Spinal Tap (band)
Encyclopedia
Spinal Tap is a parody
heavy metal
band that first appeared on a failed 1979 ABC TV sketch comedy pilot called "The T.V. Show", starring Rob Reiner
. The sketch, actually a mock promotional video for the song "Rock and Roll Nightmare", was written by Reiner and the band, and included songwriter/performer Loudon Wainwright III
on keyboards. Later the band became the fictional subject of the 1984
rockumentary
/mockumentary
film This Is Spinal Tap
. The band members are portrayed by Michael McKean
(as David St. Hubbins
), Christopher Guest
(as Nigel Tufnel
) and Harry Shearer
(as Derek Smalls
).
This Is Spinal Tap was accompanied by a soundtrack album
of the same name. In the years since the film was made, the actors who portrayed the band members have played concerts and released music under the Spinal Tap name.
Although the band is shown within the film as hailing from the United Kingdom
, all the actors that play the band members were actually born in the United States, though Christopher Guest
was raised in (and splits his time between) both countries, has dual citizenship, and a title of nobility: Baron Haden-Guest.
Guest, McKean, and Shearer toured in the U.S. in and performed as Spinal Tap in a "One Night Only World Tour" on 30 June 2009 at Wembley Arena
in London, three days after playing the Glastonbury Festival
. Support at Wembley Arena came from the same trio's fictitious folk music band The Folksmen
.
Spinal Tap's fictional history includes a succession of drummers, all of whom are said to have died in strange circumstances: one in a "bizarre gardening accident," another "choked on vomit," (whether his own or someone else's is not known) and two from "spontaneous human combustion
" onstage. Additionally, it is claimed that police described one of the deaths as "a mystery better left unsolved".
for Break Like the Wind
, an album produced in part by T-Bone Burnett
, an accomplished musician
and record producer
. The album was accompanied by a promotional audition for a new drummer attended by Stephen Perkins
of Jane's Addiction
, Gina Schock
of The Go-Go's
, and Mick Fleetwood
of Fleetwood Mac
, who auditioned in a fireproof suit. A promotional concert tour followed, which included an appearance at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
, where they performed "The Majesty of Rock", a song they dedicated to Mercury
and released as a single. The band also released the single "Bitch School."
On July 1, 1992, Tap crossed 5 time zones for three performances in St. John's, Newfoundland, Barrie, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia for Much Music and Molson's Great Canadian Party. For each performance of "Stonehenge", the miniature monument prop was delivered on stage in a courier envelope.
In 2000 the band launched a web site named "Tapster" where their song "Back from the Dead" was made available for download. Tapster was a parody of Napster
, a peer-to-peer file sharing network.
In 2001, the band "reunited" for the nine-city "Back from the Dead Tour" that began on June 1 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California
. The tour included a show at Carnegie Hall
in New York City
and ended in Montreal
in mid-July at the Just for Laughs
festival. The opening act for some of these shows were The Folksmen, the folk trio seen in the film A Mighty Wind
, and also performed by Guest, McKean and Shearer.
In 2007, Tap reunited again, this time to help combat global warming
. "They're not that environmentally conscious, but they've heard of global warming," said Marty DeBergi. "Nigel thought it was just because he was wearing too much clothing – that if he just took his jacket off it would be cooler." This reunion also included the release of a new song called "Warmer Than Hell". The band played on the London leg
of the SOS
/Live Earth
concert series, and Rob Reiner
has directed a short film (entitled Spinal Tap) which was released on the Live Earth website on 27 April. The film reveals that Nigel Tufnel is now working as a farm hand looking after miniature horses. He plans to race them. David St Hubbins is currently working as a Hip-Hop producer and Derek Smalls is in rehab for being addicted to the Internet.
A new album, Back from the Dead, was released on June 16, 2009. The album consists mostly of re-recordings of songs from the original film's soundtrack, as they would have sounded had they really existed and been recorded in a studio.
On April 6, 2009 the band announced a one-date "world tour," performing at London's Wembley Arena on June 30, 2009. Support on this night came from The Folksmen. The band unexpectedly also self confirmed for Glastonbury Festival 2009 during an online interview on 8 May 2009 in the Philadelphia daily news following a "Unwigged and Unplugged" show in the city.
in the Spring of 1984. Barry Bostwick
was the host. At this time producer Dick Ebersol
approached Shearer, Guest and McKean to join the cast. Shearer and Guest accepted. (McKean would not join until ten years later, by which time original producer Lorne Michaels was back at the show's helm.) Shearer's stint on SNL the following season—his second, the first having been the 1979–80 season—was to be short-lived, following creative disputes with the show's management. Shearer has said that when Ebersol made the offer during the Spinal Tap guest appearance "I didn't realize that guests were treated better than cast members."
In 1985, at the invitation of Ronnie James Dio
, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer took part in the heavy metal benefit project Hear 'n Aid
, to raise money for Ethiopian refugees. McKean and Shearer met dozens of real life metal stars, many of whom were huge fans of Spinal Tap. The musicians greatly enjoyed meeting McKean and Shearer and sharing their own stories of disastrous gigs and malfunctioning special effects.
As part of the promotion surrounding Break Like the Wind, Spinal Tap was portrayed in "The Otto Show
" episode of the animated series The Simpsons
, for which Shearer is a principal voice actor. The Simpsons follows the approach of the original film by presenting the group as if they were a real group. During the disastrous performance, a massive devil balloon on the stage doesn't inflate properly, and Nigel is temporarily blinded by lasers. Later in the episode their tour bus is accidentally pushed off a cliff due to Otto's
reckless driving.
On July 1, 1992, as part of Much-Music's Canada Day 'Great Canadian Party' festival, Spinal Tap completed an unprecedented tour of Canada in less than 24 hours. Jetting across 5 time-zones, the band played St John's, Newfoundland, Barrie, Ontario, and Vancouver, British Columbia. That evening, during a performance of 'Stonehenge', Tap received their signature, triptych set-piece via Canada Post in a small, bubble-wrap envelope that Derek Smalls signed for onstage. Bemused, Smalls tore open the packaging, and revealed to the cheering crowd the prop which looked to be half the size of the original 18 inch Stonehenge rock from the film.
