Brian Protheroe on Pinball

By Jason Barnard

With a career spanning music and acting, Brian Protheroe has left an indelible mark on both stages. Renowned for his classic hit ‘Pinball’ and a run of acclaimed albums in the mid-70s, Brian now invites us to delve into the heart of his classic hit.

It’s quite remarkable how you’ve had sort of two parallel careers, in acting as well as music. I’ve read that it was a play that led you ultimately to get signed by Chrysalis Records, is that right?

I was playing a character in a play called Death On Demand in about 1971/2. We were touring around the country and the character that I was playing, called Johnny Tomorrow, sang this song.  So the author had this lyric and he asked me to, or maybe I offered to write music to it. I did a little demo recording of it. He loved it and he took this demo recording around, to various people and record companies. Two companies were interested – Chrysalis was one of them.  They heard some other songs I’d written and Pinball was one of them.

‘Pinball’ was quite a big hit and has endured over the years.

Yes, it’s extraordinary because it almost reached the top 20, but not quite. It was just outside at 22. But it’s hung around and appeared on various compilations over the years, which is extraordinary. And it’s still going. It’s by far the most plays of all my stuff on Spotify.

Part of the enduring nature was that ‘Pinball’ was featured on the ‘Guilty Pleasures’ compilation. I don’t know why anyone would feel guilty listening to it, because it’s a fine track.

Oh, thank you. I think the ‘Guilty Pleasures’ was one of the first compilations that I was on. But there have been several over the years, it’s been lovely.

What inspired you to write it?

I was living in Covent Garden at the time. I had one room in a friend’s house, and it was literally like a diary entry of what was happening to me then. We had a cat – the cat that finished off the bread. There was a Norman Mailer book about Marilyn Monroe that I saw when I was walking through Soho one morning. So that got included. Hey Jude you were alright, was a reference to the Beatles breaking up. So it was a stream of consciousness diary about what was happening to me at that time.

Further information

Full Strange Brew interview with Brian Protheroe

Brian Protheroe’s new album – A Salisbury Boy is released on 1 September 2023

brianprotheroe.co.uk