finetune artist: Spinal Tap

The concept for This Is Spinal Tap - a satire of a fading British heavy metal band - was first aired in a late 70s television sketch. Christopher Guest (b. Christopher Haden-Guest, 5 February 1948, New York, USA), formerly of parody troupe National Lampoon, played the part of lead guitarist Nigel Tufnell, while Harry Shearer (b. 23 December 1943, Los Angeles, California, USA) played bass player Derek Smalls, and Michael McKean (b. 17 October 1947, New York, USA) played vocalist David St. Hubbins. Their initial sketch also featured Loudon Wainwright III and drummer Russ Kunkel, but these true-life musicians dropped out of the project on its transformation to full-length movie. This Is Spinal Tap, released in 1984, was not a cinematic success, but it has since become highly popular through the medium of video and DVD. Its portrayal of a doomed US tour is ruthless, exposing incompetence, megalomania and sheer madness, but in a manner combining humour with affection. However, rather than incurring the wrath of the rock fraternity, the movie has been lauded by musicians, many of whom, unfathomably, claim inspiration for individual scenes. Contemporary UK comedy team the Comic Strip mined similar themes for their creation, Bad News.

Listen to Spinal Tap at Finetune.

(2004) Break Like The Wind
(2000) This Is Spinal Tap

Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
Stonehenge
Big Bottom
Gimme Some Money
Christmas With The Devil