In 1993, Nigel Tufnel appeared in the rockumentary
Joe Satriani
: The Satch Tapes.
In 1994, The Return of Spinal Tap was released on video; most of this was live material from a 1992 performance at the Royal Albert Hall
, but it also included some interviews and follow-up on the band members.
In 2000, while promoting Tapster.com, Spinal Tap appeared and performed on the short-lived series VH1 The List and appeared on the Late Show.
In 2006, Nigel Tufnel appeared in a Volkswagen
TV commercial highlighting their offer of a free, exclusive First Act
guitar with the purchase of qualifying automobiles. The guitar features knobs and inlays with the Volkswagen logo and pre-amps that allow it to be played through the car's stereo system. Also in 2006, the song "Gimme Some Money" was used in a TV commercial for OPEN from American Express
, "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" appeared in Harmonix's video game Guitar Hero 2 and "Christmas with the Devil" appeared in BBC One
promo spots for the network's Christmas program.
In 2007, while accepting an award from the BBC Two
program The Culture Show
, Christopher Guest broke into Nigel Tufnel, and considered what his wife and kids would make of the Mark Kermode
shaped award. This segment of the show has been added to YouTube.
On July 7, 2007 Spinal Tap played at Wembley Stadium
in London along with many major bands and groups as part of Live Earth
, a Climate Change
awareness concert. Their set included a new song written for the occasion, "Warmer Than Hell". During their final number, the song "Big Bottom", St. Hubbins and Tufnel both picked up basses. Spinal Tap was also joined by "every bass player in the known universe", including Nate Mendel
(of the Foo Fighters
); Robert Trujillo
, Kirk Hammett
, and James Hetfield
(Metallica
); Gordon Moakes
(Bloc Party
); and Adam Yauch
(a.k.a. MCA), of Beastie Boys
. They were also joined on back-up vocals by Annette O'Toole
, Michael McKean's wife.
In May 2008, Nigel Tufnel appeared in the National Geographic show Stonehenge Decoded, expounding his nonsensical theories about Stonehenge and who was responsible for building it. His claims to have invented "decoder" experiments capable of unveiling the true purpose of the monument are, as yet, unproven.
McKean, Guest and Shearer have made several appearances as their alter egos The Folksmen, including the television shows Saturday Night Live
and Mad TV
and the film The Return of Spinal Tap.
On March 2, 2009, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer held a press conference at the House of Blues in Los Angeles to announce their forthcoming album of new and old Spinal Tap songs, plus a 2009 "Unwigged & Unplugged" tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film, This Is Spinal Tap. According to an L.A. Weekly report, when MTV News' Kurt Loder asked the trio "if they had plans beyond an album and tour, Shearer answered, 'We're gonna bomb Iran.'" The tour also features songs from the Folksmen and others from throughout the trio's career.
On April 1, 2009, Guest, McKean and Shearer played on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as the musical guest.
On June 15, 2009, Spinal Tap performed on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
as the musical guest.
On Saturday June 27, 2009, Spinal Tap performed on the main stage at the Glastonbury Festival with Jarvis Cocker guesting on bass during "Big Bottom", and also inviting Jamie Cullum
on stage to play keyboards. One of the unexpected highlights for Tap fans was a rendition of the newly-written overture from the mythical Jack the Ripper musical Saucy Jack. Also on the bill were Kasabian, Crosby Stills & Nash and Bruce Springsteen.
On Tuesday 30 June 2009 Spinal Tap performed at Wembley Arena with The Folksmen
as support. A variety of special guests featured including, Keith Emerson
(joined them on organ/keyboards - which he later destroyed during the show), Justin Hawkins from the Darkness and others.
On Monday 27 July 2009 the band performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
as the musical guest announcing their retirement and shortly thereafter their comeback.
The next day, Tuesday 28 July 2009, they were the musical guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
On August 25, 2009, Spinal Tap released a seven minute short film titled Stonehenge: ‘Tis a Magical Place celebrating their 25th anniversary. The video is distributed through INgrooves
and is available only on iTunes
. The short film depicts the founding members of Spinal Tap making a pilgrimage to Stonehenge for the first time.
band The Folksmen
, who first appeared on the November 3, 1984 episode of Saturday Night Live. Some Spinal Tap concert appearances in the 1980s and beyond have even featured Guest, McKean and Shearer opening for themselves as The Folksmen. The folk trio is also featured prominently in the 2003 Christopher Guest-directed "mockumentary" film A Mighty Wind
.
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band that first appeared on a failed 1979 ABC TV sketch comedy pilot called "The T.V. Show", starring Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
. The sketch, actually a mock promotional video for the song "Rock and Roll Nightmare", was written by Reiner and the band, and included songwriter/performer Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Snowden Wainwright III is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor. He is the father of musicians Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, brother of Sloan Wainwright, and the former husband of the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle.To...
on keyboards. Later the band became the fictional subject of the 1984
1984 in film
-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
rockumentary
Rockumentary
The term rockumentary is a neologism denoting a documentary about rock music or its musicians. The term was used by Bill Drake in the 1969 History of Rock & Roll radio broadcast, and by Rob Reiner in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap....
/mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
film This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
. The band members are portrayed by Michael McKean
Michael McKean
Michael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, writer, composer and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend, Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski, on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; and for his work in the Christopher Guest ensemble films, particularly as David St...
(as David St. Hubbins
David St. Hubbins
David Ivor St. Hubbins is a fictional character who is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the mock rock band Spinal Tap, which was the subject of "rockumentary" film This Is Spinal Tap . David is played by actor Michael McKean, who improvised the role through the whole film...
), Christopher Guest
Christopher Guest
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
(as Nigel Tufnel
Nigel Tufnel
Nigel Tufnel was the lead guitarist of the rock band Spinal Tap featured in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap. He was played by actor Christopher Guest.-Character biography:...
