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Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon
With Chris Trengove and Peter Lawrence. In 1967 Peter 'Dougal' Butler became a roadie for the Who and their mercurial genius drummer Keith Moon. Soon he would be Moon's personal assistant, chauffeur, and all-purpose wingman. The ride lasted a tumultuous ten years, ending just prior to Moon's untimely death in 1978. "Full Moon" is Butler's memoir of that ride: essential reading for Who fans, and a masterclass in the mayhem caused by rock 'n' roll excess.
269 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 14, 2016
The disjointed, out-of-sequence, alcohol-fogged memoir of Keith Moon's handler, who was expected to stay one step ahead of his employer's hijinks, keep him out of trouble and apparently match him drink for drink for ten solid years. This book got me all brushed up on my Cockney rhyming slang and reminded me, over and over, to be careful what I wish for. A book full of unbelievable memories, hilarity, regrets, incredible success and grinding failures. If you ever wondered how being a rock star shortens a person's life expectancy by 25 years, this book will explain all.
July 4, 2019
Butler was Keith Moon's personal assistant for about 10 years from the late 60s through the mid-70s. This book is Butler's account of Moon during that time, so it's not biography of Moon, but biographical anecdotes of Moon. I read the original edition from 1981; a later version was published about 20 years later.
Not a good book, unless you have a specific interest in the topic or milieu. In fact, it is so poorly written that you wonder how it took three people to get it to this level.
I did have a specific interest though, I wanted to revisit some of this stuff through my eyes as an adult. I was a Who fan early on and used to read about Moon's exploits from when I was 12 to about 14 or 15. It is a sort of remarkable document of a cultural moment, though-a window into the 60s-70s from an early 1980s vantage.
Much of the material is packaged anecdotes, set pieces that Butler must have been telling for years. The rough edges are all worn away and the events are stitched together a little too neatly, with the stupid reversals and twists of the practiced bar raconteur. About half-way through, a bit of poignancy creeps in, slowly. Butler started working for Moon when he was young. As time passes, the escapades stop seeming like spirited hi-jinx and more like real problems. By the time Butler can no longer continue working for him, Moon is almost completely isolated and has totally abused his body. He died at 32, but looked decades older.
Butler is not a biographer and this book does not attempt to provide any context for Moon's life--where he came from, what his parents were like, his childhood. So you're just left with these stories--stories that were originally shared as hysterical capers but later are evidence that something was horribly wrong. A book that is both bad and fascinating.
You could write a page or so of trigger warnings for this book. But mainly, be forewarned that it is a vivid and brutal picture of 60s-70s raw and unvarnished sexism.
Not a good book, unless you have a specific interest in the topic or milieu. In fact, it is so poorly written that you wonder how it took three people to get it to this level.
I did have a specific interest though, I wanted to revisit some of this stuff through my eyes as an adult. I was a Who fan early on and used to read about Moon's exploits from when I was 12 to about 14 or 15. It is a sort of remarkable document of a cultural moment, though-a window into the 60s-70s from an early 1980s vantage.
Much of the material is packaged anecdotes, set pieces that Butler must have been telling for years. The rough edges are all worn away and the events are stitched together a little too neatly, with the stupid reversals and twists of the practiced bar raconteur. About half-way through, a bit of poignancy creeps in, slowly. Butler started working for Moon when he was young. As time passes, the escapades stop seeming like spirited hi-jinx and more like real problems. By the time Butler can no longer continue working for him, Moon is almost completely isolated and has totally abused his body. He died at 32, but looked decades older.
Butler is not a biographer and this book does not attempt to provide any context for Moon's life--where he came from, what his parents were like, his childhood. So you're just left with these stories--stories that were originally shared as hysterical capers but later are evidence that something was horribly wrong. A book that is both bad and fascinating.
You could write a page or so of trigger warnings for this book. But mainly, be forewarned that it is a vivid and brutal picture of 60s-70s raw and unvarnished sexism.
January 16, 2009
For a told-to memoir of the drug-addled days of a rock-n-roll drummer and his p.a., this book is surprisingly well-told and often hilarious. The scribes kept the author's cockney voice, which is a part of what makes it work so well (there's even a glossary in the back of the book as an added bonus--which is a bit like A Clockwork Orange, come to think of it). I read this in high school (I was and am a huge Who fan), picked it up recently to peruse, and was amazed at how engaging I still found it. Which is either a testament to how well it's written, or how little I've matured.
