‘The Kids Are Alright’: Watch Keith Moon’s final performance with The Who

Posted On June 24, 2025June 24, 2025

As well as being the mercurial drummer of The Who on stage, Keith Moon took the role of the group’s madman away from it. He embodied the band’s bold sense of rebellion. Whether he was lacing his kick-drum with copious explosives or driving flash cars directly into swimming pools, Moon’s legacy is inseparable from the wider story of rock ‘n’ roll. So, in 1978, a crew irrefutably in over their heads, decided it was due some worthy documentation.

And so begins the whirlwind chapter of The Kids Are Alright, a documentary that focuses on how The Who re-emerged as the progenitors of punk in the late ‘70s. The iconic drummer would sadly pass away just four months later due to his excessive rock and roll lifestyle, and make this, The Who’s iconic performance at Shepperton Studios, the last time the group would ever perform as their famed line-up. It’s a poignant moment for the iconography of The Who and rock ‘n’ roll as a whole.

The gig was part of the group’s organic contribution to The Kids Are Alright and saw The Who film pick-up shots for the film. However, they weren’t prepared to just pose for anyone, so a concert almost inadvertently broke out, providing a fitting final performance for Moon. In typical fashion, he thundered around full of his trademark mirth and mercurial rhythms.

The short performance would be marred by tension within the group and a serious lack of cohesion between the band’s members, as they shot daggers across the room at one another. The band that had started out life as a rock and roll gang was now ready to cut each other’s throats. It signalled that even without the loss of Moon, the band were perhaps nearing the end of the road.

The session was undeniably tense. The band had been somewhat estranged before the show, which added to an already disjointed set of circumstances. Having been off the road for two years prior, the band was more than rusty. Still, The Who powered on.

With a small audience in attendance, the group were being put under increasing pressure from the documentary’s director, Jeff Stein, to get the shots they needed. The filmmaker wanted the performance of the band’s 1970 anthem ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ to have a little more swagger and demanded that The Who add some more verve to their rendition of the track. It became a grinding process of shooting and re-shooting.

The bittersweet story behind Keith Moon’s final performance with The Who

Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwhistle and Keith Moon declined at first and argued that the validity of re-shooting a live performance would be lost if it were so staged. The nine-song set finished with John Entwistle’s song ‘My Wife’, and the group returned to their dressing room sweaty, dishevelled and exhausted. It was done.

Not for long, though, as Stein wasn’t satisfied and said the film needed a “definitive end”. Pete Townshend was none too pleased, “A definitive end?” Townshend reportedly said. “What do you want me to do? Go out there and fall asleep on stage? Maybe I should go out there and die during my last solo? Or maybe I should hit that motherfucker who’s been yelling for ‘Magic Bus’ over the head with my guitar?”

They eventually relented and gave Stein the fiery finisher the director desired, providing a captivating last song for the small crowd. Afterwards, with Stein sated and his shots in the can, Keith Moon climbed over his drum kit, took a bow and shook hands with some members of the audience before walking off stage with The Who — sadly, for the very last time.

It’s a performance that hangs heavy over the heads of The Who fans and friends who were in attendance and beyond. One such friend was Chris Glen, who, while performing with the Michael Schenker Group, had shared the last years of Keith Moon’s life with him. “It’s very emotional, and sadly it’s far from his best,” said Glen in an exclusive interview with Ultimate Classic Rock. 

Glen continued, “He’d put on a lot of weight by that time … and the worst bit was that the Who hadn’t been together for a while. I saw him the week after the recording and he told me, ‘I wish we’d got together before it, just hung out together for a bit, and that would have made it better.’” After all, music was as much about friendship for Moon as anything else.

As the drummer put it himself, “I’ve always enjoyed myself. Unhappy periods for me last about twenty minutes.” For Moon, music was all about escapism and expression. He even comically recalled, “I told people I was a drummer before I even had a set, I was a mental drummer.”

The skill and shenanigans that followed were almost inadvertent—a mere extension of his enigmatic character that he struggled to fully reconcile. As he put it himself, “At heart, I cannot accept that I am a well-known rock ‘n’ roll star and one of the greatest drummers in the world. I can’t believe that person on the television is really me. The Keith Moon the public knows is a myth, even if I have created him. The real me is the person who sits at home having a cup of tea with his old lady, Annette. The hotel smashing is one way I get relief from the public image. I have no temper.”

Watch Keith Moon’s last performance with The Who as they take on ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ for their documentary The Kids Are Alright.

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