11 facts about ‘This is Spinal Tap’
A distinct group of visionaries who earned themselves a distinguished place in rock history as one of Britan’s loudest bands, Spinal Tap is the titular musical group in Rob Reiner’s 1984 “This is Spinal Tap.” Nominated for Best DVD Menu Design and Best DVD Overall Original Supplemental Material, and winner for Best DVD Audio Commentary, the film was not a huge box office success right off the bat. Now, 35 years later, it’s regarded as a cult classic mockumentary that expertly parodies rock culture.
How expertly? Enough that Sting, Tom Waits, and The Edge don’t know whether to laugh or cry upon watching it. Without further ado, here are 11 facts about “This is Spinal Tap.” Why 11? The band wouldn’t have it any other way.
1. It has an 8.0/11 on IMDB
User-generated ratings are always on a scale of 1–10 … almost always. “This is Spinal Tap” earned its very own scale on IMDB. Check for yourself.
2. I know that voice
If it sounds like the airport PA voices sound familiar, that’s because they are. It’s actually the cast members, albeit without their English accents:
3. Ozzy Osbourne thought it was real
If, on your first viewing, you thought the band was real, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re in famous company. Ozzy Osbourne didn’t catch that the group was fictitious, and after being told so admitted that he really should have known better. He said the band “seemed quite tame compared to what we got up to!” It just goes to show how scarily accurate this portrayal really is.
4. Hot for Nigel
Unpopular opinion: Nigel Tufnel is hot. Unpopular maybe, but popular enough to matter! Jamie Lee Curtis saw a photo of Christopher Guest as Nigel in Rolling Stone, and apparently told herself, “He’s cute. I’m going to marry him.” And so she did. Curtis gave her number to his agent, and Guest didn’t call (how very like a rock icon). As fate would have it, they ran into each other and eventually wed in 1984 — at Rob Reiner’s home.
5. They’re on the Simpsons
You know you’re famous when you appear on “The Simpsons” as a celebrity. On an episode titled ‘The Otto Show,’ Spinal Tap makes an appearance and plays a predictably disappointing show only to die in a bus crash shortly after. Extra fact: Harry Shearer who plays bassist Derek Smalls in the film, also voices multiple voices on the show: Mr.Burns, Ned Flanders, and Principal Skinner. Check out the clip here!
6. It is a real band documentary??
While “This is Spinal Tap” is a mockumentary, the actors are actually decent musicians! After the film’s success, they released real life albums as Spinal Tap — even playing in 2009 at the Glastonbury music festival. They also played instruments and sang as The Folksmen in 2003’s “A Mighty Wind.”
7. Every good musician can improvise
The kernel of an idea for the film actually started from an improvised comedy sketch that Guest, Shearer, McKean, and Reiner worked on together in 1978 for “The TV Show.” Born from that sketch, virtually all the dialogue in the film is improvised. The cast shot the movie with a 4-page treatment of scenes and other basic information, but never an actual script. The scenes were so heavily improvised that the three main actors were even given writing credit for the film.
8. There’s actually 100+ hours of footage
When you improvise most of a script, there’s a lot of unused footage. There’s even a four and a half hour long bootleg edition floating around. Reiner did manage to knock the original release down to 82 minutes, but in 1998, the Criterion Collection released a disc that included more than an hour of additional footage. You can get that version for about $250 right on Amazon.
9. Foghat accused the Spinal Four of bugging their tour bus
Like Ozzy Osbourne, many musicians (particularly metal artists) were startled at how shockingly accurate the film’s portrayal of a touring band. Foghat was even convinced that the writers had taken stories directly from their own experience, and accused the Spinal Four of bugging their tour bus.
10. The film saved Tony Hendra’s life
The band’s manager Ian Faith was played by Tony Hendra, a comedic actor, writer, and satirist. Hendra had his fair share of low points, however, and in his memoir “Father Joe” he admits that he attempted suicide the night before “This is Spinal Tap” began filming. In the memoir, he reminisces that the joy he felt while making the film played a big role in helping him recover from depression.
11. This gem is preserved
If you’re a fan of the film, you’ll be happy to know its proud legacy will go on for generations to come. The National Film Registry selected “This is Spinal Tap” for preservation in 2002, with the Library of Congress stating that it was “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. How so? We’re pretty sure it’s Nigel’s cleft chin.
We hope you’ve enjoyed these 11 facts about the film, and that they’ll make your next viewing even more enjoyable. See you backstage!
