Roger Daltrey Collaborating on Keith Moon Biopic
A biopic telling the story of Keith Moon, the Who‘s notoriously misbehaved drummer who died of an overdose in 1978, is now under production. The group’s frontman, Roger Daltrey, has given the project his support, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Roger Daltrey Looks Back at ‘Tommy’
Daltrey, who recently confirmed that the Who would be embarking on their “last big tour” in 2015, has been collaborating with the CEO of the untitled Moon film’s production company, Da Vinci Media Ventures. The movie will reportedly cover the drummer’s wild side. Known for exploits like swinging from restaurant chandeliers and flushing explosives down toilets, Moon gained infamy for his off-stage behavior as much as his performances onstage. He died at age 32. The production has yet to hire a screenwriter.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Daltrey called Moon’s drumming one of the key ingredients of the Who’s early sound. “It was quite apparent from day one when Keith Moon joined the band,” he said. “Every piece of music we played up until then was different immediately after Keith joined. The chemistry changed, and it was quite clear from day one.”
The band, who soldiered on following Moon’s death until 1982 and has since reunited, is releasing a deluxe version of its rock opera Tommy, which comes out Tuesday. The reissue contains a new mix of the album, Pete Townshend’s demos and previously unreleased live recordings from the tour supporting the 1969 album.
“[Pete] came up with this idea of what life would be like if you had lived through just feeling vibrations,” Daltrey recently told Rolling Stone of Tommy’s genesis. “The idea was, ‘Imagine if you were deaf, dumb and blind. What would it be like to experience certain episodes of your life?’ We had this one song called ‘Amazing Journey.’ That was the beginning of it. My recollection is that we recorded that song about a deaf, dumb and blind boy and the whole thing expanded from there. Basically, Pete went home after we recorded that and came back with other songs that gradually went together and loosely made the groundwork of what would become Tommy.”
Regarding the band’s final “big tour” in 2015, Daltrey told Rolling Stone that it will not be the group’s farewell. “We intend to go on doing music until we drop, but we have to be realistic about our age,” he said. “The touring is incredibly grinding on the body and we have to draw a line in the sand somewhere. This will be the last old-fashioned, big tour.” Beyond that, the band has no firm plans for the future, though Daltrey offered, “We’re hoping to do an album.”