) and Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
(as Derek Smalls
Derek Smalls
Derek Albion Smalls is a fictional character played by Harry Shearer. He is the bassist for mock British heavy metal group Spinal Tap. He co-starred in the hit spoof rockumentary This is Spinal Tap with guitarists Nigel Tufnel and David St...
).
This Is Spinal Tap was accompanied by a soundtrack album
This Is Spinal Tap (album)
This Is Spinal Tap was the soundtrack to the film This Is Spinal Tap, released in 1984. It was re-released in 2000 with lyrics and two versions of "Christmas with the Devil" as bonus tracks...
of the same name. In the years since the film was made, the actors who portrayed the band members have played concerts and released music under the Spinal Tap name.
Although the band is shown within the film as hailing from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, all the actors that play the band members were actually born in the United States, though Christopher Guest
Christopher Guest
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
was raised in (and splits his time between) both countries, has dual citizenship, and a title of nobility: Baron Haden-Guest.
Guest, McKean, and Shearer toured in the U.S. in and performed as Spinal Tap in a "One Night Only World Tour" on 30 June 2009 at Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
in London, three days after playing the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
. Support at Wembley Arena came from the same trio's fictitious folk music band The Folksmen
The Folksmen
The Folksmen are a fictitious American folk music trio, conceived and performed by actors/comedians/musicians Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer. Originally created in 1984 for a TV comedy sketch, the Folksmen have subsequently maintained an intermittent public presence for more...
.
Background
Fans of Spinal Tap have assembled details about the band based on fictional film, albums, concerts and related promotional material, including a discography and a list of the band's former members.Spinal Tap's fictional history includes a succession of drummers, all of whom are said to have died in strange circumstances: one in a "bizarre gardening accident," another "choked on vomit," (whether his own or someone else's is not known) and two from "spontaneous human combustion
Spontaneous human combustion
Spontaneous human combustion describes reported cases of the burning of a living human body without an apparent external source of ignition...
" onstage. Additionally, it is claimed that police described one of the deaths as "a mystery better left unsolved".
Reunited
Spinal Tap "reunited" in 19921992 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992.-January–February:*January 11**Nirvana's Nevermind album goes to #1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, establishing the widespread popularity of the Grunge movement of the 1990s....
for Break Like the Wind
Break Like the Wind
Break Like the Wind is an album by the semi-fictional band Spinal Tap. The title, from the album's title track, is a double entendre that combines and confuses the idiom "make like the wind [and blow]" with "break[ing] wind" , and samples the classical guitar piece Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo...
, an album produced in part by T-Bone Burnett
T-Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry Burnett , widely known as T-Bone Burnett, is an American musician, songwriter, and soundtrack and record producer.He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band on the Rolling Thunder Revue...
, an accomplished musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. The album was accompanied by a promotional audition for a new drummer attended by Stephen Perkins
Stephen Perkins
Stephen Andrew Perkins is an American musician and songwriter. A drummer and percussionist, he currently plays with Jane's Addiction and Hellflower....
of Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell , Dave Navarro , Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins . After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times...
, Gina Schock
Gina Schock
Gina Schock is best known as the drummer in the all-girl punk/pop band The Go-Go's....
of The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
, and Mick Fleetwood
Mick Fleetwood
Michael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood is a British musician and actor best known for his role as the drummer and namesake of the blues/rock and roll band Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of John McVie, was the inspiration for the name of the originally Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac...
of Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
, who auditioned in a fireproof suit. A promotional concert tour followed, which included an appearance at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was an open-air concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992 at London's Wembley Stadium, for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis and broadcast live on television and radio to 76 countries around the...
, where they performed "The Majesty of Rock", a song they dedicated to Mercury
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
and released as a single. The band also released the single "Bitch School."
On July 1, 1992, Tap crossed 5 time zones for three performances in St. John's, Newfoundland, Barrie, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia for Much Music and Molson's Great Canadian Party. For each performance of "Stonehenge", the miniature monument prop was delivered on stage in a courier envelope.
In 2000 the band launched a web site named "Tapster" where their song "Back from the Dead" was made available for download. Tapster was a parody of Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
, a peer-to-peer file sharing network.
In 2001, the band "reunited" for the nine-city "Back from the Dead Tour" that began on June 1 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The tour included a show at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and ended in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
in mid-July at the Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1983. It is the largest international comedy festival in the world.- Information :...
festival. The opening act for some of these shows were The Folksmen, the folk trio seen in the film A Mighty Wind
A Mighty Wind
A Mighty Wind is a 2003 mockumentary about a folk music reunion concert in which three folk bands must reunite for a television performance for the first time in decades. It was directed by Christopher Guest...
, and also performed by Guest, McKean and Shearer.
In 2007, Tap reunited again, this time to help combat global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. "They're not that environmentally conscious, but they've heard of global warming," said Marty DeBergi. "Nigel thought it was just because he was wearing too much clothing – that if he just took his jacket off it would be cooler." This reunion also included the release of a new song called "Warmer Than Hell". The band played on the London leg
Live Earth concert, London
The Live Earth concert in the United Kingdom was held at Wembley Stadium, London, England on 7 July 2007.-Running order:In order of appearance :...
of the SOS
Save Our Selves
Save Our Selves is the name of a group of activists organized to raise awareness of global climate change. They are the organizers of the July 2007 Live Earth concerts....
/Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
concert series, and Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
has directed a short film (entitled Spinal Tap) which was released on the Live Earth website on 27 April. The film reveals that Nigel Tufnel is now working as a farm hand looking after miniature horses. He plans to race them. David St Hubbins is currently working as a Hip-Hop producer and Derek Smalls is in rehab for being addicted to the Internet.
A new album, Back from the Dead, was released on June 16, 2009. The album consists mostly of re-recordings of songs from the original film's soundtrack, as they would have sounded had they really existed and been recorded in a studio.
On April 6, 2009 the band announced a one-date "world tour," performing at London's Wembley Arena on June 30, 2009. Support on this night came from The Folksmen. The band unexpectedly also self confirmed for Glastonbury Festival 2009 during an online interview on 8 May 2009 in the Philadelphia daily news following a "Unwigged and Unplugged" show in the city.
