When the Kids were Alright: Keith Moon’s last show with The Who through the lens of photographer Denis O’Regan
On May 25th 1978 The Who performed a short set in front of a selected audience of 300 fans at Shepperton Studios in London. Among them was photographer Denis O’Regan.
On May 25th 1978 The Who performed a short set in front of a selected audience of 300 fans at Shepperton Studios in London.
The session, filmed for inclusion in Jeff Stein’s ultimate rockumentary The Kids Are Alright, framed a tragically iconic moment for the band: the Shepperton performance was drummer Keith Moon’s final gig with The Who. Three months later, on September 7th 1978, he was found dead in his apartment.
Working on The Kids Are Alright, Stein attempted on several occasions to record performances of songs that were not covered by the archival footage, particularly Baba O’Riley and Won’t Get Fooled Again.
After discarding the filming of the Kilburn State Theatre show for being too rough (December 1977), Jeff Stein brought The Who back on stage in Shepperton Studios, where the band played the exclusive three numbers session that was later included in the film, consisting in Baba O’Riley, My Wife and Won’t Get Fooled Again.
The Who – The Kids are Alright Movie preview. 1979
Even without the emotional aura that hovers around this historical show, The Who’s performance at Shepperton Studios remains an all-time favourite for the thousands of fans who have watched The Kids Are Alright since its release in 1979.
One of the lucky witnesses of this memorable event was photographer Denis O’Regan in the early days of his career, immortalising The Who from afar in his mid-performance portraits of Roger Daltrey and Peter Townshend.
One of the lucky witnesses of this memorable event was photographer Denis O’Regan
“I managed to get these close-up photographs of Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend with a telephoto lens. I couldn’t get too close to the stage because of the fans and the cameras” he told [mag_btm] while looking at his pictures.
“This was a real milestone show for them. The Who were playing to be filmed and the energy was incredible. Pete Tonwshend was just mad! This was a really amazing performance, and of course they didn’t realize that this was going to be the last time they played together” says O’Regan, watching Keith Moon banging on the drums in the archival footage.
On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the release of The Kids Are Alright, the band shared part of the Shepperton Studios filming on YouTube, restored in 4k.
“The idea of producing a proper film like this in 1978 was forward thinking” comments Denis O’Regan. “It was not shot as a video, but as a full scale film, in the highest quality available at the time. Shepperton was the perfect place for that, because that’s where all the big productions and most cutting-edge special effects were made in the late 70s”.
The Who – Baba O’Riley (Shepperton Studios / 1978)
“See, that’s in my picture!”
While the film runs on screen, Roger Daltrey spins a wide arc microphone and Pete Townshend’s trademark windmill fires the audience, O’ Regan lights up: “See, that’s in my picture!”
Shepperton certainly was one of a kind, the moment before everything changed for The Who. Denis O’Regan remembers it well: “I also shot the beginning of the next tour, when they had a new drummer” he says “of course the atmosphere wasn’t great.”
To the present day, The Kids Are Alright incidentally became a sort of time capsule for the band and their fans; it is a celebration of The Who’s early life and career, an historical document, and indisputably a pop culture classic.
