The Red Stapler: The album and film were an influence on the mod revival of the late '70s and early '80s. The film in particular made Vespa scooters cool again.
The difficulty playing the album live with all those backing tapes and synths drove Pete Townshend to desperation and almost led to the band breaking up.
Recording the album was apparently a nightmare, mainly because the studio they were recording it in hadn't even been finished yet!
What Could Have Been: Among the demos Pete Townshend recorded for the album is a rendition of "Is It Me?" as a full song, with its chorus being reprised in "Doctor Jimmy" (in both the demo and final cut of that song). In the final cut of the album, the former's reprise in the latter is its primary appearance, though a smaller portion appears in other songs.
Write Who You Know: Pete Townsend based Jimmy on six early fans of the group.
The film
Cast the Runner-Up: Phil Davis auditioned for Jimmy but was cast as Chalky instead.
Dyeing for Your Art: Steph was supposed to have a '60s pixie crop (like Monkey), but Leslie Ash was reluctant to cut her long strawberry-blonde hair, so they went for "the Jane Asher style" instead.
Wag the Director: In the original script, the sex scene between Jimmy and Steph took place in a basement and detailed that she would be shown naked. Leslie Ash made it clear she wouldn't do nudity, even if it meant losing the part. In the end the producers agreed to shoot the scene clothed - and changed the location to an alleyway.