Other appearances
The band appeared as the musical guests on an episode of Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in the Spring of 1984. Barry Bostwick
Barry Bostwick
Barry Knapp Bostwick is an American actor and singer. He is known for playing Brad Majors in the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, replacing Peter Scolari as Mr. Tyler in the sitcom What I Like About You, and playing mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom Spin City...
was the host. At this time producer Dick Ebersol
Dick Ebersol
Duncan "Dick" Ebersol is an American television executive and a senior adviser for . He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large scale television events such as the Olympic Games and National Football League broadcasts....
approached Shearer, Guest and McKean to join the cast. Shearer and Guest accepted. (McKean would not join until ten years later, by which time original producer Lorne Michaels was back at the show's helm.) Shearer's stint on SNL the following season—his second, the first having been the 1979–80 season—was to be short-lived, following creative disputes with the show's management. Shearer has said that when Ebersol made the offer during the Spinal Tap guest appearance "I didn't realize that guests were treated better than cast members."
In 1985, at the invitation of Ronnie James Dio
Ronnie James Dio
Ronald James Padavona , better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, which means God in Italian. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser...
, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer took part in the heavy metal benefit project Hear 'n Aid
Hear 'n Aid
Hear 'n Aid was a one-off project of the heavy metal/hard rock scene of the 1980s to raise money for famine relief in Africa. According to Ronnie James Dio's MySpace profile, the project raised $1 million within a year.- Background :...
, to raise money for Ethiopian refugees. McKean and Shearer met dozens of real life metal stars, many of whom were huge fans of Spinal Tap. The musicians greatly enjoyed meeting McKean and Shearer and sharing their own stories of disastrous gigs and malfunctioning special effects.
As part of the promotion surrounding Break Like the Wind, Spinal Tap was portrayed in "The Otto Show
The Otto Show
"The Otto Show" is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons third season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 23, 1992. In the episode, Bart decides that he wants to become a rock star after attending a Spinal Tap concert, so Homer and Marge buy him a guitar...
" episode of the animated series The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, for which Shearer is a principal voice actor. The Simpsons follows the approach of the original film by presenting the group as if they were a real group. During the disastrous performance, a massive devil balloon on the stage doesn't inflate properly, and Nigel is temporarily blinded by lasers. Later in the episode their tour bus is accidentally pushed off a cliff due to Otto's
Otto Mann
Otto Mann is a fictional character on the animated TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the school bus driver for Springfield Elementary School...
reckless driving.
On July 1, 1992, as part of Much-Music's Canada Day 'Great Canadian Party' festival, Spinal Tap completed an unprecedented tour of Canada in less than 24 hours. Jetting across 5 time-zones, the band played St John's, Newfoundland, Barrie, Ontario, and Vancouver, British Columbia. That evening, during a performance of 'Stonehenge', Tap received their signature, triptych set-piece via Canada Post in a small, bubble-wrap envelope that Derek Smalls signed for onstage. Bemused, Smalls tore open the packaging, and revealed to the cheering crowd the prop which looked to be half the size of the original 18 inch Stonehenge rock from the film.
In 1993, Nigel Tufnel appeared in the rockumentary
Rockumentary
The term rockumentary is a neologism denoting a documentary about rock music or its musicians. The term was used by Bill Drake in the 1969 History of Rock & Roll radio broadcast, and by Rob Reiner in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap....
Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani
Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
: The Satch Tapes.
In 1994, The Return of Spinal Tap was released on video; most of this was live material from a 1992 performance at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, but it also included some interviews and follow-up on the band members.
In 2000, while promoting Tapster.com, Spinal Tap appeared and performed on the short-lived series VH1 The List and appeared on the Late Show.
In 2006, Nigel Tufnel appeared in a Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
TV commercial highlighting their offer of a free, exclusive First Act
First Act
First Act is a musical instrument manufacturer, which producers guitars, bass guitars, guitar and bass accessories, drum sets, percussion instruments, amplifiers as well as student-line clarinets, saxophones, and trumpets...
guitar with the purchase of qualifying automobiles. The guitar features knobs and inlays with the Volkswagen logo and pre-amps that allow it to be played through the car's stereo system. Also in 2006, the song "Gimme Some Money" was used in a TV commercial for OPEN from American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
, "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" appeared in Harmonix's video game Guitar Hero 2 and "Christmas with the Devil" appeared in BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
promo spots for the network's Christmas program.
In 2007, while accepting an award from the BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
program The Culture Show
The Culture Show
The Culture Show is a weekly BBC Two Arts magazine programme. It is broadcast in the UK on Thursday nights at 7pm, focusing on the best of the week's arts and culture news, covering books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts...
, Christopher Guest broke into Nigel Tufnel, and considered what his wife and kids would make of the Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician and a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He contributes to Sight and Sound magazine, The Observer newspaper and BBC Radio 5 Live, where he presents Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews with Simon Mayo on Friday afternoons...
shaped award. This segment of the show has been added to YouTube.
On July 7, 2007 Spinal Tap played at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
in London along with many major bands and groups as part of Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
, a Climate Change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
awareness concert. Their set included a new song written for the occasion, "Warmer Than Hell". During their final number, the song "Big Bottom", St. Hubbins and Tufnel both picked up basses. Spinal Tap was also joined by "every bass player in the known universe", including Nate Mendel
Nate Mendel
Nathan Gregor "Nate" Mendel is an American bassist for the bands Foo Fighters, The Jealous Sound, Sunny Day Real Estate, and The Fire Theft.-Biography:...
(of the Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
); Robert Trujillo
Robert Trujillo
Robert Trujillo is an American bassist who currently plays bass in Metallica. He has also played in Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, Black Label Society, and with Jerry Cantrell and Ozzy Osbourne.-Career:...
, Kirk Hammett
Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stones list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
, and James Hetfield
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
(Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
); Gordon Moakes
Gordon Moakes
Gordon Peter Moakes is an English multi-instrumentalist and backing vocalist for English indie rock band Bloc Party.-Bloc Party:...
