Keith Moon (1946–1978)

Born: August 23, 1946 in Wembley, London, England, UK
Died: September 7, 1978 (age 32) in London, England, UK

With a flair for theatrical and ridiculous behaviour, he was the centre point and self-publicist for, if they liked it or not, The Who.

I love to see people laugh and I love it more if I can make them laugh. I think this comes across in my drumming. I watch a lot of The Marx Brothers’ movies and they were doing the same sort of things. You’ve seen the way [Chico Marx] plays the piano with that certain flair . . . adding something to the music while taking liberties within his own capabilities? It’s a question of taking somebody else’s music but not sending it up in a derogative sense, just injecting your own personality. [Pete Townshend]’s music allows me to do this.