In the short story written by Townshend in the album 's libretto/liner notes , it is explained that Jimmy never thought he 'd be let down by being a Mod ( given everything else had let him down ) . Pete Townshend said of the song 's meaning : The band performed this in The Who Tour 1973 and 1974 as part of their '' Quadrophenia '' set . This quickly became a fan favourite because of Moon 's comedic vocals , and fans persisted on requesting it even after it was dropped in 1975 until Moon 's death . The song was revived for the 1996-1997 '' Quadrophenia '' world tour , but with the Ace-Face guest replacing Moon 's role . The song was performed once more at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 30 March 2010 at a benefit concert for the Teenage Cancer Trust . Tom Meighan of Kasabian sang Moon 's part during the show . At Quadrophenia and More shows and 12-12-12 : The Concert for Sandy Relief , it was performed with archival video footage of Keith Moon in Charlton
The Who Tour 1973
The Who Tour 1973
Bell Boy (song)