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Olympics Organizers Ask Keith Moon to Play Closing Ceremony

The Who drummer has been dead since 1978

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April 13, 2012 11:00 AM ET
keith moon
Keith Moon at the Hollywood Palladium in 1977.
Mark Sullivan/Contour by Getty Images

Organizers of the London Olympics approached the Who's manager to inquire about having Keith Moon play at an Olympics event despite the drummer being dead for nearly 34 years, the Sunday Times reports.

"I emailed back saying Keith now resides in Golders Green crematorium, having lived up to the Who's anthemic line 'I hope I die before I get old'," the band's longtime manager, Bill Curbishley, told the Times. "If they have a round table, some glasses and candles, we might contact him."

Moon died in 1978 at the age of 32 from an an accidental overdose of prescription pills. The Olympics organizers wanted the late drummer to take part in the Symphony of Rock, a celebration of British pop culture that will be part of the Games' closing ceremony on August 12th.

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