(Bloc Party
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are a British Indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke , Russell Lissack , Gordon Moakes , and Matt Tong...
); and Adam Yauch
Adam Yauch
Adam Nathaniel Yauch , , is a founding member of hip hop trio the Beastie Boys. He is frequently known by his stage name, MCA, and other pseudonyms such as Nathanial Hörnblowér.-Early life:...
(a.k.a. MCA), of Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
. They were also joined on back-up vocals by Annette O'Toole
Annette O'Toole
Annette O'Toole is an American actress, dancer, and singer-songwriter. She is most recently known for portraying Martha Kent, the mother of Clark Kent on the television series Smallville.-Early life and career:...
, Michael McKean's wife.
In May 2008, Nigel Tufnel appeared in the National Geographic show Stonehenge Decoded, expounding his nonsensical theories about Stonehenge and who was responsible for building it. His claims to have invented "decoder" experiments capable of unveiling the true purpose of the monument are, as yet, unproven.
McKean, Guest and Shearer have made several appearances as their alter egos The Folksmen, including the television shows Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
and Mad TV
Mad TV
Mad TV may refer to:*MADtv, an American sketch comedy television series based on Mad magazine*Mad TV , a 1991 German television station management simulation game*MAD TV , a Greek music channel-See also:...
and the film The Return of Spinal Tap.
On March 2, 2009, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer held a press conference at the House of Blues in Los Angeles to announce their forthcoming album of new and old Spinal Tap songs, plus a 2009 "Unwigged & Unplugged" tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film, This Is Spinal Tap. According to an L.A. Weekly report, when MTV News' Kurt Loder asked the trio "if they had plans beyond an album and tour, Shearer answered, 'We're gonna bomb Iran.'" The tour also features songs from the Folksmen and others from throughout the trio's career.
On April 1, 2009, Guest, McKean and Shearer played on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as the musical guest.
On June 15, 2009, Spinal Tap performed on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009 to January 22, 2010 as part of NBC's long-running Tonight Show franchise...
as the musical guest.
On Saturday June 27, 2009, Spinal Tap performed on the main stage at the Glastonbury Festival with Jarvis Cocker guesting on bass during "Big Bottom", and also inviting Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...
on stage to play keyboards. One of the unexpected highlights for Tap fans was a rendition of the newly-written overture from the mythical Jack the Ripper musical Saucy Jack. Also on the bill were Kasabian, Crosby Stills & Nash and Bruce Springsteen.
On Tuesday 30 June 2009 Spinal Tap performed at Wembley Arena with The Folksmen
The Folksmen
The Folksmen are a fictitious American folk music trio, conceived and performed by actors/comedians/musicians Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer. Originally created in 1984 for a TV comedy sketch, the Folksmen have subsequently maintained an intermittent public presence for more...
as support. A variety of special guests featured including, Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
(joined them on organ/keyboards - which he later destroyed during the show), Justin Hawkins from the Darkness and others.
On Monday 27 July 2009 the band performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
as the musical guest announcing their retirement and shortly thereafter their comeback.
The next day, Tuesday 28 July 2009, they were the musical guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
On August 25, 2009, Spinal Tap released a seven minute short film titled Stonehenge: ‘Tis a Magical Place celebrating their 25th anniversary. The video is distributed through INgrooves
INgrooves
Ingrooves is a San Francisco-based, global digital distribution and music licensing company that provides various distribution, marketing, publishing and administrative services for selected independent record labels and recording artists, film and video companies, print media publishers and...
and is available only on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. The short film depicts the founding members of Spinal Tap making a pilgrimage to Stonehenge for the first time.
The Folksmen
The same trio of actors (Guest, McKean and Shearer) also portray the fictitious American folk music revivalAmerican folk music revival
The American folk music revival was a phenomenon in the United States that began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Richard Dyer-Bennett, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, John Jacob...
band The Folksmen
The Folksmen
The Folksmen are a fictitious American folk music trio, conceived and performed by actors/comedians/musicians Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer. Originally created in 1984 for a TV comedy sketch, the Folksmen have subsequently maintained an intermittent public presence for more...
, who first appeared on the November 3, 1984 episode of Saturday Night Live. Some Spinal Tap concert appearances in the 1980s and beyond have even featured Guest, McKean and Shearer opening for themselves as The Folksmen. The folk trio is also featured prominently in the 2003 Christopher Guest-directed "mockumentary" film A Mighty Wind
A Mighty Wind
A Mighty Wind is a 2003 mockumentary about a folk music reunion concert in which three folk bands must reunite for a television performance for the first time in decades. It was directed by Christopher Guest...
.
Current members
- David St. HubbinsDavid St. HubbinsDavid Ivor St. Hubbins is a fictional character who is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the mock rock band Spinal Tap, which was the subject of "rockumentary" film This Is Spinal Tap . David is played by actor Michael McKean, who improvised the role through the whole film...
( by Michael McKeanMichael McKeanMichael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, writer, composer and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend, Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski, on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; and for his work in the Christopher Guest ensemble films, particularly as David St...
) – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar (1964–present) - Nigel TufnelNigel TufnelNigel Tufnel was the lead guitarist of the rock band Spinal Tap featured in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap. He was played by actor Christopher Guest.-Character biography:...
(portrayed by Christopher GuestChristopher GuestChristopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
) – lead guitar, backing & lead vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, violin, violin bow, harmonica, keyboards, piano (1964–1982, 1982–present) - Derek SmallsDerek SmallsDerek Albion Smalls is a fictional character played by Harry Shearer. He is the bassist for mock British heavy metal group Spinal Tap. He co-starred in the hit spoof rockumentary This is Spinal Tap with guitarists Nigel Tufnel and David St...
(portrayed by Harry ShearerHarry ShearerHarry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
) – bass guitar, backing & lead vocals, acoustic bass guitar (1967–present) - "Caucasian" Jeffery VanstonC. J. VanstonC. J. Vanston is an American film composer, record producer, songwriter, and keyboardist, based in Hollywood, California. He was born in Denver, Colorado, the son of Bonnie L...
