As Im concerned theres only one drummer for the Who, and thats Keith Moon.
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Just do the math.
Or, dare we say, what couldve been no new Who era at all.
And yet, rock canon doesnt exactly treat the story this way.
Jones spoke with equal parts joy and pathos, especially while remembering his initial hesitation to join the Who.
Im such a big fan of the Who and the Faces.
What a nice meeting of your minds here.Ive got it all in one.
So, I never tried to emulate him.
Purposely, also, because Im not nuts like he is.
He was a good friend and we had such a laugh together.
I miss him to this day.
The thing is, I can only play me and my style.
Thats all I can do.
I kept some of the drum fills and certain things that I really liked.
I kept some of those in out of respect for Keith and they were nice things to play.
But, yeah, I really enjoyed my time with the Who and I loved performing with them.
Its a bit up and down sometimes, though.
When I joined the band we had thathorrible thing happen to us in Cincinnati.
Right, the Cincinnati concert disaster.Eleven kids died.
That was very sad.
But the families had written to us afterwards and didnt blame us at all in any way.
That was very kind of them.
Take me back to the 70s.
What was it like being his friend?
I find him to be simultaneously such a tragic and interesting figure.Dangerous.
How so?He was a lovely guy, and he was always humorous and very funny.
But you never knew when he was going to explode.
We did create a lot of problems there.
Well, or should I say the Australians created a lot of problems for us.
We got the blame for everything, but there you go.
Did you engage in many nights of hotel destruction?There was a couple of things.
Its funny every time I think about those memories.
I was in my room walking around, and suddenly I heard this scratching noise.
There was a mirror in front of it and a telephone, and below it was a chair.
I pulled the chair away, and I heard this scratching noise getting louder and louder.
I thought,Whats that?
I cant believe it, we must have mice or rats or something.It got louder and louder and louder.
I looked at it, and I thought,Shit, I think the wall is moving.
Its moving in and out.
What a character.Theres loads of stories like that.
He was always fun to be with, because you never knew what was going to happen.
What do you remember about the last time you saw Keith?I remember everything.
It was kind of strange, because the party was before the screening of the film.
I was telling Keith all about my exciting times in America forming this new band.
I said, How have you been Keith?
What have you been doing?
He said, Well, Ive given up drinking, so Im not drinking or taking any drugs.
I said, Great, Keith, you look great.
I thought nothing more of it.
Then we all walked to Leicester Square where the premiere was held.
We just sat in our seats and watched the film.
Afterwards, we met each other in the lobby, and I said, See you later, Keith.
And he went, Yeah, great, see you Kenney my friend, bye-bye.
I thought,Whats he up to now?
Hes playing another bloody joke.
Absolutely could not believe it.
Its only when I joined the Who when I found out exactly what happened.
He woke up a couple of hours later and thought it was morning, so he took another pill.
If you take too many pills close together, it slows your heart down.
It all happened so fast.
Ill never forget the next few days.
Then I left and everyone else, like the press, was there.
The rest is history.
As I mentioned, I was forming my band.
I was getting on with my career, even outside of the Faces.
Then I got a call from Bill Curbishley, the Whos manager, a few weeks after Keiths funeral.
He said, Kenney, Ill come straight to the point.
I said, Very flattering Bill, but I cant.
I could hear his chin drop on the floor.
He said, What do you mean, you cant?
And I said, Well, I cant.
He said, Well, look, Petes coming into the office late today.
You want to come and see him?
I said, Yeah, Ill always be happy to see Pete.
How did that conversation between the three of you unfold?We had such a laugh.
We talked about funny things and Keith.
Enjoyed a couple of hours doing that.
Peter finally cleared his throat and said, Kenney, youve got to join the band.
Youre a mod, youre one of us.He got to me and said the right things.
I said, Look, Pete, I got this band, and I told him all about it.
Luckily, all of the members were in town at the time.
So I told him that I would talk to the band and see what their views about this were.
So, I met with the band that evening and told them Ive been asked to join the Who.
They said, Kenney, dont be an idiot, youve got to do it.
They were so gracious.
So thats what finally convinced me to take the offer.
I said to Pete, Look, it would be wrong for me to even attempt to do that.
I said that I could only play me.
Im a straighter drummer.
Keiths got his own unique style and thats what he should be remembered for.
Thats how I adopted my way.
Thats how I entered the Who.
So I thought,Oh, different songs and a different sound.
That sounded great to me.
John and I used to do sessions for other musicians, so we also had a close relationship.
Also, I did a lot of demos with Pete when I was in the Small Faces.
Doing the songs we were doing forFace Dances…
I just did my bit according to the song.
The songs are very interesting, arent they?
