Name: Pete Townshend, "Pinball Wizard" on Letterman, June 17, 1993 (stereo)
Uploaded: 2018-10-28T00:05:49.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Pete Townshend, "Pinball Wizard" on Letterman, June 17, 1993 (stereo)' from Don Giller on Comedy Buff. Published 2018-10-28. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Pete Townshend, "Pinball Wizard" on Letterman, June 17, 1993 (stereo)' from Don Giller on Comedy Buff. Published 2018-10-28. Transcript available.

our next guest of course known as the legendary guitar player for the who and
uh making uh all
kinds of money and getting a lot of awards for his broadway production of tommy
how about that
tommy great yeah uh he has a brand new cd ladies and gentlemen right here it's
a entitled psycho
derelict ladies and gentlemen please welcome back to the program rock and roll
legend pete townsend
i don't know why i'm not playing a song from my new album
do we care
ever since i was a young boy i've played the silver ball from soho down to
brighton i must have played them
i must have played them all i've never seen anything like him in any amusement
hall
that deaf diamond blanket he stands like a statue becomes part of the machine
feeling over the purse always playing clean he plays by intuition the digit
counters fall that deaf
is that's the one who's a blind kid sure plays a bean pinball
he's a pinball wizard has to be addressed a pinball wizard's got such a good
how do you think he does it boy i don't know what makes him so good he ain't
got no distractions can't hear no buzzes and bells don't see lights and
flashing plays but such a sound always gets a replay never tilts so tall that
deaf of a blind kid sure plays a bean pinball
i think he does it boy i think he does it boy i thought i was a tiny table kid
i'm just handing my pinball crown to him
give it to him
give it up
give it up my usual table he can't be my best the side is leading me he just
has the rest that crazy purple fingers i just hear him fall that deaf to me
blind kid sure plays a bean pinball
let's do something for the world let's do something good for those kids for
charity for everything let's do something really funny
# Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh... #
# Woah, look at that. Yes, sir. Bingo.
Mr. Townsend, that will be deducted from your fee tonight.
How did that begin, you busting up stuff?
You know, I wanted to play the clarinet.
And my father was a clarinet player, and when I was about eight, he let me play
the instrument.
And I couldn't get a sound out of it.
And he said, "Well, maybe you could try the instrument that I started on, which
was the guitar."
So I said, "Well, that would be good," and waited a few years.
And when I was 11, Christmas came.
And my father was a good musician, and I expected him to buy me a fine
instrument.
And...
But my grandmother, who was, uh...
You know, to put it politely, because she is my beloved, beloved grandmother,
who brought me up and looked after me when I was young.
She was clinically insane.
Yeah, that's almost flattering when you put it that way.
We didn't ever get her to a clinic, unfortunately.
But, um, and, uh...
It was elected that she would buy me my first guitar.
Well, that's nice.
Yeah, it was, except she bought me one of those things that you hang on the
wall of the Italian restaurant.
And I took it to my...
A big, more ornamental...
No, no, no, no, that's right.
Kind of a cheap, scraggy guitar with the strings about that far.
It was tried like this.
And, um...
We're gonna sell this for charity.
Yes.
We will, um...
It's worth more broken.
Yeah.
It's true.
So, Grandma gives you the old cheap Italian wall-hanging guitar.
Yeah, yeah.
And eventually, eventually, uh...
My father kept saying, "Well, when you can get a tune out of this, I'll buy you
a good one."
So, I thought the best thing to do was maybe to have an accident.
With the guitar.
Yeah.
And that's how it started.
So, you busted up your very first guitar that Grandma gave.
Yeah, yeah.
And I, you know, she was clinically insane, and it's kind of been the one
ribbon that's run continually through my life.
And, also, I understand...
Well, I think we have evidence of it here.
Uh, this is protection because of a recent injury.
You know, on the 89 Hoot tour, I spared myself.
You know I did this wind-willing thing.
Yeah, you did it here, as a matter of fact, not long ago.
That's right.
I did it here, yeah.
Yeah, it's very exciting, very dramatic to see.
See, it's a dramatic...
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I, I, uh, I was using a guitar that was, uh, actually created for Eric Clapton.
And he, you know, he has this thing, it's called a whammy bar.
Mm-hmm.
And, uh, I speared my hand on the whammy bar.
And it went in through the hand and out the other side.
Oh!
Oh!
And I picked up the guitar and it was hanging.
Oh!
Oh, man, you're, you're making us all sick.
That's right, come on!
So, so what, what the heck happens?
What, how, what does that do to the show?
You know, I, I was lucky.
It, it, uh, it, it bled a lot, but it was, it was...
But you can't finish up the show like that with your guitar hanging out of your
hand, can you?
No, I slipped it off.
I slipped.
Bled a lot.
Yeah.
And, uh, luckily we're, I think the accident happened in, uh, Seattle.
And there was a brilliant hand surgeon there.
And I was lucky not to hit anything and he cleaned it up.
You know, I was supposed to be, later on I was supposed to go and be on Larry's
show.
But it's cancelled.
President Clinton needs something.
He needs television for something.
And he's cancelled me.
You would have never injured yourself had you stuck with a clarinet.
No, that's right.
Oh, my God.
Oh, maybe.
What am I saying?
Maybe even much, much worse.
Uh, we have to pause here for another commercial.
We'll be right back with Pete Townsend.
The, uh, the, uh, new album is, uh, Psycho Derelict.
Pete, good to see you.
Congratulations on, uh, all the success and, and a great career.
And, do us a favor, come and see us at the new place.
Thank you.
Have a very nice summer.
Pete Townsend, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you.
My, uh, my thanks also to, uh, Larry King, who was here earlier.
And, uh, I'm sorry, Cindy Crawford will not be here tonight.
Uh, yeah, I'm sorry.
Aww.
She got a look at Herb and said, that's it, I'm getting a cab.
Uh, we'll have Cindy on just as soon as we possibly can, next week.
Or never.
We, we have five more.
Good night, everybody.
Thanks.