(portrayed by C. J. VanstonC. J. VanstonC. J. Vanston is an American film composer, record producer, songwriter, and keyboardist, based in Hollywood, California. He was born in Denver, Colorado, the son of Bonnie L...
) – keyboards, backing vocals - Gregg BissonetteGregg BissonetteGregg Bissonette, is an American drummer. Gregg was born in a family of musicians. His father Bud Bissonette plays drums, his mother Phyllis plays piano and vibraphone, and brother Matt Bissonette plays bass guitar. Gregg started learning to play the drums at age 5 from his father...
(as himself) – drums, percussion
Former members
This list contains both canonical fictional former members of Spinal Tap and celebrities that the band have played live with.Guitar, backing vocals
- "Ricky from San Francisco" (1982)
- Rhyan Gordon (1992) also played baseball bat
Keyboards, backing vocals
- Jan van der Kvelk (1965)
- Tony Brixton (1965–1966)
- Nick Wax (1965–1966)
- Dicky Laine (1965–1966)
- Denny Upham (1966–1968)
- Ross MacLochness (1974–1975)
- Viv Savage (David Kaff) (1975–198?) also played keyboard bass
- John SinclairJohn Sinclair (musician)John Sinclair is a keyboardist who has played for bands such as The Babys, Heavy Metal Kids, Savoy Brown, The Cult, but is probably best known for his time in Uriah Heep and playing for Ozzy Osbourne's band...
(1982) - Jon CarinJon CarinJon Carin is a producer, artist and musician best known for his association with Pink Floyd, and more specifically its guitarist David Gilmour and former member Roger Waters over the last twenty five years. In the early eighties, he gained fame as the front-man for the band Industry...
(Amnesty International performance in 1991) - Jamie CullumJamie CullumJamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...
(Glastonbury 2009)
Bass guitar, backing vocals
- Ronnie Pudding (1964–1967)
- Danny Jarman (1967)
- David GilmourDavid GilmourDavid Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
(Amnesty International performance in 1991) - Tim RenwickTim RenwickTimothy John Pearson 'Tim' Renwick is an English guitarist.-Career:Renwick started playing guitar in the 1960s. He performed with many bands, including Little Women, Wages of Sin, Junior's Eyes, The Hype, Quiver and Lazy Racer...
(Amnesty International performance in 1991) - Pino PalladinoPino PalladinoPino Palladino is a Welsh bass guitarist who gained fame playing primarily rock and roll, blues rock, and rhythm and blues music, although he has been lauded for his ability to play most genres of popular music, including jazz, neo soul, and funk...
(Amnesty International performance in 1991) - Cody Wheaton
- Jarvis CockerJarvis CockerJarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician and frontman for the band Pulp. Through his work with the band, Cocker became a figurehead of the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s. Following Pulp's hiatus Cocker has led a successful solo career...
(Glastonbury 2009)
Drums, percussion
- Actual
- Gary WallisGary WallisGary Wallis is a drummer/percussionist trained at the London Symphony School of Music. He is known for having a massive percussion kit featuring many electronic drums and percussion. He is best known as the secondary percussionist for Pink Floyd in the post-Waters era for live performances...
(Amnesty International performance in 1991) (Wallis pretended to explode at the end of the performance) - Jody LinscottJody LinscottJody Linscott is an American session musician and percussionist who resides in England and maintains an extended discography. She has two daughters and has written two children's books which were published by Doubleday, both edited by Jackie Onassis...
(Amnesty International performance in 1991) - Mick FleetwoodMick FleetwoodMichael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood is a British musician and actor best known for his role as the drummer and namesake of the blues/rock and roll band Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of John McVie, was the inspiration for the name of the originally Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac...
(2000) - Todd SuchermanTodd SuchermanTodd Sucherman is a drummer who is best known for playing with Styx since 1996.Sucherman grew up in a musical family and followed in his father's footsteps by playing the drums. His father, Arnold J. Sucherman, was a doctor by day and a drummer by night, playing in the house band at the famed Chez...
(2009) - Deceased
- John "Stumpy" Pepys (1964–1966) (Portrayed by Ed Begley, Jr.Ed Begley, Jr.Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He is best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, on the television series St...
in the video "Give Me Some Money") Died in a bizarre gardening accident, that the authorities said was "best left unsolved". - Eric "Stumpy Joe" Childs (1966–1967) Choked on vomit of unknown origin, other than his own, because "[y]ou can't really dust for vomit."
- Peter "James" Bond (1967–1977) (Portrayed by Russ KunkelRuss KunkelRussell Kunkel , also known as Russ Kunkel, is an American drummer and producer who has worked as a session musician with a number of well-known artists.Kunkel was born in Pittsburgh, PA...
whose character was mistakenly credited as the name of the previous drummer) Spontaneously combustedSpontaneous combustionSpontaneous combustion is the self-ignition of a mass, for example, a pile of oily rags. Allegedly, humans can also ignite and burn without an obvious cause; this phenomenon is known as spontaneous human combustion....
. - Mick Shrimpton (1977–1982) (Portrayed by R. J. "Ric" ParnellRic ParnellRichard "Ric" J. Parnell is an English rock drummer. Although notable for his work in the band Atomic Rooster, he probably best known for his role as the ill-fated drummer Mick Shrimpton in the film This is Spinal Tap....
) Exploded onstage. - Joe "Mama" Besser (1982) (Portrayed by Fred Asparagus). Claimed he "couldn't take this 4/4 shit"; according to an MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
interview with Spinal Tap in November 1991, he disappeared along with the equipment during their JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese tour. He is either dead or playing jazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. - Richard "Ric" Shrimpton (1982–1999) Allegedly sold his dialysisDialysisIn medicine, dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is primarily used to provide an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with renal failure...
machine for drugs; presumed dead. - Sammy "Stumpy" Bateman (1999-2001) Died trying to jump over a tank full of sharks while on a tricycle in a freak show.
- Scott "Skippy" Scuffleton (2001–2007) Fate unknown.
