Penny Arcade - Remastered 2015

By the late '60s Roy Orbison's chart career appeared to be stagnating, but in 1969 he recorded this song written by the English songwriter Sammy King, which not only returned him to the UK Top 30 for the first time in three years, but also shot straight to #1 in Australia and New Zealand, outselling The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. In the US it peaked at #133. One-time sales rep Sammy King carved out a successful career as a member of several '60s bands including The Voltaires, who at one time acted as backing group for Cilla Black. As a songwriter he penned several songs for Orbison as well as Malandra Burrows' 1990 hit, "Just This Side of Love."

This very innocent song is about having a good time at the penny arcade, which is an amusement center with coin-operated games. It's quite a contrast to lovelorn songs Orbison is famous for, and it's pretty obvious he didn't write it.

The line "roll up and spend your last dime" is a curious mix of American and British vernacular. "Roll up" is a British saying meaning to get in line (heard in The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour"); a dime is American currency. The UK band The Arrows also used a dime for their hit "I Love Rock And Roll," because "put another sixpenny in the jukebox" would sound awkward.