September 12, 2008
This book rocks.
Love the glossary at the end.
And seriously the more I think about it the more corellations to "A Clockwork Orange" I come up with...
Love the glossary at the end.
And seriously the more I think about it the more corellations to "A Clockwork Orange" I come up with...
November 25, 2009
A wild romp through a rock & roll life. Nonstop mischief, lots of televisions destroyed, tasteless pranks, brandy & ginger ale. My kind of guy!
February 17, 2012
Essential background on the insanity of one of the best drummers who ever lived (and definitely one of the craziest people who ever lived as well).
December 26, 2012
Well, it certainly did take me a while to read this book.
I'd been interested in reading this book for many, many years. Originally this book was released around 1980, and only went through a single printing if I'm not mistaken. Being how it was around '05 or '06 that I first heard of this book it was already long out of print, copies of it for sale were startlingly rare, and it was a lucky day when you could find a copy for sale for $80. On an unlucky day it could go up to $300 easy.
The ebook that I ended up purchasing was released in June of this year, and was considerably cheaper. The interview with Mr. Butler at the beginning was well worth getting the 2012 copy of the book, let alone all the stories contained therein. This chronicle of Keith Moon's life was fascinating, bittersweet, and all in all one of the best portraits I've ever seen as to the extremes by which Keith Moon lived his short life.
Dougal Butler conveys the generosity of Moon, along with his madness. On the subject of Moon's treatment of Kim he is both blunt and apologetic. At the book's end I found myself feeling the compassion and frustration that I imagine Butler felt. Nothing much happened, yeah, and then Moon died. There could have been more in Moon's life - there could have been a lot, but that just wasn't the way the fellow was cracked up to be.
There was a lot of trivia in the book that a Who fan would find interesting - from how Dougal got the nickname by which he is not commonly called, to how Moon and Ringo ended up as close as they were. All in all, however, I shudder to think at what the Moon fangirls I've known in my life would think of these stories. Dougal Butler put a very, very human face on Moon. I'm thinking that the people who were unable to finish reading Tony Fletcher's biography on Moon will be equally unhappy with the stark reality Full Moon shows.
Keith Moon was a tragic figure for sure, and his legend only grows as the years without him roll by.
I'd been interested in reading this book for many, many years. Originally this book was released around 1980, and only went through a single printing if I'm not mistaken. Being how it was around '05 or '06 that I first heard of this book it was already long out of print, copies of it for sale were startlingly rare, and it was a lucky day when you could find a copy for sale for $80. On an unlucky day it could go up to $300 easy.
The ebook that I ended up purchasing was released in June of this year, and was considerably cheaper. The interview with Mr. Butler at the beginning was well worth getting the 2012 copy of the book, let alone all the stories contained therein. This chronicle of Keith Moon's life was fascinating, bittersweet, and all in all one of the best portraits I've ever seen as to the extremes by which Keith Moon lived his short life.
Dougal Butler conveys the generosity of Moon, along with his madness. On the subject of Moon's treatment of Kim he is both blunt and apologetic. At the book's end I found myself feeling the compassion and frustration that I imagine Butler felt. Nothing much happened, yeah, and then Moon died. There could have been more in Moon's life - there could have been a lot, but that just wasn't the way the fellow was cracked up to be.
There was a lot of trivia in the book that a Who fan would find interesting - from how Dougal got the nickname by which he is not commonly called, to how Moon and Ringo ended up as close as they were. All in all, however, I shudder to think at what the Moon fangirls I've known in my life would think of these stories. Dougal Butler put a very, very human face on Moon. I'm thinking that the people who were unable to finish reading Tony Fletcher's biography on Moon will be equally unhappy with the stark reality Full Moon shows.
Keith Moon was a tragic figure for sure, and his legend only grows as the years without him roll by.
September 19, 2018
As a diehard Who fan for 30 years and counting, I had great expectations prior to reading this. I’ve watched Dougal Butler’s interviews in three documentaries on Keith Moon (countless times over), and he’s always among the best interviewees.
