As a teen growing up in 1960s England, Brian Protheroe was an aspiring folkie who also caught the acting bug. In his twenties he played gigs in small clubs and performed in various theatre companies, honing both his musical and acting chops. It paid off in 1973 when Protheroe was discovered by an A&R man while acting in a play about a pop star. His first single, “Pinball,” was released soon there after.

A laidback mantra that recalls the zen psych folk of Ted Lucas but with higher production value. This beauty builds like an nice bottle of bubbly that’s about to pop, but then immediately cools down with a smooth saxophone break and professional fade out.

Air’s “Playground Love” doesn’t seem as groundbreaking anymore thanks to the man that played “co-pilot” in Richard Donner’s Superman (1978).

Brian Protheroe – Pinball