Spinal Tap
Formed: 1982
From:
Squatney,
United Kingdom
Last Known Status: Disbanded
Latest Spinal Tap News
Below is our complete Spinal Tap news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
Note: We began associating news directly with bands in late 2003. Therefore, earlier band news may not be listed on this page.
New Spinal Tap DLC For Rocksmith 2014
Rocksmith 2014 Edition - Spinal Tap DLC
You can now learn to play five hits by the legendary mockumentary heavy metal band Spinal Tap. “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight,” “Stonehenge,” “Sex Farm,” “Gimme Some Money,” and “Big Bottom” by Spinal Tap are available as downloadable content on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Steam. The tunings and arrangements are as follows:
“Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight" – E Standard – Lead/Rhythm/Bass
“Stonehenge” – E Standard - Lead/Rhythm/Bass
“Sex Farm” – E Standard – Lead/Rhythm/Bass
“Gimme Some Money” – E Standard - Lead/Rhythm/Bass
“Big Bottom” – E Standard - Lead/Rhythm/Bass/Alt Bass
VH1 Classic Declares 11/11/11 National Metal Day
I'm not sure if VH1 got this idea from the Spinal Tap fan who last year declared that 11/11/11 would be declared as "Nigel Tufnel Day" or came up with the idea on their own. But VH1 Classic has dubbed November 11th as "National Metal Day" and promised a full day of metal coverage.
While they have been ramping up the metal coverage since November 1st, and will be airing metal coverage for the entire day of November 11th, the day itself, here are the special features promised for prime time:
Behind The Music Remastered: Megadeth premieres Friday, November 11 at 9PM ET/PT. They’ve been the champions of thrash metal for nearly thirty years, despite discord, addiction and infighting. Updated to the original episode are Dave Mustaine’s crippling hand injury which threatens the band’s survival, a painful law suit and more walk outs and throw outs of band members. Now they’re in the Big Four and still aiming for the top spot, but even if Dave Mustaine is happy with the new line up he remains unhappy about their ranking in the top ten of heavy metal—still just behind Metallica.
Metal Evolution Chapter 1: Pre-Metal premieres Friday, November 11 at 10PM ET/PT. The premiere episode of Metal Evolution Chapter 1: Pre-Metal will focus on Pre-Metal, the earliest sounds of metal that can be heard in the music of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Jimi Hendrix. Subsequent episodes of the series will explore genres ranging from British Heavy Metal to Glam Metal to Thrash Metal, and artists from Iron Maiden to KISS to Metallica and more. Metal Evolution is an 11-episode docu-series produced by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn of Banger Films and is based on the groundbreaking Heavy Metal Family Tree. The Heavy Metal Family Tree is a 26 sub-genre genealogical chart which reveals the vast complex progeny of heavy metal – from Early Metal and Shock Rock to Thrash, from Progressive Metal to Grunge and Nu Metal. Using the chart as his road map, host/producer and metal head turned anthropologist Dunn, crisscrosses the globe exploring the vast history of heavy metal across its 40+ year history and beyond. After the premiere episode on National Metal Day, “Metal Evolution” will move to its regular time slot on Saturdays at 10 PM ET/PT, beginning Saturday, November 19 between new episodes of BTM:Remastered at 9PM ET/PT and That Metal Show at 11PM ET/PT.
That Metal Show: Season Nine premieres Friday, November 11 at 11PM ET/PT. The boys are back and there’s gonna be some trouble! Eddie Trunk, Don Jamison and Jim Florentine are back in LA and bringing the heat with season nine of That Metal Show. An all-star lineup of iconic metal guests grace the stage this season including: Marilyn Manson, Slash, Sully Erna, Jesse James Dupree, Tracii Guns, Brian Johnson, Dave Mustaine and more! Season nine of THAT METAL SHOW will deliver the ever popular “Stump The Trunk” and “TMS TOP 5” segments.
Other shows to be aired that day include The Decline of Western Civilization, Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, and This is Spinal Tap.
Additional concerts, movies and specials focusing on metal will air during the month of November. Visit www.vh1classic.com for a full list of programming.
Spinal Tap To Release "Unwigged" DVD
Billboard.com is reporting:
The trio behind SPINAL TAP and THE FOLKSMEN has set a September 1 release date for a DVD of their recent concert tour.
