Spinal Tap (band)
 | This article may need clearer distinction between fact and fiction. |
Spinal Tap | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Years active | 1964-1982 1992-present |
| Members | Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) |
Spinal Tap, (more accurately Spın̈al Tap), is a fictitious heavy metal band, the subject of the 1984 rockumentary/mockumentary 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). They first appeared in a 1978 ABC comedy special, The TV Show.
The film was accompanied by an album of the same name, This is Spinal Tap. In the years since the film was made the actors who portrayed the band members have played concerts and released music, blurring the line between fact and fiction.
Background
Fans of Spinal Tap have assembled the "mostly fictional" details about the band based on the film, albums, concerts and related promotional material. This includes a list of the band's former members and a discography (below) compiled by Chip Rowe, webmaster of the Spinal Tap Fan Site at spinaltapfan.com.
Spinal Tap has had a succession of drummers, all of whom have died under odd circumstances: one in a "bizarre gardening accident"; another "choked on vomit," (although it was never determined whose vomit it was), and a third from apparent spontaneous human combustion onstage, leaving a small green stain on his drum throne.
Reunited
Spinal Tap "reunited" in 1992 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. 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 1st, 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. [1] [2]
In 2001, the band "reunited" for the nine-city "Back from the Dead Tour" that began on June 1st 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.
Other appearances
The band appeared as the musical guests on an episode of Saturday Night Live during the 1984-85 season. At the time, both Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest were SNL cast members.
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, a television show in which Shearer is one of the principal voice actors. In this episode, although they are as comically inept as in the film, the other characters treat them as a non-satirical band. After a lackluster onstage performance (during which a riot breaks out), Spinal Tap are shown apparently killed in a tour bus accident, caused by Otto's erratic driving.
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 Tonight 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, their song "Gimme Some Money" was used in a TV commercial for OPEN from American Express.
Actual whereabouts of the Band is unknown, thought to be currently residing in the 'Where Are They Now' file.
Former band members
Guitarists
- "Ricky from San Francisco" (1982)
Bassists
- Ronnie Pudding (1964-1967)
- Danny Jarman (1967)
- David Gilmour (Amnesty International performance in 1991)
Backing vocalists
- Lhasa Apso (1965-1966)
- Julie Scrubbs-Martin (1965-1966)
Harmonicists
- Little Danny Schindler (1965-1966)
Tambourine players
- Jeanine Pettibone (1982)
Horn players
- Jimmy Adams (1965-1966)
- Geoff Clovington (1965-1966)
Keyboardists
- 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 (1975-198?)
- "Caucasian" Jeffery Vanston (198?-Present)
Drummers
- John "Stumpy" Pepys (1964-1969) Died in a bizarre, unexplained gardening accident.
- Eric "Stumpy Joe" Childs (1969-1974) Choked on someone else's vomit.
- Peter "James" Bond (1974-1977) Spontaneously combusted onstage.
- Mick Shrimpton (1977-1982) Onstage explosion
- Joe "Mama" Besser (1982) According to an MTV interview with Spinal Tap in November 1991, he disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
- Gary Wallis (Amnesty International performance in 1991)
- Richard "Ric" Shrimpton (1982-1999) Allegedly sold his dialysis machine for drugs, presumed dead
- Sammy "Stumpy" Bateman (2000) Died in a freak tricycle accident jumping over a pool of sharks.
- Mick Fleetwood (2000) The only one to survive unscathed.
- Plus 14 other drummers at various times of whom all are dead.
Discography
Fictional discography
Studio albums
- Spinal Tap Sings "(Listen to the) Flower People" and Other Favorites, 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, 1977
- Shark Sandwich, 1980
- Smell The Glove, 1982
Live albums
- Silent But Deadly, 1969
- Jap Habit, 1975
Compilations
- Heavy Metal Memories, 1983
Singles
- Gimme Some Money, 1965
- (Listen to the) Flower People, 1967
- We Are All Flower People, 1968
- 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
- Lick My Love Pump,(Part one of an unreleased rock trilogy)
- Christmas With the Devil, 1984
- The Majesty of Rock, 1992
- Bitch School, 1992
- Back from the Dead, 2000 (available only from the now defunct tapster.com)
Bootlegs and unreleased material
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)
- Ultra Rare Tap, (unknown date)
- None More Black, (unknown date)
- Live In Lithuania, (unknown date)
- 3rd String One Hit Wonders Vol. 138, (unknown date)
Unreleased:
- Here's More Tap
- Flak Packet
- Lusty Lorry
- SEXX! (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
- Hernia
- Break Like The Wind II
- Appetite for Distortion
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 Ripper
- Derek Smalls Jazz Odyssey
Solo releases
Derek:
- It's A Smalls World, 1978
Nigel:
- Nigel Tufnel's Clam Caravan, 1979
- Pyramid Blue, (unknown date)
Ross:
- Doesn't Anybody Here Speak English?, (unknown date)
Actual discography
- This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
- Break Like the Wind (1992)
- "Bitch School"/"Springtime" (single, 1992)
Trivia
- The Homestar Runner website includes a reference to "Quite Exciting This Computer Magic!", a phrase used in a tour bus scene from This Is Spinal Tap where keyboard player Viv Savage is playing a video game; also, in the new toon Weclome Back, Homestar is seen wearing a green skeleton shirt similar to the one Nigel Tufnel wore throughout the film.
