Keith Moon, who died on 7 September, 1978 at the age of 32, was the revered and revolutionary drummer of influential rock group The Who.

Described by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as “one of the greatest rock and roll drummers of all time”, he was renowned for his off-beat and often explosive style of playing. He remains a much-loved music legend and one of popular culture’s all-time eccentrics.

“Everything about him was extreme,” remarked The Who’s lead singer Roger Daltrey, while Mr Moon’s biographer, Tony Fletcher, said he was “the first to treat the drums as though they were a lead instrument.”

Keith John Moon was born on 23 August, 1946, in Harlesden, London. Extremely hyperactive as a child, a secondary school report called him “idiotic” and at 15 he left school with no O levels after failing his crucial 11-plus exam.

The trumpet and bugle were the first instruments he took up, playing the latter in his local Sea Cadet Corps. However, he later gave them up in favour of the drums and famously received lessons from Carlo Little, the first drummer with The Rolling Stones, for 10 shillings a time.

Mr Moon’s first band, The Escorts, was formed in 1961. When they disbanded, an 18-month stint with London cover band The Beachcombers followed soon after but it was with an up-and-coming band called The Who that he was to make his mark.

According to Pete Townshend, Mr Moon simply “turned up at a gig... got up on the drummer’s kit and practically smashed it to pieces.” The group immediately took him on and, thanks in large part to his revolutionary style, promptly crashed into the 1965 music charts with I Can’t Explain.

The now infamous My Generation followed soon after, cementing the group’s success, while his explosive onstage antics earned him the nickname ‘Moon the Loon’.

As The Who's success escalated, so did his penchant for the wild life, with one of his most famous incidents occurring during the 1973 Quadrophenia tour when he took a horse tranquilizer and passed out on stage.

His extraordinary success continued, nevertheless, both with The Who and his 1975 solo album Two Sides of the Moon. Later years also saw him become a familiar face on screen with a cameo role in Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels, 1973 cult classic That’ll Be the Day and Ken Russell’s 1975 adaptation of Tommy.

Mr Moon’s final night out was at a party with Sir Paul McCartney, only two weeks after the release of The Who album Who Are You. Along with his girlfriend, Annette Walter-Lax, he left the party early and retuned to his flat in London, where, the next afternoon, on 7 September, 1978, he accidentally overdosed on Clomethiazole, the medication supplied to him as part of a programme to wean him off alcohol.

He famously shared a house in Los Angeles with John Lennon and Ringo Starr, and was close friends with T-Rex guitarist Marc Bolan . His frenzied, chaotic drumming is often said to be the inspiration for the much-loved Muppets character ‘Animal’.