Pete Townshend: "Pinball Wizard" is, quite simply, quite pimply, from Tommy. It's my favourite song on the album and was actually written as a ploy to get Nik Cohn, who is an avid pinball player, to be a little more receptive to my plans for a Rock Opera.

(From Pete's article, "Meaty, Beaty Big & Bouncy," Rolling Stone Dec. 7, 1971.)