Destructive Behaviour
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). These destructive acts, often fuelled by drugs and alcohol, were Moon's way of expressing his eccentricity; he enjoyed shocking the public with them. 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, as well as the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. 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."
Moon even crashed a milk float vehicle that he had purchased on his own property.
Read more about this topic: Keith Moon
Famous quotes containing the words destructive and/or behaviour:
“There is no instant of time when one creature is not being devoured by another. Over all these numerous races of animals man is placed, and his destructive hand spares nothing that lives. He kills to obtain food and he kills to clothe himself; he kills to adorn himself; he kills in order to attack and he kills to defend himself; he kills to instruct himself and he kills to amuse himself; he kills to kill. Proud and terrible king, he wants everything and nothing resists him.”
—Joseph De Maistre (1753–1821)
“I cannot be much pleased without an appearance of truth; at least of possibility—I wish the history to be natural though the sentiments are refined; and the characters to be probable, though their behaviour is excelling.”
—Frances Burney (1752–1840)