 Although not an especially gifted vocalist , Moon was enthusiastic about singing and wanted to sing lead with the rest of the group . While the other three members handled the lion 's share of onstage vocals , Moon would attempt to sing backup ( particularly on " I Can 't Explain " ) . He provided humorous commentary during song announcements , although sound engineer Bob Pridden preferred to mute his vocal microphone on the mixing desk whenever possible . Moon 's knack for making his bandmates laugh around the microphone led them to banish him from the studio when vocals were being recorded ; this led to a game in which Moon would sneak in to join the singing . At the end of " Happy Jack , " Townshend can be heard saying " I saw ya ! " to Moon as he tries to sneak into the studio . The drummer 's interest in surf music and his desire to sing lead spawned lead vocals on several early tracks , including " Bucket T " and " Barbara Ann " ( Ready Steady Who EP , 1966 ) and high backing vocals on other songs , such as " Pictures of Lily . " Moon 's performance on " Bell Boy " ( Quadrophenia , 1973 ) saw him abandon " serious " vocal performances to sing in character , which gave him ( in Fletcher 's words ) " full licence to live up to his reputation as a lecherous drunk " ; it was " exactly the kind of performance the Who needed from him to bring them back down to earth . " 