Unwigged & Unplugged: An Evening with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer features an entire 35-track performance filmed at their May 31 show at the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee. The show features Spinal Tap material from the film This is Spinal Tap and the albums Break Like the Wind and this year's Back From The Dead, as well as some of the Folksmen tracks from the Guest-written and -directed 'A Mighty Wind'. Guest, McKean and Shearer were joined on the tour by "Back From the Dead" producer CJ Vanston as well as McKean's wife Annette O'Toole, who co-wrote 'A Mighty Wind's' Academy Award-nominated duet 'A Kiss At The End Of The Rainbow'. More...
Spinal Tap To Appear On Conan O'Brien Show
Spoof heavy metal outfit Spinal Tap has been confirmed for an appearance on the Conan O'Brien Show on June 15th. They will be performing on the show but no word has been given on what song(s) they will play yet. Spinal Tap will be releasing a new studio album entitled, "Back From The Dead" later this year.
Spinal Tap Reveals New Album Details
Spoof heavy metal group Spinal Tap are to release their first album since 1992 this year in the form of "Back From The Dead." The album will feature nineteen songs, most of which are re-recordings of earlier tracks, though there will be six brand new songs. "This album title says it all. We're back from the dead. But we weren't dead. But we definitely are back." proclaimed David St. Hubbins.
The album will also boast some guest appearances from the likes of Steve Vai, Keith Emerson, John Mayer and Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen and comes with a bonus DVD in which the band give a track-by-track analysis of the songs on the record.
The tracklisting is as follows:
1. Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
2. Back From The Dead
3. (Funky) Sex Farm
4. Rock 'n' Roll Creation
5. Jazz Oddyssey I
6. Gimme Some Money
7. Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare
8. Heavy Duty
9. America
10. Jazz Oddyssey II
11. (Listen to the) Flower People (Reggae Stylee)
12. Hell Hole
13. Big Bottom
14. Celtics Blues
15. Jazz Oddyssey III
16. Warmer Than Hell
17. Stonehenge
18. Short and Sweet
19. Cups and Cakes
Spinal Tap To Release New Album This Summer
Everybody's favourite spoof heavy metal band Spinal Tap has announced that they will be releasing a brand new album this summer entitled, "Back From The Dead." The album will also reportedly be a double disc record. You can catch the band on their blockbuster "world tour" on the following date:
June 30 - London, England @ Wembley Arena
Spinal Tap Announces "World Tour"
Spinal Tap, the band created for the 1984 comedy movie, This Is Spinal Tap, will embark on a world tour this June, or their idea of one anyway! The band will play one show at London's Wembley Arena and then head home. Bass player Derek Smalls comments: "One night is not enough, and it's way too much" Lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel added; "If we're going to do a World tour on only one night, at least it's this world." Stay tuned for more details.
Spinal Tap Reveals "Unwigged & Unplugged" Tour
Spinal Tap, the group created for the movie "This Is Spinal Tap," will be hitting in the road this year, but not in the manner that the public might be expecting. Actors Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer who played the on-screen rockers will be touring as themselves without the wigs or the costumes, but will be performing the songs acoustically.
"We've never gone out as ourselves," Shearer said Monday during a webcast teleconference at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. "It's interesting; after playing characters all these years, we're having meetings trying to figure out who WE are...We have to ask ourselves, 'What would WE do?'"
The tour dates are as follows:
April 17: Vancouver, B.C. (Center for the Performing Arts)
April 19: Portland, Ore. (Keller Auditorium)
April 20: Seattle (Paramount Theatre)
April 22: Oakland, Calif. (Paramount Theatre)
April 23: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Santa Barbara County Bowl)
April 26: Los Angeles (The Wiltern)
April 27: Phoenix, Ariz. (Dodge Theatre)
April 29: Denver (Paramount Theatre)
May 1: Houston, Texas (Jesse H, Jones Hall)
May 2: Dallas (Nokia Theatre)
May 4: Jacksonville, Fla. Florida Theatre)
May 5: Miami (The Fillmore)
May 6: Orlando, Fla, (Hard Rock Live)
May 8: St. Petersburg, Fla. (Mahaffey Theatre)
May 9: Atlanta (Fox Theatre)
May 10: Nashville (Ryman Auditorium)
May 12: Baltimore (Lyric Opera House)
May 13: Washington, D.C. (Warner Theatre)
May 14: Philadelphia (Keswick Theatre)
May 17: Columbus, Ohio (Palace Theatre)
May 19: Cleveland, Ohio (State Theatre)
May 21: Toronto (Massey Hall)
May 22: Mashantucket, Conn. (MGM Grand Theatre at Foxwoods)
May 23: Boston (The Wilbur Theatre)
May 24: Atlantic City, N.J. (Music Box at The Borgata)
May 26: New York (Beacon Theatre)
May 27: New York (Beacon Theatre)
May 29: Detroit (Fox Theatre)
May 30: Chicago (Chicago Theatre)
May 31: Milwaukee, Wis. (Riverside Theatre)
Read the full article at Billboard.com.
