HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: This Is Spinal Tap
Bands are often formed by longtime friends who share a passion for all things music. They spend time together sharing their love for bands before deciding to pick up an instrument and noodling away at various riffs they’ve heard, before it becomes a full-blown jam session and something of more substance. These bands will play together in garages or practice rooms before moving to the stage, bringing their dreams into reality and living their dreams. But what happens when this bond and camaraderie was formed through comedy and not music? SPINAL TAP is what happens.
The lore that surrounds the band is rich, formed by its dedicated fans and supporters since its members appeared on screens in 1979 as part of a sketch comedy special called The T.V. Show. The group was created by comedians Michael McKean as singer and guitarist David St. Hubbins, Christopher Guest as guitarist Nigel Tufnel, and Harry Shearer as bassist Derek Smalls. Their first appearance on The T.V. Show was a simple mock promotional video for the song Rock and Roll Nightmare, which was penned by the band. After several appearances on the show, the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap was released, with its own soundtrack album.
In the years following the film’s release, the actors have portrayed the band members at numerous concerts and have released music as SPINAL TAP. The trio that originated the group has toured the United States, played a musical guest slot on Saturday Night Live, performed at Wembley Arena, and has even played Glastonbury Festival. They boast an impressive back catalogue of extremely well-produced songs that draw references directly from other bands at the time, bringing an authenticity to the group’s sound and music and helping them sound like a cohesive unit. The sincerity of what they do paired with their impressive CV makes it increasingly difficult for audiences to separate fact from fiction and realise SPINAL TAP isn’t a real band.
The mockumentary and the band’s music treads the incredibly fine line between genius and ridiculousness, utilising all the elements that other bands at that time were using in everything from their song subject matter to their outrageous and elaborate stage shows. These components all come together to create an incredible recipe for comedy, as seen throughout This Is Spinal Tap, particularly during their performance of Rock And Roll Creation. Not only does the song replicate the droning doom riffs of BLACK SABBATH, paired with a synth break that is incredibly THE WHO-esque, but it shows us their visual comedy skills.
The escalation of the scene and its staging malfunction is one of the best sight gags in the film. The increasing absurdity of the tools that are used to try and extract Smalls from the large alien egg that he finds himself trapped within ranges from a hammer to a blowtorch when he finally manages to free himself at the end of the song. It’s one of those scenes that will elicit a giggle from viewers that have already seen it a thousand times before – it truly is timeless, though there is no comparing it to the infamous Stonehenge performance.
Though the film prides itself on visual comedy, it still boasts an incredible number of quotable lines that fans find themselves using in their everyday lives. To keep with the documentary style of filming, the movie is largely unscripted. Actors were left to their own devices when filming scenes, keeping each other on their toes and utilising their improvisational skills to produce a piece of work that truly feels like a real music documentary. This choice benefits SPINAL TAP immensely and adds to the feeling that they are a real band, keeping dialogue authentic and unrehearsed.
Though many music fans can equate This is Spinal Tap and its influence on them to other films like Wayne’s World (1992) or School Of Rock (2003), this film carries an entirely different meaning for the musicians among us as it is an inside look at what it really means to be in a band. It documents the highs and lows of SPINAL TAP, from their puppet show opening slot to topping charts with their music, following the arcs of extreme emotions that many are already familiar with. The intra-band relationships and tensions are reminiscent of real documentaries like METALLICA’s Some Kind Of Monster (2004) – though this film wouldn’t come out for another 20 years, it shows just how right SPINAL TAP got it the first time around with little reference material and inspiration to go off. The long-suffering manager, controlling girlfriend, and found-family tropes are all major, though stereotypical, parts of being in a band, and they are all elements that SPINAL TAP has made sure to incorporate into the band’s story.
SPINAL TAP may not be a “real” band, but the trio that originated it has put everything in place to make it seem as convincing and authentic as possible – from drawing influences from several artists at the time, along with a large production budget to help them sound as close to their inspirations as possible, to appearing outside of their own material on a regular basis. Seriously, Nigel Tufnel once appeared on National Geographic’s Stonehenge Decoded to talk about his insane theories about who was responsible for building it – they are one group that is truly committed to the bit. 40 years on from their initial mockumentary release filming has begun on a sequel, ready to introduce a new generation to the legend of SPINAL TAP and convince a new host of music fans that they are witnessing real history in the making.
This Is Spinal Tap was originally released on March 2nd, 1984
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