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TL;DR:

  • The Who’s Keith Moon used to give Ringo Starr Christmas gifts and send Ringo a bill.
  • Ringo said Moon dressed up as Father Christmas once to give gifts.
  • Moon recorded a classic Christmas song for his only solo album.
Ringo Starr covered in Christmas lights
Ringo Starr | Aaron Rapoport / Contributor

The Who‘s Keith Moon used to give Christmas presents to Ringo Starr and accept payment. Subsequently, Ringo got sick of this little tradition. Notably, both Moon and Ringo made Christmas music.

Ringo Starr said The Who’s Keith Moon and Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham made drummers look crazy

During a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, Ringo discussed his feelings about Moon. “Keith was a beautiful human being, a beautiful guy, but we all liked substances, and so did he,” he said. “He is Uncle Keith to my children and came and sort of lived with us for a while.”

Ringo discussed Moon and another drummer he befriended: John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. “Those two drummers have given all drummers the reputation that we get — brain damaged!” he opined. “There’s a lot of drummers out there who aren’t that crazy, but those two were my friends.”

Ringo Starr said he couldn’t ‘afford’ the Christmas gifts The Who’s Keith Moon gave him

Ringo revealed Moon would give presents and expect payment. “He’d come up to the house with a jukebox and we’d say, ‘Wow, thanks, Keith, that’s really great,'” Ringo remembered. “And I’d get the bill.

“One Christmas he came dressed as Father Christmas and the girlfriend dressed as the Snow Queen and he brought gifts,” he said. “Then I get the bill!” For context, the Snow Queen was the villain of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale of the same name.

Ringo got sick of Moon’s little tradition. “So in the end, I said to Keith, ‘Look, don’t buy me any more presents. I just can’t afford it!'” he recalled.

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Both stars made Christmas music a part of their careers

While Ringo had an issue with the way Moon chose to celebrate Christmas, both stars made the holiday a part of their careers. Moon recorded a boisterous version of “We Wish You a Merry Xmas” that appears on some editions of his only solo album, Two Sides of the Moon.

Meanwhile, AllMusic reports Ringo recorded an entire Christmas album called I Wanna Be Santa Claus. The album features guest appearances from Timothy B. Schmit of The Eagles and Joe Perry of Aerosmith. The track listing includes a rerecording of The Beatles’ “Christmas Time (Is Here Again),” which was one of the Fab Four’s only songs to be co-written by all members of the group, as well as standards like “Blue Christmas.”

Ringo wasn’t a fan of Moon pretending to be Santa but his anecdote remains an interesting connection between The Beatles and The Who.

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