Spinal Tap Recording New Material
Spoof heavy metal band Spinal Tap are recording brand new music for a release later this year, actor Harry Shearer has confirmed. "It'll be for download as well as on conventional media later this year."
The band reunited in 2007 to perform at the Wembley Stadium concert "Live Earth" along with Metallica, Beastie Boys and Foo Fighters amongst others.
Metal Gets Its Due On Massive Rhino Boxed Set
Heavy metal fans will be banging their heads in delight this fall with the release of Rhinos's "Heavy Metal Box," due Oct. 2. The four-disc, 70-song set boasts classic tracks from Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motorhead and Slayer, among dozens of others.
Arranged chronologically from 1968 to 1991, the compilation also boasts hits from bands like Deep Purple, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Iron Butterfly, Pantera, Alice Cooper, Venom, Testament, Rush and Megadeth; the project will be packaged in a box resembling a Marshall guitar amp.
The liner notes will include extensive photos, track commentary and interviews with Ronnie James Dio and Lita Ford.
Here is the track list for "The Heavy Metal Box": More...
Spinal Tap Reunites To Save The Planet
Legendary fake rockers Spinal Tap will reunite for a performance in London this summer as part of a slate of Live Earth benefit concerts scheduled worldwide for July 7.
All three of the band's original members--actors Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer--will be on hand for the concert, which will also feature the likes of Madonna, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and another reunited blockbuster act, Genesis.
The trio will resurrect the roles they made famous in the 1984 mock-rockumentary, "This is Spinal Tap," to help the fight against global warming. Rob Reiner, who both directed the original film and portrayed documentary maker Marty DeBergi in the movie, will attend the event, according to press reports.
"They're not that environmentally conscious, but they've heard of global warming," Reiner told the Associated Press. "Nigel thought it was just because he was wearing too much clothing--that if he just took his jacket off it would be cooler."
Reiner told the press agency that the band's performance would be preceded by a short film (directed by Reiner) that explains what the group has been up to in recent years. Nigel (Guest) has been raising miniature horses to race, but can't find jockeys small enough to ride them; David (McKean) is now a hip-hop producer who also runs a colonic clinic; and Derek (Shearer) is in rehab for addiction to the Internet.
The 15-minute film will also be shown at the opening night of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on Wednesday (4/25). The opening gala will be hosted by Al Gore.
The Live Earth concerts will take place on seven continents on the same day, with profits going to environmental organizations including the Alliance for Climate Protection, the Climate Group and Stop Climate Chaos.
Besides the London show, which will take place in Wembley Stadium, Live Earth concerts are also planned for New Jersey, Sydney, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg and Shanghai. The lineups for each of the locations can be found at the event's website.
This Week's AOL Metal Features
AOL Music have nothing in the way of decent metal album streams this week, but they do have a couple of other features of interest. First, in the tradition of 'Spinal Tap,' Spinner counts down Rock 'N Roll's 15 Most Embarrassing Stage Antics. Next, Sara Interviews GWAR on The DL, which you can watch here.
