Scot Halpin

The show continued with "Magic Bus". The percussion of the song's opening verses consisted only of Moon hitting two wooden blocks against one another. However, at the song's conclusion, Moon passed out completely, slumping onto his drums. He was carried off—this time not to return. Guitarist Pete Townshend later said in an interview that Moon had consumed large tranquilizer pills, meant to be given to animals, with a large volume of brandy.

In later interviews, Daltrey praised Halpin's ability, claiming that the "papers missed it". Interviewed by Rolling Stone, Halpin admired the Who's stamina, admitting, "I only played three numbers and I was dead." On January 27, 2009, the Who posted a link on their website announcing a memorial blog in memory of Halpin.

From 1995 until his death, Halpin resided in Bloomington, Indiana, with his wife Robin and son, James. According to local newspapers in the Bloomington area, Halpin died February 9, 2008, of an inoperable non-malignant brain tumor.

Halpin became composer in residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts, in Sausalito, California, and played with a number of bands over the years, including: The Sponges, Funhouse, Folklore, SnakeDoctor and Plank Road. While on the West Coast, Halpin and his wife managed a new wave punk rock night club, The Roosevelt, before moving to Indiana in 1995 to pursue opportunities in the visual arts.

On November 20, 1973, the Who were opening their Quadrophenia US concert tour at the Cow Palace in Daly City, a suburb just south of San Francisco. Halpin, a 19-year-old who had recently moved to the area from Muscatine, Iowa, was there with a friend using tickets they had bought from a stranger. They arrived at the show thirteen hours early to get good seats.

Halpin was born in Muscatine, Iowa, to Elizabeth and Richard Halpin, of Muscatine. He grew up in Muscatine, showing early promise as a visual artist and musician. In the early 1970s, he moved to California, where he met his wife and life-time collaborator Robin Young at City College of San Francisco in 1978. Halpin went on to earn an MA in Interdisciplinary Arts from San Francisco State University.

Thomas Scot Halpin (February 3, 1954 – February 9, 2008) was an American artist and musician best known for an incident in 1973 when, in the audience at a concert by the Who at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, he ended up playing drums onstage after the band's drummer Keith Moon passed out mid-show. Halpin's performance won him Rolling Stone' s "Pick-Up Player of the Year Award" later that year.