You know, you might perform well if a song is good.
If the song isnt really that interesting, you dont really perform it as well as you should.
I loveFace Dancesand Im a huge defender of the album.
You Better You Bet is such a perfect song.
Daily Records and Did You Steal My Money are unbelievably catchy.
What memories do you have of being in the studio for the recording process?
I mean, no one said anything.
It was kind of a sigh of relief when we finished it, in a sense.
I thought,We finished the first album.
We can start performing new songs.Which we did.
We played a lot of those new songs onstage.
But we also mixed them with the classics, like Wont Get Fooled Again and Who Are You.
Those are great songs to play from a drummers point of view.
What was the fan reception like during your first shows with the band?It was very interesting.
Basically Id come straight out of the Faces.
I think the fans were happy to see someone like myself in there, which was good.
I had to learn all the songs within the first ten days!
That was one of the hardest things.
Think about it, I had to master a bands entire discography up to that point.
I made all of these notes and marks.
Pete said, Just follow me.
I kind of just got on with it.
You know whats funny?
Oh, like it was all men?Especially in England, theyre all mods.
Dont forget, I come from the Faces, where its all women in the audience.
All of the women were there for Rod Stewart.
Then the women started to come more and popped up.
Do you think you brought more women fans?I like to think that Roger did.
He did have great hair.
That helps.The hair and the stamina.
Whereas Roger was always a fitness nut.
I became super fit overnight.
I had rowing machines, all kinds of stuff.
I had to keep myself fairly in-tune, especially during downtime when we were off the road.
I found myself running a lot, rowing a lot, playing a lot.
Im a bit lazier now.
Also, its weird because Im back with the Faces in a sense now.
Weve experienced a nice full-circle moment.
It makes me laugh because the first album I did with the Who wasFace Dances.
I thought it was quite good.
Roger hasstatedin the past that he believesIts Hardshouldve never been released because of its subpar quality.
Was the recording process for that album contentious?
But then again, there were great songs in a different way.
I can understand what Roger means about that.
You want a Wont Get Fooled Again.
You want a Who Are You.
You want to be surprised by it.Its Harddidnt quite cut the mustard to that degree.
So, I understand what he means.
Straightforward to play but very fun.
Theres a few little twists and tricks in it, drumming wise.
Its some bass drum techniques and stuff.
Its very disco-y pop in feel.
Its easy to dance to.
How would you describe your relationship with each member of the band during your tenure?
You dont want to emulate Keith, but theres certain times where you have to play like him.
Roger, Pete, John, and I used to hang around together all the time.
We would go to clubs, we would go drinking.
Best buddies in a sense.
I used to see Pete a lot.
Roger, not that often because he was living in the countryside that was outside of London.
I went to see him a few times there.
He had a fantastic trout farm.
I didnt know that about him.Yeah, he was breeding fish.
I think for Roger, when I first joined, it was fine, with rehearsing and all that.
I think that was unnerving for him.
Also, I got the odd whispers behind the stage.
Im not the same as Keith Moon and never will be.
I can only do what I can do as best I can.
He didnt want to go on any longer.
He wanted to do his own stuff, solo-wise.
And I said, Im doing my own stuff, its fine.
We had a great time.That was it.
Did it come as a surprise when Zak Starkey became their touring drummer in the 90s?
Id made my break from the Who and that was that.
We were moving on.
I wasnt surprised that Zak joined.
I virtually taught him how to play the drums when he was a little kid.
He had told me as a little boy that Keith had always promised him that drum kit.
So I put it in a van and surprised him after school with it one day.
I did my bit for him.
I think Zaks done a wonderful job with the Who.
Its a great thing and I think its lovely.
They needed a young drummer, someone fit.
What would you say is your definitive Who song?
The song you feel sounds and feels the most like Kenney Jones?Thats difficult to say.
I think it has to be You Better You Bet.
Thats most like me.
I had a nice time playing that song.
I got to have some fun with its arrangement.
I enjoyed my time with the Who and I enjoyed being with my friends.
Things in music and bands change all the time.
I have been … Im not lying, but Im a bit more peaceful.
Its important to have a peacemaker in the band.There you go, that was me.
You know, I still get loads of fan mail praising me for being involved with the Who.
In many ways, I feel like Im still in the Who.
Sometimes I wake up and I go,Which band am I in today?
Its never going to be the same, because its not the same band.
Its only Pete and Roger in there now.
you might put other people onstage, but its basically the Peter and Roger band.
Theyre playing their songs and thats it.
Its just not the same, especially sinceJohn is also gone.
Im very fortunate to have been a full member of the Who, anequalmember of the Who.
No one else has gotten that privilege.
Not to this day.
So Im happy with it.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