To a degree, my expectations were satisfied, but not to the extent I’d hoped for. For one thing, certain information is inaccurate, such as the author’s recollection of the incident at the Cow Palace. I have this concert on DVD, and Mr Butler’s memory doesn’t fully match the evidence on film.
His memory is “like a sieve”, to quote him early on in the book, which doesn’t fill the reader with confidence. Because his memory for dates, etc., are this bad, he doesn’t portray a chronological account of his time with my favourite drummer. Rather, he goes for an episodic approach, dedicating a different subject matter to each chapter.
Although I prefer my biographies lineal and with dates – not necessarily to the day, but at least the year – I still enjoyed this collection of wild and often amusing stories of Keith Moon’s “days off” on the most part.
The only thing I really disliked was the narrative being written in the present tense. Past tense will always rule for me, though I know more and more authors opt for the present. To me, it doesn’t flow as naturally as the past tense. Specifically in this book, the present tense sounded so unnatural at times that I needed to re-read certain sentences to grasp their meaning.
Overall, this isn’t what I’d hoped for, but it’s definitely worth the read nonetheless.
To a degree, my expectations were satisfied, but not to the extent I’d hoped for. For one thing, certain information is inaccurate, such as the author’s recollection of the incident at the Cow Palace. I have this concert on DVD, and Mr Butler’s memory doesn’t fully match the evidence on film.
His memory is “like a sieve”, to quote him early on in the book, which doesn’t fill the reader with confidence. Because his memory for dates, etc., are this bad, he doesn’t portray a chronological account of his time with my favourite drummer. Rather, he goes for an episodic approach, dedicating a different subject matter to each chapter.
Although I prefer my biographies lineal and with dates – not necessarily to the day, but at least the year – I still enjoyed this collection of wild and often amusing stories of Keith Moon’s “days off” on the most part.
The only thing I really disliked was the narrative being written in the present tense. Past tense will always rule for me, though I know more and more authors opt for the present. To me, it doesn’t flow as naturally as the past tense. Specifically in this book, the present tense sounded so unnatural at times that I needed to re-read certain sentences to grasp their meaning.
Overall, this isn’t what I’d hoped for, but it’s definitely worth the read nonetheless.
March 5, 2009
Who better to tell tales of Keith Moon's insanity than one of the people who knew him best; his driver/roadie/keeper Dougal Butler (the one forever immortalized in John Entwistle's classic song "Cell Number Seven")? Regaling us with stories that leave one (or, at least, this reader) frequently breathless with laughter, Dougal gives us a unique perspective on one of the most notorious, difficult-to-understand, misunderstood rock musicians. Sparing no details and not bothering to try to airbrush Moon the Loon means that we are given an unvarnished look at a very troubled soul, a good person rife with insecurity and neuroses for whom drugs quite often let the devil out to play. We leave the book frankly not really knowing Keith any better, but with a sense that he was like many of us--unsure of his place in the world and how others viewed him. But thankfully most of us don't compensate by buying expensive cars and crashing them.
August 3, 2012
I bought this book back in the late '70s. Every time I tried to read it I was put off by the present tense writing style Butler uses. I finally pulled it back off the shelf trudged through a couple of chapters and have enjoyed the book after getting past Butler's writing style. In this case I believe the editors did him a disservice in the way they approved this style of writing, if a co-author with writing experience had been utilized, Dougal's stories would have reached a much wider audience. Now decades later the interest in Moon has slipped considerably. But for long time Who fans, the book has some fun passages to pursue, you just gotta stick with it to get to them.
June 8, 2017
More than anything else, this book is about an idea. I came into it expecting (and having heard about) factual inaccuracies and oversimplification, but quickly you come to understand none of that matters. Keith's life is best represented by an understanding of him as a person, and this book helps provide that. Plus, Dougal's cockney is amazing to read.
September 18, 2007
An amusing book on my all time favorite drummer (my lost friend Golden Elvis was like a Moon reincarnation). The Moon glossary elevated this up a full notch.
November 30, 2007
Trys to seperate the myth from fact in regards to the zany world of Keith Moon.
He was a legandary partier.
He was a legandary partier.
December 4, 2007
So hilarious!
August 15, 2008
quite simply, one of the best - and most hilarious - rock and roll books ever written. criminally out-of-print.
July 23, 2017
Full of mirth and merriment!
November 8, 2014
hysterically funny and achingly sad.
