Richard Dyer's 'Stardom theory'

Stardom theory- Keith Moon

Keith Moon of The Who is an earlier example of Dyer's Star theory. Though Moon deviated from the typical band star as the drummer of The Who rather than the frontman, his fame reached stardom in the 60s and 70s by meeting many of Dyer's criteria. 

 The Who's success began in the mid-60s and were, as a whole group, known for smashing valuable instruments on stage at the end of sets. Moon however, quickly gained a reputation for being eccentric, funny and very destructive. 

Keith Moon is considered by many sources to be one of the best drummers in rock history: during The Who's rise to fame, Moon was recognised for his unique drumming style, improvised drum fills and lots of crash cymbals. From the offset, Moon started to meet the stardom criteria with his talent and originality.

As the band became more well-known however, Moon started to become recognised for his personality, not just as a band member. He was the joker of the band, often making those who knew him laugh hysterically with his childish behaviour and lack of regard for himself or expensive possessions. 

One famous story about Moon involves his 21st birthday party, which actually took place in America on his 20th birthday, but by publicising the party as his 21st, he would be able to drink. Although none of the event remains as video footage, many celebrities at the time attended the party which took place in a hotel, turning into carnage. Moon started a food fight upon the first guests' arrival and lost half a tooth, on the way to the hospital, the doctors were unable to give him any anaesthetic due to his consumption of amphetamines before removing the rest of his tooth. The damage costed around $24,000, and after that Moon continued to destroy and be banned from all hotels the group stayed in: throwing televisions out of windows, exploding the toilets and in one instance, driving a Lincoln continental into a swimming pool in Rochester. 



During the height of The Who's success, each band member was worth a lot of money, with the earnings of his talent, Moon would spend the money in all sorts of ridiculous manners, mainly paying the bills to the hotel rooms which he would wreck. Comparing his economic background as a child to his wealth and excessive spending as a band member displays the paradox in Richard Dyer's theory, in which a star is simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary.

Keith Moon was also considered to be the most attractive member of The Who, which fits the sexual magnetism of the Stardom criterion, and was youthful throughout the whole of his career and, from his excessive self-destructive behaviour, subsequently died in his youth, at 34 years of age. 

Keith Moon and Pete Townshend of The Who

                                                               Despite his joker exterior and comical acts, it became apparent to those who would spend a lot of time with Moon that he was quickly burning himself out, and that he appeared to be deliberately putting himself in danger. There were also speculations after his overdose in 1978 that Moon committed suicide, taking 32 pills of a medicine that was sufficient to cause death after consumption of 6 tablets, although many of his friends including his bandmates, say that Moon probably died thinking it would be funny for people to find him having overdosed, and perhaps didn't realise that he would not be saved from it.