Sting and his band The Police were little known when the film was shot, but had broken out by the time it was released.
When director Franc Roddam first met Pete Townshend, Townshend brought with him tapes of orchestral arrangements of the score that he had produced, assuming that the film would be made in the style of a 'rock opera' in the same way Ken Russell had made Tommy (1975). Roddam explained he wanted to do the complete opposite and make it much more realistic in tone and style. Townshend put the tapes away and never mentioned them again.
John Lydon (the former Johnny Rotten) was originally approached for the role of Jimmy and even screen-tested for the role. However, the distributors refused to insure him for the role and he was replaced.
The pinball machine that Jimmy (Phil Daniels) plays is Buckaroo manufactured by Gottlieb 1965. This is the same machine played by Elton John in Tommy (1975).
While regarded as multiple 'goofs' the reason numerous cars, vehicles, members of the public and shop fronts, shown aren't in the proper time period was down to purely practical and logistical reasons. It simply wasn't realistic to arrange to close roads, (including busy high streets in the daytime) and to dress them all with period appropriate cars and extras as pedestrians and shop fronts. There was also the prohibitive cost of closing roads, which needed local council and police co-operation and approval, which would have forced the limited budget up. In addition by 1979, there were strict laws regarding crash helmets on public roads and as none of the main cast could be doubled by stunt performers, gaining the necessary insurance for these scenes would have been extremely difficult and prohibitively expensive. In the end the producers simply had to compromise and accept that some scenes would inevitably look anachronistic and to shoot many scenes at night or on quieter roads, when there was less traffic and people about and the police were less likely to be around.