May 19, 2023
Truth be told, I did not enjoy Dougal Butler's Keith Moon book this second time around. I had previously read it as a teenager, and I guess I appreciated the tome for what it was at the time: the only book about iconic rock and roll drummer from The Who, Keith Moon. Yet now, having since read Tony Fletcher's more detailed and comprehensive Keith Moon book, I now experience the re-read of "Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon" as something akin to a less-than, a work that only provides just a shade of the full story.
On the positive side, Peter "Dougal" Butler's ten years with Keith Moon as his assistant and best mate did provide some amusing anecdotes about the wild, rock and roll excess and impractical jokes devised and executed by Keith Moon. Through a constant overflow of alcohol and drugs, life with Keith Moon would usually involve extravagant nights of parties, pubs, hotels, flats and houses with scantily clad ladies and prostitutes, loud Beach Boys music, extravagant purchases, crashed cars, destroyed bars, and demolished hotel rooms. Fun, sex, laughter, pranks, more laughs, destruction, and do it all over again. Money was never an issue for Moonie, even when it was.
On the less than positive end, Dougal Butler does himself in. His storytelling style (co-written with mates Chris Trengrove and Peter Lawrence) was a chore to get through, what with the overwhelming amount of British slang to decipher (or not) coupled with the endless amount of stale and unfunny, unpleasant metaphors that make a most unwelcome appearance on practically every bloody page of "Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon." This should have been a fun read, yet for the most part it was not.
Style aside, too much of the book features Keith Moon at his worst. Perhaps the author thought his hazy anecdotes provides both the best and worst side of the great WHO drummer? Butler makes it clear that he loved Keith Moon, and there a few times in the book that Butler writes about the fun, funny, charming and generous side of the Moon, amazed at his gaul, his gumption, and his supreme survival skills.
However, for the most part, Dougal Butler graces the reader with Keith Moon tales of naked shenanigans in public restaurants, sexual depravity everywhere, rudeness, selfishness, skipping on the bill from eating establishments and hookers, violence and assault, reckless driving, self-destructive behavior, having too many laughs at other people's expense, verbally abusing men and women alike, an inappropriate amount of crying, an insane amount of spending, an unimaginable amount of destruction, and an unfathomable amount of waste.
Granted, all of these Moon tales might indeed be true. However, when three-quarters of "Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon" is just filled with the saucy, sordid shenanigans, it leaves the reader with an unhealthy and most disturbing feeling that perhaps Keith Moon was just some out of control, dangerous wild monster who should have been locked up or put down some time ago. In other words, it leans too heavily and too often on the whole "Moon the Loon" moniker, and not enough about the man, the human being, and the wonderfully talented musician.
Now, it is possible that the publisher of "Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon" was only interested in the naughty bits, and did not care a flying monkeys about the other sides of Keith Moon. Sure, an imprint needs to sell a few books, and it was to Dougal Butler's financial advantage to not hold back on any of the juicy material. Unfortunately, I would guess that Keith Moon himself would have been horrified by Dougal Butler's book, as it certainly does not present Moon in the best light.
Will have to place "Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon" in the "tell-all" category of books. Not that I think Dougal Butler had an axe to grind, I just think that the former Keith Moon assistant, mate, drinking partner, and life-enabler placed on paper a series of mad tales mixed with maudlin memories that were told in the least appealing way possible. The dense and dull metaphors mixed with Butler's other attempts at humor diluted what strength the book had. Keith Moon was funnier than than this book. Keith Moon was greater than this book. He deserved better.
On the positive side, Peter "Dougal" Butler's ten years with Keith Moon as his assistant and best mate did provide some amusing anecdotes about the wild, rock and roll excess and impractical jokes devised and executed by Keith Moon. Through a constant overflow of alcohol and drugs, life with Keith Moon would usually involve extravagant nights of parties, pubs, hotels, flats and houses with scantily clad ladies and prostitutes, loud Beach Boys music, extravagant purchases, crashed cars, destroyed bars, and demolished hotel rooms. Fun, sex, laughter, pranks, more laughs, destruction, and do it all over again. Money was never an issue for Moonie, even when it was.
