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Original poster

Young Voices - national singing event includes lyrics from Tommy - Pinball Wizard

54 replies

adjaegham · 14/01/2013 11:48

Young Voices is a child-focused organisation involving 1000s of children performing at events throughout the uk in stadiums. My 7 year old is singing and it includes the following lyrics in one section.

I am sickened that young children are expected to perform a song about peodos, sadism, prostitution and abuse.

What do you think? Whilst my young daughter doesn't understand the lyrics I feel sick when she sings about his supple wrist.

For a pro child group this is in poor taste....or is it just me being intellectual about it - most people in the peak district have no idea about what Tommy is nor the inference....

By ignoring this are we endorsing this blatant behaviour - it's not good...

Ever since I was a young boy I?ve played the silver
ball
From Soho down to Brighton I must have played
them all,
But I ain?t seen nothing like him in any amusement
hall
That deaf dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean
Pinball!
He stands like a statue, Becomes part of the
machine,
Feeling all the bumpers, Always playing clean,
Plays by intuition the digit counters fall,
That deaf dumb and blind kid, Sure plays a mean
Pinball!
He?s a pinball wizard there has to be a twist,
A pinball wizard?s got such a supple wrist,
How do you think he does it? What makes him so
good?

OP posts:
LadyIsabellaWrotham · 14/01/2013 18:15

Would you object to them singing Food Glorious Food because it's from a story about criminals, prostitution and murder?

RustyBear · 14/01/2013 18:22

The school I work at are doing Young Voices too, but . Because they have to learn the moves, it seems like one class or another are doing it wherever I go in the school...

Sparklingbrook · 14/01/2013 18:24

My Ds wouldn't do Young Voices, he said it looked boring. I just thought it looked ££££££ and a huge faff.

diabolo · 14/01/2013 18:27

It's not expensive, I think I had to pay £10 for a T-shirt and that's that. We work, so can't go, but DS is hugely excited about performing at the O2. He'd never shown the slightest inclination to join the choir, but was press-ganged into it a few months ago by the music teacher and is loving it.

Sparklingbrook · 14/01/2013 18:32

It was the tickets plus the t shirt. The venue was 30 miles away and the children had to go on the coach, then be delivered back to school really late in the evening.

The ones that went did love it though.

NonnoMum · 14/01/2013 18:38

Young Voices is a fantastic, fantastic opportunity. How many of us will get to say we played the O2?
Loads of time and effort will have gone into finding appropriate material, that is pop-y, fun and not too scandalous (no mean feat with most pop music, being as most of it is about young sex love.)

I am fairly long in the tooth, and not from the Peak District (my new favourite expressionWink) and I have honestly never noticed any undercurrents in Pinball Wizard.
If I were to clutch at pearls about any of it, it would be "deaf, dumb and blind kid" - shouldn't it be "hearing impaired, language-delayed young person" but perhaps that wouldn't scan as well?

RustyBear · 14/01/2013 18:39

You don't even have to buy the T shirt - they can wear a plain white one if they want.

diabolo · 14/01/2013 21:50

NonnoMum Grin

morethanpotatoprints · 14/01/2013 22:01

I have experience of this organisation too and found them very expensive, not very professional, and only interested in the sound of the tills. Maybe the music from Pinball Wizard reminds them of the same tingling sound. Personally wouldn't touch with a barge pole.
Totally agree the lyrics really not good. Anybody who doesn't object to their dc singing about deaf and d**b kids, has something wrong with them. Its so un PC.

PomBearWithAnOFRS · 14/01/2013 22:47

If I post "oh grow up and get a grip you silly moo" will I get deleted do you think? Hmm

EndoplasmicReticulum · 14/01/2013 22:54

My son is doing this soon. I think "money making scam" about covers it - I know they can wear a plain t-shirt but I got a lot of "everyone else is buying a proper one". And a little torch. We're not going - because can't get time off work, but not sure I'd pay for tickets anyway, they pretty much admit you won't get to see your child in amongst the hundreds (all in their £10 t-shirts).

I think less of the school, actually, for falling for it and signing up, and am also a bit cross with myself for not just saying "no, you can't go" to my son. But he was doing his disappointed face at me.

PeggyCarter · 15/01/2013 00:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ComposHat · 15/01/2013 02:04

It is about pinball, just pinball. it was written for the rock journo Nik Cohn who was underwhelmed by an early version of Tommy. Pete Townshend knowing Cohn was a fan of pinball wrote and added the song pinball wizard to the album.