- Chris "Poppa" Cadeau (2007–2008) Eaten by his pet python Cleopatra.
- Plus 9 other drummers at various times (Probably between 1970 and 1981) all of whom are dead.
Tambourine
- Jeanine Pettibone (1982)
- Stewart Ikin (1982) - Backing Tambourine-Reports of his death (see above) exaggerated. Unless you count leaving the band to join Creme Brulee.
- Oliver Ridout (Amnesty International performance in 1991)
Session members
- Dweezil ZappaDweezil ZappaDweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor.-Early life:Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of musician Frank Zappa and Adelaide Gail Sloatman, who worked in business. He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon, younger sister Diva and younger...
– guitar on "Diva Fever" - CherCherCher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
– vocals on "Just Begin Again" - SlashSlash (musician)Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
– guitar on "Break Like the Wind" - Steve LukatherSteve LukatherSteve "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known for his work with the rock band Toto. Lukather has played with many artists, released several solo albums, and worked as a composer, arranger, and session guitarist on more than 1,500 albums...
– guitar on "Break Like the Wind" - Joe SatrianiJoe SatrianiJoseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
– guitar on "Break Like the Wind" - Jeff BeckJeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
– guitar on "Break Like the Wind" - Timothy B. SchmitTimothy B. SchmitTimothy Bruce Schmit is an American musician and songwriter, best known for his work as bass guitar player and singer for Poco and the Eagles. Schmit has also worked for decades as a session musician and solo artist.-Early career:Raised in Sacramento, Schmit began playing in the folk music group...
– backing vocals on "Christmas with the Devil," "Cash on Delivery" - Steve VaiSteve VaiSteven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
– guitar on "Short And Sweet" - John MayerJohn MayerJohn Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
– guitar on "Short And Sweet" - Phil CollenPhil CollenPhilip Kenneth "Phil" Collen is the co-lead guitarist and one of the backing vocalists for English rock band Def Leppard. He joined the band in 1982 following the departure of Pete Willis.-Early years:...
– guitar on "Short And Sweet"
Fictional
- Spinal Tap Sings "(Listen to the) Flower People" and Other Favourites (1967)
- We Are All Flower People (1968)
- Brainhammer (1970)
- Nerve Damage (1971)
- Blood to Let (1972)
- Intravenus de Milo (1974)
- The Sun Never Sweats (1975)
- Bent for the Rent (1976)
- Tap Dancing (1976)
- Rock 'n' Roll Creation (referred to as The Gospel According to Spinal Tap in the film) (1977)
- Shark Sandwich (1980)
- Smell the GloveSmell the GloveSmell the Glove is the name of a fictional album by the mock heavy-metal band Spinal Tap in the movie This Is Spinal Tap. It was released by Polymer Records .-Cover sleeve art:...
(1982)
Actual
- This Is Spinal TapThis Is Spinal Tap (album)This Is Spinal Tap was the soundtrack to the film This Is Spinal Tap, released in 1984. It was re-released in 2000 with lyrics and two versions of "Christmas with the Devil" as bonus tracks...
(1984) U.S. #121 - Break Like the WindBreak Like the WindBreak Like the Wind is an album by the semi-fictional band Spinal Tap. The title, from the album's title track, is a double entendre that combines and confuses the idiom "make like the wind [and blow]" with "break[ing] wind" , and samples the classical guitar piece Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo...
(1992) U.S. #61 UK #51 - Back from the Dead (2009) U.S. #52
Fictional "compilations"
- The Incredible Flight of Icarus P. Anybody (1969)
- Heavy Metal Memories (1983)
Fictional
- "All the Way Home" (1961) - an unreleased demo
- "Gimme Some Money" (1965)
- "(Listen to The) Flower People" (1967)
- "Breakfast of Evil" (1969)
- "Silent but Deadly" (1969)
- "Big Bottom" (1970)
- "Swallow My Love" (1970)
- "Nerve Damage" (1971)
- "Blood to Let" (1972)
- "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" (1974)
- "Stonehenge" (1975)
- "Nice 'n' Stinky" (1975)
- "Heavy Duty" (1976)
- "Bent for the Rent" (1976)
- "Tap Dancing" (1976)
- "Rock 'n' Roll Creation" (1977)
- "Sex Farm" (1980)
- "No Place Like Nowhere" (1980)
- "Hell Hole" (1982)
Actual
- "Christmas with the Devil" / "Christmas with the Devil (Scratch Mix)" (1984)
- "Bitch School" / "Springtime" (1992) UK #35
- "The Majesty of Rock" (1992) UK #61
- "Back from the Dead" (2000)
- "Warmer Than Hell" (2007)
- "Saucy Jack" (2009) (released as free MP3 download from official website)
Fictional bootlegs
- Top Hit for Nows (1968)
- Audible Death (1969)
- Live at Budokan (1975)
- Openfaced Mako (1980)
- Got Thamesmen on Tap (unknown date)
- Maximum Tap (unknown date)
- It's a Dub World (unknown date)
Actual bootlegs
- Ultra Rare Tap, Volume 11 (unknown date)
- None More Black (unknown date — a three-CDR set)
- The Ultimate Rock 'n' Roll Creation (unknown date)
Fictional "unreleased material"
- Here's More Tap
- Flak Packet
- Lusty Lorry
- SEXX! (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
- Hernia
- Shark Sandwich
Fictional "unfinished/unknown"
- Nigel Tufnel's Trilogy in D-minor, including song with the working title "Lick My Love Pump"
- David St. Hubbins' / Derek Smalls' Saucy Jack, a musical based on the life of Jack the RipperJack the Ripper"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
- The title song from the musical was released in 2009 as a free MP3 download from the official Spinal Tap website
In popular culture
- The name of the band is rendered with an umlautUmlaut (diacritic)The diaeresis and the umlaut are diacritics that consist of two dots placed over a letter, most commonly a vowel. When that letter is an i or a j, the diacritic replaces the tittle: ï....
over the "n" and a dotless I, as a parody of the heavy metal umlautHeavy metal umlautA metal umlaut is a diaeresis that is sometimes used gratuitously or decoratively over letters in the names of hard rock or heavy metal bands—for example those of Mötley Crüe and Motörhead...
