The London
Olympics brings back fond memories of the 2010 Commonwealth Games – the media
always had something to do. They were so happy. The world seemed so eventful.
Here is some of
the fodder that the London Olympics is providing for the journalists: the logo
is hideous, the allegations that Olympics uniforms are being manufactured in
sweatshop labour conditions in Indonesia are being taken “very seriously”, the
security threat of lone
idiots disrupting the events has been recognised and the closing ceremony
will include a tribute to British pop culture called “Symphony of Rock”.
The London
Olympics Organising Committee is also taking the Symphony of Rock “very
seriously”. No, really. They’ve pulled out all the stops. The list of
performers is expected to include the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Elton
John and Coldplay, among others. You might even say they went overboard with
their enthusiasm. Among those invited was The Who’s legendary drummer, Keith
Moon. It’s very nice of the organisers to ask, of course. But they just missed him – by nearly 34 years. In
an uncharacteristically selfish move, Keith Moon has declined the invitation to play at the Olympics because he is dead. What a bummer.
Well, you can’t
argue with that. It certainly is a valid reason, possibly the only one
acceptable for refusing the honour of representing one’s country on a global
stage. But 1978 was such a long time ago. Things change. Perhaps the organisers
were just checking if he’s still dead.
I suspect they
saw pictures of Moon dressed like a sex kitten and assumed he
had nine lives. Or maybe, since he is Keith Moon after all, they believed that he could do pretty much anything he wanted to, including rising from the dead to detonate
a drum kit for an Olympics ceremony. The Who’s manager, Bill Curbishley, hasn’t
ruled out the possibility. In his polite response to the invitation, he
helpfully suggested, “If they have a round table, some glasses and candles, we
might contact him.”
I would totally watch that.