Yes Tommy isn't recommended viewing for a 7 yo but Pinball Wizard contains nothing that could be remotely unsuitable.

That said I wonder if M&S and Shirley Nearly realised that Pink's get the party started is about the joys of getting off your face on E?

catgirl1976 · 15/01/2013 05:53

Jaysus. I thought you were going to be objecting to "deaf, dumb blind kid" or something

Not reading things into pinball

LIZS · 15/01/2013 07:22

We paid £10 for the t-shirt , tickets were about £20 each plus our travel ... It was an experience though , they got to sing with Connie Talbot et al. Would recommend you take binoculars to spot your child , our school took a banner too.

morethanpotatoprints · 15/01/2013 15:37

Puddlejumper.

I was lead to believe several years ago that "dumb" was a word associated not just with problems associated with speech, but also somebody with limited intelligence. In fact the former being a requisite for the latter.
Now if you had gone through your childhood like I did with terms like this, maybe you too would find a problem using the words.
Of course we are all entitled to our opinions and mine is that it is not harmless to teach our dc these words. Any professional organisation of which my dd is a member of several, would not encourage such unacceptable lyrics. There are lots of other things they can sing.

PeggyCarter · 15/01/2013 16:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BalloonSlayer · 15/01/2013 17:14

Actually when I read the OP at first I thought she was objecting to the "deaf, dumb and blind kid" lyric too.

Few people are unable to speak or make a sound. My friend's parents were deaf, they could speak although they were hard for me to understand when I first met them as a child. Yet people used to say "Oh yes, XX's parents, they are deaf and dumb, aren't they?" and look at me like this: Hmm when I said "Um no, they are deaf." Even aged 12 I knew "deaf and dumb" was an insult - because of the tone of voice in which it was always said.

FWIW I also recall a very patronising lady telling me that my friends parents were "both mutes." Hmm Maybe that is an acceptable term for someone who cannot make a sound, but as it was totally wrong in my friend's parents' case it still makes me wince.

morethanpotatoprints · 15/01/2013 20:56

Puddlejumper.

Maybe you are right about past experiences but my dd does sing a lot and all those associated are really careful what lyrics she and any other dc are given to sing. I think its more about lyrics being appropriate and free from anything too mature for the kids.

As for the past, yes there were some awful people especially teachers who were unaware/ un educated in SEN or disabilities. I could speak albeit not very well and thankfully my problems weren't long term, but yes we were all considered as lacking in intelligence and that was the word used. I read a thread in education not long ago and there were many who had experienced this.

Doyouhearthepeoplesing · 16/01/2013 00:03

Those who didn't go didn't miss much it was shit. In between the odd song sung by the kids was connie singing out of tune and some bint trying to flog the £17 DVD and con more money for charity and promoting some shit beatbox person and well the whole thing was a giant crap con.

My dc hated it, they were stuck up in the gods all day and hate heights. If your kid went to a prep school they were ok though. They got to sit at the front on the lower less scary tiers.

Have just had to put some very tired tearful frightened children to bed.

Not happy.

diabolo · 16/01/2013 17:31

I didn't think it was until 29th Jan? Or are there lots of different days?

LIZS · 16/01/2013 18:01

They do a whole programme of concerts up and down the country.

Sparklingbrook · 16/01/2013 18:05

When they asked DS2 to do it the rehearsal looked like it took all afternoon, and they were sat in the same spot the whole time, taking packed lunch and tea. Didn't sound like DS2's idea of fun at all.

ThreeBeeOneGee · 16/01/2013 19:48

We went last night, to the O2.
We had great seats and could see DD really well (she and the rest of the choir from her state primary school were on the lower tier right behind the stage).

She wore the same t-shirt that DS1 wore in 2008, 2009 and 2010. It doesn't have the year on it, unlike the new ones. Yes, they plug merchandise, but no one is forcing you to buy it.

DD had an amazing time, which I'm really pleased about as she loves singing but is a bit shy and not a natural performer.

The lyrics of that song don't bother me, perhaps because I haven't seen the film.

ThreeBeeOneGee · 16/01/2013 19:54

I haven't found it to be an expensive experience at all. In fact the last year that DS1 did it (two years ago) it cost us nothing. He wore the same t-shirt he'd worn the previous two years (which was a bit small for him by this point), the coach was subsidised by the school, and we didn't buy a ticket as it was his third year doing it.

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