Under a Raging Moon

Album: Under a Raging Moon (1985)
Charted: 43
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Songfacts®:

  • The title track to Daltrey's sixth solo album, "Under a Raging Moon" is about Keith Moon, the wildman drummer who was his bandmate in The Who until 1978, when he died of a drug overdose.

    The song was written by John Parr and Julia Downes - Parr had a #1 hit earlier in the year with "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)"; Downes wrote the 1982 track "Machinery" for Sheena Easton. In our interview with Parr, he explained: "My former manager was with The Who since they began. He started out as Keith's driver and was their tour manger for over 20 years. During the many journeys we shared he would regale me with stories of Keith's exploits. It was as if I was there and I knew him."
  • When The Who played Woodstock, they didn't go on until about 5 a.m. John Parr drew on this image to compose the lyric, as he imagined Keith Moon playing in the moonlight.
  • Who plays drums on a Keith Moon tribute? In this case, seven different drummers take the sticks, each paying homage. They are (in order):

    Martin Chambers
    Roger Taylor
    Cozy Powell
    Stewart Copeland
    Zak Starkey
    Carl Palmer
    Mark Brzezicki
  • The Who bass player John Entwistle loved this song and would often perform it with The John Entwistle Band. Their version can be heard on the 1999 album Left for Live.

Comments: 1

  • Griff from UsThanks for the info on this great song.
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