. Although an "" is not found in languages such as German, it does exist in the Jacaltec language of GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and the MalagasyMalagasy languageMalagasy is the national language of Madagascar, a member of the Austronesian family of languages. Most people in Madagascar speak it as a first language as do some people of Malagasy descent elsewhere.-History:...
tongue, where it represents a velar nasalVelar nasalThe velar nasal is the sound of ng in English sing. It is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is N....
consonant. - The MonksThe MonksMonks are a garage rock band, formed by American GIs who were based in Germany in the mid to late 1960s. They reunited in 1999 and have continued to play concerts, although no new studio recordings have been made...
' Black Monk TimeBlack Monk Time-CD bonus tracks:Key* Rep. = 1994 Repertoire Records reissue* IZ = 1996 Infinite Zero Archive/American Recordings reissue* Retr. = 2004 Retribution Records reissue...
, The Damned's Black Album, MetallicaMetallicaMetallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's MetallicaMetallica (album)Metallica is the self-titled fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. Mainly produced by Bob Rock, it was released on August 12, 1991 through Elektra Records to critical acclaim...
, UtopiaUtopiaUtopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
's OblivionOblivion (Utopia album)Oblivion is an album by the rock group Utopia, released in 1984.-Track listing:#"Itch in My Brain" – 4:30#"Love with a Thinker" – 3:15#"Bring Me My Longbow" – 3:18#"If I Didn't Try" – 4:10#"Too Much Water" – 4:47#"Maybe I Could Change" – 4:08...
, AC/DCAC/DCAC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
's Back in BlackBack in BlackBack in Black is an album by Australian rock band AC/DC. It is the seventh Australian and sixth internationally released studio album by the band....
, King CrimsonKing CrimsonKing Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
's EarthboundEarthbound (King Crimson album)Earthbound is a live album by the band King Crimson, released in 1972 as a budget record shortly after the line-up that recorded it had broken up...
, Jay-ZJay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
's The Black Album, PrincePrince (musician)Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
's The Black Album, The Velvet UndergroundThe Velvet UndergroundThe Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
's White Light/White HeatWhite Light/White HeatThe album briefly appeared on the Billboard 200, although only peaking at number 199. Despite its poor sales, the distorted, feedback-driven, and roughly recorded sound on White Light/White Heat became a notable influence on punk and experimental rock...
and Status Quo's Hello! are examples of (almost) all-black album covers. - Ozzy OsbourneOzzy OsbourneJohn Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
said he thought the band was real at first because the happenings in the film have occurred on some real tours. - A number of Spinal Tap's songs cover identical subjects to renowned songs by other bands. For example, "Gimme Some Money" is similar to the Beatles' cover of Barrett StrongBarrett StrongBarrett Strong is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best remembered for his work as a songwriter, particularly in association with producer Norman Whitfield.-His career:Strong was among the first artists signed to Berry...
's "Money (That's What I Want)Money (That's What I Want)"Money " is a 1959 hit single by Barrett Strong for the Tamla label, distributed nationally on Anna Records. The song was written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, and became the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise....
" (and its appearance in This Is Spinal Tap is a parody of the Beatles' famous appearance on The Ed Sullivan ShowThe Ed Sullivan ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
) and "Big Bottom" is similar to QueenQueen (band)Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
's "Fat Bottomed GirlsFat Bottomed Girls"Fat Bottomed Girls" is a song by the English rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, the track featured on their 1978 album Jazz, and also appears on the band's compilation album, Greatest Hits...
." The subtext is that Spinal Tap is so unoriginal they do not just imitate other bands' sounds, but their subject matter as well. "Big Bottom" features three bass guitars. - In the video game Brütal LegendBrütal LegendBrütal Legend is an action-adventure/real-time strategy game created by Double Fine Productions and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released during October 2009 in North America and Europe...
, the opening scene features a Stonehenge look alike that the main character, Eddie Riggs, has built. The lead singer and manager of the fictional band, Kabbage Boy, disapproves of the stage and wants Eddie to build a new one. - In Guitar Hero 2 the song "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" is featured as the encore in the first PS2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
set and second Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
set, the drummer also "explodes", and turns into a green goo after encores as a reference to the band's drummer turning into a stain on his drum throne. - The entire Back from the Dead album is available as downloadable content in Rock BandRock BandRock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
and Rock Band 2Rock Band 2Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
. In Addition, Spinal Tap appears as LegoLegoLego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
figures in Lego Rock BandLego Rock BandLego Rock Band is a music video game and part of the Rock Band series developed by Harmonix Music Systems, but also incorporates elements from other Lego video games as developed by Traveller's Tales. The game is published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and MTV Games...
playing "Short and Sweet". - There are a number of references to Spinal Tap in the television series SupernaturalSupernatural (TV series)Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
. In the episode "Asylum" Dean WinchesterDean WinchesterDean Winchester is a fictional character from The CW Television Network's Supernatural, portrayed by Jensen Ackles. He hunts demons, spirits and other supernatural creatures with his younger brother Sam.-Background:...
introduces himself to another character as Nigel Tufnel. The song "Stonehenge" is also featured in the episode "Simon Said". - In 2009, "Stonehenge" was parodied by The FringemunksThe FringemunksThe Fringemunks are a music group created by Seattle musician David Wu in 2008 consisting of three "cloned" anthropomorphic chipmunks: Feebo, Notchy and Pie. They are known mostly for recapping all episodes of Fox television series Fringe with song parodies...
to recap FringeFringe (TV series)Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
episode 1.18, "Midnight." - In the novel Divine Misfortune by A. Lee MartinezA. Lee MartinezA. Lee Martinez is an American fantasy and science fiction author. He has been a member of the DFW Writers' Workshop since 1995. He currently resides in Dallas, Texas.-Biography:...
the good fortune god Lucky says "The path to enlightenment is found in the lyrics of Spinal Tap."