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Old 6th October 2020, 02:26 PM
Susan Foreman's Avatar
Susan Foreman Susan Foreman is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Childhood home of Billy Idol - Orpington
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Released in March 1969 as a single, a full six months before the album, 'Pinball Wizard ' is probably the best known song on 'Tommy' and a contender for the best Who song of all time

Pete has often been called the greatest rhythm guitarist in rock, and there is no better evidence of this than the furious acoustic playing which underpins this song. From the opening minor chords to the upward key change near the end, 'Pinball Wizard' is a rock tour de force, full of ideas, power chords, great lyrics and ensemble playing as tight as anything anywhere. The concept of a deaf, dumb and blind boy becoming a pinball champion might stretch the imagination, but hey - it's just a song!

The idrea of a pinball messiah came from Nik Cohn, one of the UK's top rock journalists in the 60's. Cohn, a friend of both Pete and Kit Lambert, loved pinball and his girlfriend at the time really was a pinball queen. At the time he was writing reviews for the New York Times, and when he heard the demo for the 'Tommy' album, he response was lukewarm towards the project. To counter this, Pete went away and wrote 'a little song about pinball'. The ploy worked, and the finished album gained a rave review from Cohn and The New York Times!


"Ever since I was a young boy,
I've played the silver ball.
From Soho down to Brighton
I must have played them all.
But I ain't seen nothing like him
In any amusement hall...
That deaf dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pin ball !

He stands like a statue,
Becomes part of the machine.
Feeling all the bumpers
Always playing clean.
He plays by intuition,
The digit counters fall.
That deaf dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pin ball !

He's a pin ball wizard
There has got to be a twist.
A pin ball wizard,
S'got such a supple wrist.

'How do you think he does it? I don't know!
What makes him so good?'

He ain't got no distractions
Can't hear those buzzers and bells,
Don't see lights a flashin'
Plays by sense of smell.
Always has a replay,
'n' never tilts at all...
That deaf dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pin ball.

I thought I was
The Bally table king.
But I just handed
My pin ball crown to him.

Even my usual table
He can beat my best.
His disciples lead him in
And he just does the rest.
He's got crazy flipper fingers
Never seen him fall...
That deaf dumb and blind kind
Sure plays a mean pin ball"


There follows another short vocal link 'There's A Doctor' which leads into another key song from 'Tommy' - 'Go To The Mirror' - where there is a leap forward in the healing process when Tommy discovers that he is able to actually see his own reflection.


"He seems to be completely unreceptive.
The tests I gave him show no sense at all.
His eyes react to light the dials detect it.
He hears but cannot answer to your call.

See me, feel me, touch me, heal me.
See me, feel me, touch me, heal me.

There is no chance no untried operation.
All hope lies with him and none with me.
Imagine though the shock from isolation.
When he suddenly can hear and speak and see.

See me, feel me, touch me, heal me.
See me, feel me, touch me, heal me.

His eyes can hear
his ears can see his lips speak
All the time the needles flick and rock.
No machine can give the kind of stimulation,
Needed to remove his inner block.

Go to the mirror boy!
Go to the mirror boy!

I often wonder what he's feeling.
Has he ever heard a word I've said?
Look at him now in the mirror dreaming
What is happening in his head?

Listening to you I get the music.
Gazing at you I get the heat
Following you I climb the mountain
I get excitement at your feet!

Right behind you I see the millions
On you I see the glory.
From you I get the opinions
From you I get the story.

What is happening in his head
Ooooh I wish I knew, I wish I knew."
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