1. Earliest pinball memory?
Can I answer this as “pinball memories”? My walk down pinball memory lane begins with playing pinball in “Mama’s Fish Shop”, (also known as “Clem’s”) Beecroft Rd, Epping, NSW. I would have been in Year 4 (1967). I was hooked, and even rode my (Cyclops) scooter home to get more 5c pieces out of my moneybox. I just loved the backglass art, the bumpers, the manual ball loader and the thrill of how they worked. Cannot remember the exact machine but remember being fascinated with the artwork and the red specials light when it came on. It was the era of William’s Big Daddy & Riverboat; Gottlieb’s Sweet Hearts , North Star and Gigi; and Bally’s Hootenanny and Sky Divers.
In the 70s I would frequent Luna Park but my addiction to pins occurred at Macquarie University. For 4 years I would have averaged 20 hours of pin play each week. It was here that I experienced the bond with those with a love of the game. We played King Kool, Mustang, Drop A Card, Rancho, Sea Ray, Doodle Bug, Klondike, Lawman, El Toro, Time Tunnel, Winner (hated it), Super Star, Swinger, Grand Slam, Wild Life, High Hand, King Pin, Big Shot, El Dorado, Quick Draw, Surfer, Golden Arrow, Jungle Princess and Super Spin over the years. It was also where I experienced the transition from EMs to solid state: Nugent and Flash were favourites. The first solid state machine I played was whilst on holidays on the NSW Central Coast – it was Bally’s Eight Ball. I was awe-struck. The pin mechanic was there that day and I got talking with him. It was though I was in the Twilight Zone and gone into the future – a machine that scored every point, remember what targets you hit from the ball before and had circuitry in the cabinet like I’d never seen before.
In the early 80s pins were everywhere. For me, the best local place to play was Epping Squash Courts – that’s where I first played Lost World, Playboy, Close Encounters, Sinbad, Dragon, Joker Poker, Totem and Genie. Epping Hotel always had a couple of pins in it. It was there I first played Kiss.