On the less than positive end, Dougal Butler does himself in. His storytelling style (co-written with mates Chris Trengrove and Peter Lawrence) was a chore to get through, what with the overwhelming amount of British slang to decipher (or not) coupled with the endless amount of stale and unfunny, unpleasant metaphors that make a most unwelcome appearance on practically every bloody page of "Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon." This should have been a fun read, yet for the most part it was not.
Style aside, too much of the book features Keith Moon at his worst. Perhaps the author thought his hazy anecdotes provides both the best and worst side of the great WHO drummer? Butler makes it clear that he loved Keith Moon, and there a few times in the book that Butler writes about the fun, funny, charming and generous side of the Moon, amazed at his gaul, his gumption, and his supreme survival skills.
However, for the most part, Dougal Butler graces the reader with Keith Moon tales of naked shenanigans in public restaurants, sexual depravity everywhere, rudeness, selfishness, skipping on the bill from eating establishments and hookers, violence and assault, reckless driving, self-destructive behavior, having too many laughs at other people's expense, verbally abusing men and women alike, an inappropriate amount of crying, an insane amount of spending, an unimaginable amount of destruction, and an unfathomable amount of waste.
Granted, all of these Moon tales might indeed be true. However, when three-quarters of "Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon" is just filled with the saucy, sordid shenanigans, it leaves the reader with an unhealthy and most disturbing feeling that perhaps Keith Moon was just some out of control, dangerous wild monster who should have been locked up or put down some time ago. In other words, it leans too heavily and too often on the whole "Moon the Loon" moniker, and not enough about the man, the human being, and the wonderfully talented musician.
Now, it is possible that the publisher of "Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon" was only interested in the naughty bits, and did not care a flying monkeys about the other sides of Keith Moon. Sure, an imprint needs to sell a few books, and it was to Dougal Butler's financial advantage to not hold back on any of the juicy material. Unfortunately, I would guess that Keith Moon himself would have been horrified by Dougal Butler's book, as it certainly does not present Moon in the best light.
Will have to place "Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon" in the "tell-all" category of books. Not that I think Dougal Butler had an axe to grind, I just think that the former Keith Moon assistant, mate, drinking partner, and life-enabler placed on paper a series of mad tales mixed with maudlin memories that were told in the least appealing way possible. The dense and dull metaphors mixed with Butler's other attempts at humor diluted what strength the book had. Keith Moon was funnier than than this book. Keith Moon was greater than this book. He deserved better.
November 19, 2025
In 1967 Peter 'Dougal' Butler became a roadie for the Who and their mercurial genius drummer Keith Moon. Soon he would be Moon's personal assistant, chauffeur, and all-purpose wingman during The Who’s most chaotic years. This gave us Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon a riveting yet predictable read. Butler captures the drummer’s larger-than-life personality with vivid, first-hand anecdotes of hotel destruction, outrageous pranks, and manic energy, while hinting at the loneliness and self-destruction beneath the laughter. The book isn’t a deep psychological study so much as an inside-seat rollercoaster through rock’s most excessive decade — hilarious, exhausting, and ultimately tragic, just like Moon himself. "As one might expect, the drug-fuelled and death-defying japery makes for a rattling read and is always worth another look, yet it’s the sensitive side of Moon, the life and soul who was no stranger to loneliness, that adds an extra poignancy. The bad behaviour is punctuated by stints in rehab, though Butler seems resigned to the fact that his employer will forever struggle to change his ways and that his problems are steamrollering to an inevitable conclusion.” As that time came in 1978 when Keith Moon died the book was written not long after that in 1981 Butler's memoir lays out that 10 year ride: essential reading for Who fans, and a masterclass in the mayhem caused by rock 'n' roll excess.
June 29, 2024
I really think that for what this book is it's perfect. Not only is Dougals memory highly impressive as it sounds like he was almost as zooted as Keith Moon most of the time, but his writing is entertaining and to the point. The British slang, the outrageous and constant destruction of everything in sight, it's the quintessential rockstar book. I have no idea how this could be better
April 2, 2025
Slightly underwhelmed though an enjoyable read. Having read Dear Boy which was a superb bio of Keith, I was hoping Dougal’s first hand account of all things Moon would have been similarly engrossing. Didn’t flow as expected & fairly repetitive I found some of the stories and shenanigans.
February 11, 2023
I give it 4 stars because at times it’s ridiculous to read. Still has great info and the stories are interesting
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews