the gig and said: 'Don't come back...'"[26]
Flint Holiday Inn incident
In 1967, Moon set new levels of notoriety at a hotel in Flint, Michigan. According to the book Local DJ, a Rock & Roll History, the band was performing in the area as an opening act for Herman's Hermits. After the show, a party was thrown to celebrate Moon's 21st birthday party at the Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan. Already intoxicated, Moon began the celebration by lighting a stick of dynamite in the toilet of his room. When the lit dynamite did not flush, Moon leapt out of the bathroom at the last moment to avoid porcelain toilet shards from the blast.[27]
After destroying the toilet, Moon then allegedly drove a Cadillac (Moon said a Lincoln Continental) into the hotel swimming pool. Author Peter C. Cavanaugh, who witnessed the event, recalled the events for a documentary on the 1960s rock scene.[28] According to the book, The Who In Their Own Words, Moon said he broke his tooth driving the car into the pool. However, according to VH1's Behind the Music, Moon broke his tooth diving into the pool, which was empty of water at the time.
Other people who attended the event, including Entwistle, cast doubt on the car-in-the-swimming-pool story, but confirm some other parts of the tale. Another version of the night in Flint was recounted by Moon biographer Fletcher;
"It was (after a cake fight) that the cry came to 'debag' the birthday boy... Various members of (Herman's Hermits and The Who) launched themselves on Keith, pinned him to the floor and successfully pulled his trousers down... As the teenage girls began gasping and giggling and the cops started grunting their disapproval, Keith, naked from the waist down, made a good-natured dash for it out of the room...and smashed one of his front teeth out".(p210)
After Moon went to the dentist, the party was disbanded. The 30 to 40 guests filed out, a few taking fire extinguishers to cars and dirtying the swimming pool.
Holiday Inn management had previously tolerated Moon's behaviour as long as someone paid the damages. However, after the Flint party, the company permanently banned Moon and the rest of The Who from all their hotel properties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Moon#Destructive_behaviour
