At the height of rock and roll in the 1970s, it wasn’t that rare for a band member to pass out on stage. However, it was rare for a teenage fan to take over the concert while the band and crew tended to the passed-out band member in question.
Back in 1973, Keith Moon wasn’t doing all that well. Between drug addiction and the exhaustion of being on the road, he was known to trash hotel rooms and subsequently faint. During one Who concert in San Francisco, California in November of 1973, Moon made the ill-advised choice to take some animal tranquilizers to help him calm down. His nerves were likely attributed to the fact that they were performing their very first show in America in over two years; Moon even vomited shortly before the concert.
Unfortunately, animal tranquilizers aren’t the best nerve-suppressant if you’re about to play the drums in front of hundreds of people.
The Teen Fan Who Helped the Who Continue the Show After Keith Moon Was Down for the Count
During their promotional tour for Quadrophenia, The Who set up to start playing their set. Pretty soon into their performance, Moon’s drumming started to get sloppy. About halfway through their performance of “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, Moon passed out onto his drumset and was out cold.
The crew tried to get him to wake up, and he did eventually return to the stage. However, he collapsed again; this time, he was carted off to the hospital to have his stomach pumped.
The remaining members of The Who really wanted the show to go on without Keith Moon, as did fan Scot Halpin, who was watching the debacle from close to the stage. Pete Townshend took the microphone and asked the audience if anybody could play drums.
In retrospect, Halpin said that concert promoter Bill Graham spoke to him in the crowd after Halpin’s friend told security that he could play the drums. Graham asked him if he could do it, and Halpin said “yes”. We can only imagine how excited and freaked out he was.
Halpin took to the stage and quickly got familiar with Moon’s drum set. From there, he performed a nine-minute rendition of “Naked Eye” with The Who. He was exhausted by the end of it. Still, he got to take a bow on stage along with his musical idols. Halpin even got a free concert jacket for saving the day, though it was almost immediately stolen.
Scot Halpin passed away in 2008. He’ll always be remembered as the 19-year-old kid who saved The Who’s concert in San Fransisco.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives
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