- The "n̈" with an Umlaut exists in the minor Jacaltec language of Guatemala and the Malagasy tongue, where it represents a velar nasal consonant. This mark and the dotless I that precedes it are included as a parody of the heavy metal umlaut.
- Metallica's "Black Album", AC/DC's Back in Black, King Crimson's Earthbound and Prince's The Black Album are four examples of (almost) all-black album covers.
- 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' "Money (That's What I Want)" (and its appearance in This Is Spinal Tap is a parody of the Beatles' famous appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show) and "Big Bottom" is similar to Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls." 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.
- Metallica's S&M album was recorded with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. In 1969, Deep Purple recorded an album with the London Symphony Orchestra - Concerto for group and orchestra (David St. Hubbins once mentioned his desire to record with the London Philharmonic).
- In an interview with The Observer, Noel Gallagher said his brother Liam (both of British rock band, Oasis), "...had seen the film This Is Spinal Tap, loved it and thought they were a real band."
- The British band Supergrass uses a line from "All The Way Home", the first song Nigel and David wrote together, in "Evening Of The Day." The original line is "If she's not on the five-nineteen, Then I'm gonna know what sorrow means." while in the Supergrass song it's "If she's not on that three fifteen, Then I'm gonna know what sorrow means." The Rialto song "Monday Morning 5:19" might also be a reference to this same song; the line there is "It's Monday Morning 5:19, and I'm still wondering where she's been."
- The version of "All The Way Home" as portrayed in the film is most likely a reference to the Beatles' song One After 909 which was also written in the early days of the band and then subsequently revisited in the movie and album Let It Be. They are also very similar in style and lyrical content. I'll Cry Instead by The Beatles is also a likely source for the metre and lyric content.
- Spinal Tap's "none more black" quote inspired the name of the punk band of the same name.
- In September 2002, the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary included the entry: "Up to eleven: up to maximum volume" a reference to Nigel's amplifier that had controls that went beyond the usual maximum setting of 10.
- The three "real" members of Spinal Tap are also the members of another mostly fake band, a folk trio called The Folksmen. The Folksmen originally appeared as the warmup band for some of Spinal Tap's live concerts, but eventually became the subject of their own mockumentary, A Mighty Wind, directed by Christopher Guest.
- In the game Guitar Hero, during the load screen before each playable song, a randomly selected message is displayed on an animated amplifier. While the player waits for the song to load, the controls on the animated amp move up in succession, ending at 11, in reference to Nigel's infamous amp. One of the random messages also reads, "Eleven IS louder than ten." The sequel, Guitar Hero 2, allows players to play Spinal Tap's "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight". After the song is successfully finished by the player, the drummer of the band randomly explodes.
- Nigel Tufnel is based upon Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, who were both members of The Yardbirds. Nigel's physical appearance resembles Beck, and his name ("Nigel Tufnel") is a reference to Clapton. [3]
- In an episode of Good Eats with Alton Brown, Alton asks for a toaster from a scientist, and he brings out a very modified and outlandish toaster. When Alton says it is too much, the "scientist" exclaims, "But it goes up to eleven!"
- In commercials for Kidz Bop 11, the announcer exclaims "Watch Out Kids! This One Goes To Eleven!"
- The now defunct Working Designs had "Our games go to 11!" as their slogan.
- In a 2006 episode of the TV game show, Jeopardy, one of the categories was titled "This Category Goes to 11" in reference to that infamous line, and featured questions regarding the number 11.
- In the computer game Total Extreme Wrestling 2007, there are many references to Spinal Tap. The most notable ones are when certain workers get injured, it could be to a similar fashion as a lot of the drummers of the Spinal Tap such as a freak gardening accident. Adam Ryland, the creator of the game, has admitted this.
- New Jersey band A Static Lullaby has a song titled "We Go To Eleven" on their 2003 album "...And Don't Forget to Breathe".
- Chicago based-band Umphrey's McGee has several Spinal Tap references in live shows. "Jazz Odyssey", a free-form jazz improvisation seen in the mockumentary is a live staple in their shows, where it is an improvisation piece. Furthermore, while not referencing Spinal Tap directly, another song is called "Tribute to Spinal Shaft." Another song in this vein is titled "Smell the Mitten," a takeoff of Spinal Tap's album "Smell the Glove," although it does not emulate Spinal Tap's style. At the end of a few shows, lead singer Brendan Bayliss quotes Jeffery Vanston's life philosophy of "Have a good time, all of the time."
External links
- Band's official website, redirected to a fan site as of April 2006
- The Ultimate Spinal Tap Discography - an illustrated guide to Tap's albums (both real and imagined)
- Diary of a Spinal Tap "audition", from the website of the Royal Crown Revue drummer
- This is Spinal Tap at the Internet Movie Database
- SpinalTapFan.com, compiled by Taphead Chip Rowe