# Who best epitomized the out-of-control lifestyle of rock and roll? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677 "2015-01-01T14:32:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/81 "2015-01-06T21:23:53Z")
Paul McCartney discusses trashing a hotel room at about 4:15 into this clip - [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3TZ7x6XVwBk/hqdefault.jpg "Paul McCartney promoting Flaming Pie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TZ7x6XVwBk) ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/82 "2015-01-07T07:39:45Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Cliff Richard comes to mind, as do the members of Abba. The Carpenters. But not really rock or roll. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/83 "2015-01-08T04:34:24Z")
> [@SpeedwayRyan](#): > > As far as anti-Keith Moons go, Brian May of Queen was studying for his PhD in astrophysics in the early 1970s, which he later went on to earn… He wasn’t exactly a choirboy during Queen’s heyday, but then again, he was a lot younger then. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/84 "2015-01-08T04:35:33Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > The Carpenters. But not really rock or roll. Karen had that fatal eating disorder, and Richard was a prescription drug addict. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/85 "2015-01-08T04:36:57Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Yeah, Mayhem. Extreme with about 20 capital Xs. Rock should be dangerous, but not resort to outright murder. I don’t know of anything that approaches that level of foolishness in a band. > > Ugh, let’s hope I never do. There was a long-standing rumor that Motley Crue performed a ritual sacrifice of a live baby at one of their shows. Oh, yeah, right, and they got away with it in front, what, 20,000 fans? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/86 "2015-01-08T19:14:28Z")
Nigel Tufnel? Because, ya know… Keith Moon could be partying to the max, but Nigel could go all the way up to 11. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/87 "2015-01-08T20:58:08Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Indeed - these days when he sings _The Ace of Spades_, he replaces the line “But that’s the way I like it baby I don’t wanna live forever, and don’t forget the Joker !” with “I don’t want to live forever… but apparently I am” 🙂 I came in to mention Lemmy. It’s not that he’s any more of a wild man than anyone else mentioned, but rather that it doesn’t seem to affect him at all. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/88 "2015-01-08T21:44:09Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > There was a long-standing rumor that Motley Crue performed a ritual sacrifice of a live baby at one of their shows. Oh, yeah, right, and they got away with it in front, what, 20,000 fans? > > :dubious: Never heard that one, and I was a 80s hair metal queen. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/89 "2015-01-09T21:05:47Z")
Lemmy is dying. > **[Lemmy Kilmister \> Loudwire](https://loudwire.com/tags/lemmy-kilmister/)** ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/90 "2015-01-10T00:32:49Z")
I just thought of another “anti-rock star” - Tom Scholz of Boston. He has a master’s degree from MIT, and got that long before he ever founded Boston. When I was a teenager, I saw an ad in a music magazine for a “Groupie News” magazine, and it had a picture of a man with his pants around his ankles and his bare fanny pointed at the camera, and Scholz’ head cut-and-pasted on it in a 1970s approximation of Photoshop that could have been done better by a 4th grader with a glue stick. 😛 It’s always possible that he was secretly a wild man in his time. I’ve heard for many years that back in the day, and maybe even to this day, two of the biggest poonhounds in rock are Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, and Huey Lewis. ---
**Author:** ![Lemmytheseal2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lemmytheseal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemmytheseal2)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/91 "2015-01-11T02:28:06Z")
> [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](#): > > Lemmy is dying. > > [Lemmy Kilmister \> Loudwire](http://loudwire.com/tags/lemmy-kilmister/) That’s a bit of an exaggeration. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/92 "2015-01-13T21:55:37Z")
Can’t let this thread go by without mention of Syd Barrett. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/93 "2015-02-04T03:13:44Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Does he even qualify as the out-of-control lifestyle of rock and roll? > > I mean, there’s unrestrained hedonism, and then there’s just sick. I \*get \*wanting limitless sex and drugs. > > I don’t get stomach churning activities. Last night, while doing an unrelated search, I heard, for the first time, of a rapper called “Daylyt” whose onstage activities rival Allin’s. I wonder how long he’ll live, KWIM? ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/94 "2015-02-04T22:29:50Z")
My favourite Ozzy Osbourne anecdote is that after asking Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe for some cocaine, and being told there was none, he simply dropped down and snorted up a line of ants… TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/95 "2015-02-06T03:46:38Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > I would nominate Robert Johnson, founding member of the “27 Club” who - although technically an R & B star - helped pioneer the rock & roll form, and definitely was the archetype of the classic rock star - guitarist, bragged about “selling his soul to the devil at the cross-roads at midnight”, cheap sex, hard liquor & dope, fast living…and checking out, un-repentantly, at age 27. Everyone since him is an imitation in some way or another. Puh-leeze! ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/96 "2015-02-06T04:27:35Z")
I had to deal with **G.G. Allin** a couple of times in a law enforcement capacity. **WOW**! What a fucking asshole that guy was. :eek::mad: It’s 33 years this year I’ve been on the job and he still ranks in the top 10 of the biggest jerks I’ve ever dealt with! ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/97 "2015-02-08T17:22:32Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I had to deal with **G.G. Allin** a couple of times in a law enforcement capacity. > > **WOW**! What a fucking asshole that guy was. :eek::mad: > > It’s 33 years this year I’ve been on the job and he still ranks in the top 10 of the biggest jerks I’ve ever dealt with! Stories please, even if you PM me. Hell do a thread on the jerks even if you don’t identify them by name! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/98 "2015-02-08T17:48:37Z")
I’m currently reading Hellraisers by Robert Sellers. About the inebriated careers of Richard Burton, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, and Peter O’Toole. Keith Moon and Oliver Reed were very close buddies and tore up many bars, restaurants, and hotel rooms together. Really kind of sad reading. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/99 "2015-02-08T19:17:05Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Before I got to the end of the OP’s question I came to the exact same conclusion. Same with me. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/100 "2015-02-09T02:53:41Z")
Moon the Loon? > **[Keith Moon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Moon)** > > Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour. > Moon grew up in Wembley and took up the drums during the early 1960s. After playing with a local band, the Beachcombers, he joined the Who in 1964 before they recorded their first single. Moon was recognised for his drumming style, which emphasised tom-toms, cymbal crashes, and drum fills. Throug... So many people seem so certain he is the obvious choice. But he made it to age 32. I would have to vote for someone who never made it out of their 20s and there are quite a few to choose from. Janice, Hendrix, Jim Morrison are just three that come to mind. Moon died from an overdose to Heminevrin (a prescription medication designed to combat alcohol addiction). I wouldn’t have thought it was possible to die from an overdose to that med, but I’m certainly no expert. I guess there is no real way to come to a definitive answer. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and if it was a question of number of votes, I would certainly be on the losing end. So, I will just salute all those people who have stated that Moon is the winner and go take my nightly medications. I’ll be careful not to take too much however. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677.md?page=6)