Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon

Book excerpt: Keith Moon was more than just rock's greatest drummer, he was also its greatest character and wildest party animal. Fuelled by vast quantities of drink, drugs, insecurities and confusion, Moon destroyed everything with gleeful abandon: drum kits, houses, cars, hotels, relationships and, finally, himself. In Dear Boy, Tony Fletcher has captured lightning in a bottle – the essence of a totally incorrigible yet uniquely generous boy who never grew up, and who changed the lives of all who knew him. From a life distorted by myths of debauchery and comic anarchy, Fletcher has created a searingly personal portrait of the rock legend. From over 100 first-hand interviews, he traces with deadly accuracy Moon's remarkable journey from his working-class Northwest London childhood, through the Who's glory years to the California high-life and a terrible, premature death. Here too are fascinating insights into the history of the Who and the emergent British pop culture revolution of post-war years. Keith Moon was one of the shock troops of that revolution: the world's greatest rock drummer, a phenomenal character and an extravagant hell-raiser who – in a final, uncharacteristic act of grace – actually did die before he got old.