On this date in 1969 The Who released Pinball Wizard in the UK. 10 facts about the song.
Pinball Wizard was written by Pete Townshend and featured on their 1969 rock opera album Tommy.
It was recorded at Morgan Studios, in the High Road, Willesden, on 7 February 1969. Kit Lambert was the producer.
The song was pivotal for the success of the rock opera Tommy. When demos of the Tommy album were presented to critic Nick Cohn, he wasn’t that keen. At this point, Tommy was a deaf/blind musician, not a pinball champion and the opera was heavily based on the spiritual teachings of Meher Baba. Townshend remembered that Cohn was a big fan of pinball and suggested that perhaps Tommy was especially good at the game despite his disabilities. That tweak convinced Cohn to review it more favourably.
Pinball Wizard was hastily written on the back of this, and references to pinball were inserted into other songs. The hastiness showed, as far as Townshend was concerned. He said it was "the most clumsy piece of writing I've ever done. I'm embarrassed. This sounds like a Music Hall song."
When released as a single, the song was sped up slightly from the album version so it would be shorter and more radio friendly. The single runs to 2:57, whilst the album version runs to 3:04.
The B-side was an instrumental credited to Keith Moon, titled Dogs Part Two. Despite the title, it has no musical connection to the Who's 1968 UK single Dogs.
In the US it was also the band’s first stereo single, and one of the first to be released on Decca.
It is one of the band’s most popular songs and has been played live at virtually all their concerts since May 1969, including, in its early days, at Woodstock, where the band had an early morning slot, so ended up playing the song as the sun rose.
Pinball Wizard features in an ad for the Toyota Supra GR which debuted during the 2019 Superbowl between the Rams and Patriots. In the ad, a driver navigates a life-size pinball game in the car.
The song was covered by Elton John in Ken Russell's 1975 film adaptation of Tommy. This version was released in 1976 in the UK, where it reached number 7. John's version features a Piano instead of the acoustic Guitar in the original. The song was subsequently performed by Taron Egerton who played Elton John in the film Rocketman (2019).
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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