SILLYSONGBOOK.com----Spinal Tap

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SILLYSONGBOOK.com----SPINAL TAP

NIGEL TUFNEL

(Christopher Guest)

DAVID ST. HUBBINS

(Michael McKean)

DEREK SMALLS

(Harry Shearer)

SPINAL TAP IS A FICTITIOUS HEAVY METAL BAND CREATED BY COMEDIC ACTORS MICHAEL MCKEAN, CHRISTOPHER GUEST, AND HARRY SHEARER. ALL THREE WERE CAST MEMBERS ON NBC'S "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER. MCKEAN HAD PREVIOUS TV FAME AS A CAST MEMBER OF THE 1970's ABC-TV SHOW "LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY". (HE WAS "LENNY" OF THE DUO "LENNY AND SQUIGGY" ON THE SHOW). GUEST AND SHEARER HAD BOTH FIRST WORKED TOGETHER ON THE "NATIONAL LAMPOON RADIO HOUR" SHOW IN THE 1970s, WHICH FEATURED MANY OTHER COMEDIC ACTORS WHO WOULD MAKE UP THE ORIGINAL CAST OF "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE". SHEARER MADE APPEARANCES ON "SNL" IN THE 70s, GUEST AND MCKEAN WERE "SNL" CAST MEMBERS DURING THE 1980s.

THE THREE FIRST CAME TOGETHER TO MAKE THE SATIRICAL MOVIE "THIS IS SPINAL TAP" IN 1984. THE THREE NOT ONLY WROTE THE SCREENPLAY AND STARRED IN THE FILM ALONG WITH ROB REINER ( IN HIS FEATURE FILM DIRECTORIAL DEBUT), THEY ALSO WROTE, PRODUCED AND PERFORMED THE MUSIC FOR THE FILM. MCKEAN PLAYED FRONTMAN DAVID ST. HUBBINS, GUEST PLAYED LEAD GUITARIST NIGEL TUFNEL, AND SHEARER PLAYED BASS GUITARIST DEREK SMALLS.

"THIS IS SPINAL TAP" POKES FUN AT VARIOUS ROCK BANDS SUCH AS LED ZEPPELIN AND AEROSMITH AMONG OTHERS. IT INVOLVES THE STORY OF THE FICTITIOUS BAND "SPINAL TAP", A GROUP OF MUSICIANS WHO HAVE BEEN TOGETHER FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS AND ARE STRUGGLING TO MAINTAIN THEIR POPULARITY IN THE 1980s. THE FILM INCLUDES ACTUAL LIVE FOOTAGE OF THE BAND IN CONCERT AS WELL AS CLEVERLY MADE CLIPS OF THE BAND PERFORMING BACK IN THE 1960s. (MCKEAN, GUEST AND SHEARER ARE ALL ACCOMPLISHED MUSICIANS). THERE ARE MANY FUNNY MOMENTS IN THE FILM AS WELL AS FEATURED SONGS WITH SUCH MEMORABLE TITLES AS "SEX FARM", "BIG BOTTOMS", AND "HELL HOLE".

MCKEAN, GUEST AND SHEARER DIDN'T REGROUP AGAIN AS SPINAL TAP UNTIL 1992 WHEN THEY RECORDED THEIR CD "BREAK LIKE THE WIND". SPINAL TAP ALSO WENT ON TOUR IN SUPPORT OF THE RECORD, WRAPPING UP THEIR REUNION TOUR AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL IN LONDON, ENGLAND. THIS CONCERT WAS FILMED AND RELEASED AS "THE RETURN OF SPINAL TAP" ON HOME VIDEO IN 1993. NOTHING MORE WAS HEARD FROM SPINAL TAP UNTILL 1996 WHEN THEY APPEARED IN A COMMERCIAL FOR IBM SHOWN DURING THE 1996 SUMMER OLYMPICS. MCKEAN, GUEST AND SHEARER HAVE MAINTAINED FILM CAREERS OUTSIDE OF SPINAL TAP. THEY REGROUPED RECENTLY FOR A CARTOON APPEARANCE AS SPINAL TAP ON THE FOX-TV SHOW "THE SIMPSONS". (WHERE SHEARER DOES THE VOICE OF HOMER'S BOSS MR. BURNS AND HIS ASSISTANT SMITHERS.)

NOW THERE ARE PLANS FOR ANOTHER SPINAL TAP REUNION IN LATE 2000, FEATURING A RE-RELEASE IN SEPTEMBER 2000 OF "THIS IS SPINAL TAP" (UNAVAILABLE ON VIDEO FOR A LONG TIME) AT THE MOVIE THEATERS, ON VHS AND DVD. THE NEW DVD VERSION FEATURES ONE HOUR AND 45 MINUTES' WORTH OF BONUS FOOTAGE AND OUTTAKES. THERE'S ALSO A NEW SPINAL TAP SINGLE TITLED "BACK FROM THE DEAD" AVAILABLE AT THEIR MP3 SITE "TAPSTER.COM". LONG LIVE SPINAL TAP!! RULERS OF THE LAND WHERE EAR DRUMS GO TO DIE!!