Bruce's Review MOON by TONY FLETCHER

Back in print, Moon is the brilliant and heralded biography of one of rock & roll's most notorious and beloved figures: The Who's legendary drummer Keith Moon.

Moon was the bad boy of rock & roll, the most manic member of an aggressive and fabulously successful band, a full-throttle hedonist who lived at the center of an unending party. He was also a musical genius who inspired whole generations of artists, a generous friend to nearly everyone who crossed his path, a guileless man of immense personal charm to whom the sweetest sound on earth was surf music. A generation after his death, Moon is still revered as the greatest drummer in rock history and the single wildest personality in an age of pop excess. Here is the truth behind the legend, the result of years of research in which music journalist Tony Fletcher interviewed dozens of Moon's friends, colleagues, and associates. An instant classic that brilliantly illuminates both the tender and self-destructive sides of this singular personality, Moon is the story of one of the most outrageous rock stars ever born.

From the Back Cover


The Who’s Keith Moon was the bad boy of rock & roll. Alongside Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and John Entwistle, Moon was the most manic member of an aggressive and fabulously successful band, a full-throttle hedonist who lived at the center of an unending party. He was also a musical genius who inspired whole generations of artists, a generous friend to nearly everyone who crossed his path, and a guileless man of immense personal charm to whom the sweetest sound on earth was surf music.

Decades after his death, Moon is still revered as the greatest drummer in rock history and the wildest personality in an age of pop excess. Venerated music journalist Tony Fletcher interviewed dozens of Moon’s friends, family, and peers—including John Entwistle, Ginger Baker, Jeff Beck, Ann-Margret, and Alice Cooper—to find the truth behind the legend. The result is one of the greatest rock biographies ever written. A brilliant portrait of both the tender and self-destructive sides of this singular personality.

About the Author
Tony Fletcher, who was born in Yorkshire, England, almost the exact week Keith Moon joined the band that would become the Who, still treasures the great drummer's autograph on a 1978 issue of the magazine Jamming!, which he started as a schoolboy in London. In the several lifetimes since, Fletcher has written books on R.E.M. and Echo and the bunnymen, contributed to magazines, newspapers, and television shows all over the world, and worked extensively as a DJ and A&R consultant. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and young son.

SOURCE:  PUBLSIHER

Bruce's Thoughts:  3 stars

Tony Fletcher's MOON is an in depth look at The Who's late iconic drummer Keith Moon.
This book fills in all of the details that books on the Who omit about Keith's personal life and beginnings. It is a stark contrast to the recently released autobiography of Pete Townshend: "Who I Am " MOON comes in at just shy of 600 pages. If you really need to know about his wife's genealogy, this is the book for you. The author does reveal some information from first hand interviews that keep it interesting. The problem I had with the book is that it seems to really interpolate personal unknown feelings and opinions. Whole paragraphs seem to be devoted to peripheral incidents solely based on events which are hearsay. I waded through the fat in anticipation of real meat on the bone. No doubt about it. In my opinion, Keith Moon was one of the best drummers in rock. This was not really the best book about him. I would advise "Before I get Old" as the best book on the Who. 3 stars for effort The book could be better if it was seriously trimmed down.