Talk:Pinball Wizard

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So which version was more popular on the radio? I swear I've never heard the piano version, but my coworker swears the Elton John version got *way* more radio play than the Who version.

Also, which lyrics specifically were added?

Two stanzas were added to the movie version, which Elton John sang:

He can't beat me now I've always been the champ

I know every trick, no freak's gonna beat my hand

Also:

He's a pinball wizard, he's scored a trillion more

A pinball wizard, the world's new pinball lord

He's scoring more, he's scoring more

As to the question of popularity: The Elton John version received heavy U.S. airplay in the spring of 1975, even though it was not officially released as a single in the States. The U.S. rights to the soundtrack were on Polydor, and Elton was on MCA. Apparently Polydor had limited rights to release singles, and one of those they weren't allowed to release was the Elton track. Polydor did issue a 45 to radio stations, but it never came out to the general public. Had there been a regular single, there's no question it would have been top-10, and maybe even #1, because that was when Elton was at the peak of his popularity. In its original release, The Who's version only got to #19 on the U.S. charts. Today, though, you're much more likely to hear the Who's version on the radio. Cheemo 02:41, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Answer to the trivia

"This is one of Karl Pilkington's favourite songs as he only likes a 'song with a story'. Pinball Wizard was featured on the Ricky Gervais radio show on XFM, although, he doesn't see how a 'deaf, dumb and blind kid' plays pinball. He says he wouldn't even know he was playing pinball. Why put money in the machine?"

The song says he "plays by sense of smell". Fephisto 16:15, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

- Tell that to Karl Pilkington.

Tommy plays pinball through the vibrations from the pinball machine as Pete Townsend says after he became deaf dumb and blind he learns to see things and feel and hear evrything as vibrations User: Elijah Craan

The "Trivia" section is largely about other people's reaction to "Pinball Wizard" and doesn't really fit in this wiki entry. If the trivia is good enough to be included in wiki, then it belongs on the believer's own page, else not at all. Trivia is about a thing, not about what someone says or believes about a thing (unless that view or belief changed the thing itself). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.213.217.230 (talk) 18:10, August 26, 2007 (UTC)