Episode 68 - Band Pins

History and analysis of band-themed pinball machines from 1975 to modern era.

Synopsis

Wedgehead A Pinball Podcast explores the history and evolution of band-themed pinball machines, tracing their development from the 1970s (Captain Fantastic, Kiss, Dolly Parton) through the modern era (Elvis, Guns N' Roses). The hosts discuss licensing challenges, the 14-year gap in band pin releases during the 1980s, and advocate for contemporary artists like Taylor Swift to receive pinball machines.

Highlights

• Captain Fantastic (1976) by Bally was the best-selling EM pinball game of all time with almost 17,000 units
• There were 14 years between Rolling Stones (1980) and the next licensed music pinball game (The Who's Tommy in 1994)
• Dolly Parton (1979) remains the only female musician with her own dedicated pinball machine
• Data East Guns N' Roses (1994) was the first game to feature an exclusive never-before-released song ('Ain't Going Down') that only appeared on the pinball machine
• Gottlieb designed a Brooks and Dunn pinball game in the mid-1990s but never released it due to company liquidation
• Slash (Guns N' Roses guitarist) received co-design credit on the Data East Guns N' Roses pinball game
• Data East Guns N' Roses was the first production pinball game to come with a headphone jack in the cabinet
• Elvis (2004) marks the beginning of choosing band/musicians from earlier generations rather than contemporary artists

Entities

• Bally· company
• Data East· company
• Gottlieb· company
• Jersey Jack Pinball· company
• Spooky Pinball· company
• Stern Pinball· company
• Pintastic· event
• Brooks and Dunn· game
• Captain Fantastic· game
• Dolly Parton· game
• Elvis· game
• Guns N' Roses· game
• Kiss· game
• Mary Shelley's Frankenstein· game
• Rolling Stones· game
• Ted Nugent· game
• The Who's Tommy· game
• Wedgehead· organization
• Alan· person
• Alex the Waterboy· person
• John Borg· person
• Lyman Sheets· person
• Pat Lawlor· person
• Slash· person
• Steve Ritchie· person