Final Guitar Hero II Tracklisting Revealed
According to IGN, the final track listing has been revealed for the upcoming PS2/Xbox 360 video game "Guitar Hero II". The track list will run as follows (sorted by their in-game categories):
Opening Licks:
Motley Crue - "Shout At The Devil"
Danzig - "Mother"
Cheap Trick - "Surrender"
Wolfmother - "Woman"
Spinal Tap - "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight"
Amp-Warmers:
Kiss - "Strutter"
Nirvana - "Heart-Shaped Box"
Police - "Message In A Bottle"
Van Halen - "You Really Got Me"
Kansas - "Carry On Wayward Son"
String-Snappers:
Foo Fighters - "Monkey Wrench"
Alice In Chains - "Them Bones"
Iggy Pop And The Stooges - "Search And Destroy"
The Pretenders - "Tattooed Love Boys"
Black Sabbath - "War Pigs"
Thrash And Burn:
Warrant - "Cherry Pie"
The Butthole Surfers - "Who Was In My Room Last Night"
Mathew Sweet - "Girlfriend"
Rolling Stones - "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'"
Guns N' Roses - "Sweet Child O' Mine"
Return Of The Shred:
Rage Against The Machine - "Killing In The Name"
Primus - "John The Fisherman"
The Sword - "Freya"
Thin Lizzy - "Bad Reputation"
Aerosmtih - "Last Child"
Relentless Riffs:
Heart - "Crazy On You"
Stone Temple Pilots - "Tripping On A Hole In A Paper Heart"
Stray Cats - "Rock This Town"
Allman Brothers - "Jessica"
Jane's Addiction - "Stop"
Furious Fretwork:
Anthrax - "Madhouse"
The Living End - "Carry Me Home"
Lamb Of God - "Laid To Rest"
Reverend Horton Heat - "Psychobilly Freakout"
Rush - "YYZ"
Face-Melters:
Avenged Sevenfold - "Beast And The Harlot"
Suicidal Tendencies - "Institutionalized"
Dick Dale - "Misirlou"
Megadeth - "Hangar 18"
Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Free Bird"
Around 15 or more unlockable bonus tracks will also be included in the game, with Every Time I Die, Drist, The Last Vegas, Valient Thorr and The Breaking Wheel rumored to be among them. "Guitar Hero II" will see a November 7th release date on the Playstation 2 while a spring release on the Xbox 360 is currently pending.
All-Star List Of Bands Sign On For Guitar Hero II
A slew of songs on the playable list for the upcoming new interactive Playstation 2 video game "Guitar Hero II" have been revealed. Check them out below:
Lamb Of God - "Laid To Rest"
Avenged Sevenfold - "Beast And The Harlot"
Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Freebird"
Alice In Chains - "Them Bones"
Nirvana - "Heart Shaped Box"
Guns N' Roses - "Sweet Child O' Mine"
Motley Crue - "Shout At The Devil"
Black Sabbath - "War Pigs"
The Police - "Message In A Bottle"
The Pretenders - "Tattooed Love Boys"
Cheap Trick - "Surrender"
Spinal Tap - "Tonight I'm Going to Rock You Tonight"
Heart - "Crazy On You"
Allman Brothers Band - "Jessica"
Dick Dale - "Misirlou"
The Rolling Stones - "Can't You Hear Me Knocking"
Anthrax - "Madhouse"
Stone Temple Pilots - "Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart"
Primus - "John The Fisherman"
Kiss - "Strutter"
Rush - "YYZ"
Van Halen - "You Really Got Me"
Reverend Horton Heat - "Psychobilly Freakout"
Drist - "Arterial Black"
Every Time I Die - "The New Black"
Butthole Surfers - "Who The Hell Was In My Room Last Night"
"Guitar Hero II" is due in stores on November 7th.
VH1's 'Heavy: The Story Of Metal' Details
"Heavy: The Story of Metal," premiering Monday - Thursday, May 1-4 at 9PM ET/PT each night traces the evolution of heavy metal music and culture, from its dark, grim beginnings in Birmingham, England to the worldwide force that it remains to this day. In a series of four themed hours, "Heavy: The Story of Metal," explores four decades of music, each hour examining this powerful and often misunderstood genre, from metal's pioneers to its love of glam and excess; from the fight for metal's rebellious soul to its storied flirtation with the devil:
Episode One traces metal's roots in the late-60's in the bombed-out industrial town of Birmingham England to the spectacular rise of Kiss and "glam metal" in the early 70's.
Episode Two examines metal's growing pains during the 70's when both high-brow rock critics and punk rock threatened its very existence. By decade's end, bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Def Leppard gave birth to what became known as "The New Wave of British Heavy Metal." Episode Three sees metal thrive in, of all places, sunny California. Van Halen, Poison, Motley Crue -- it's the world of hair metal. And, keeping everyone's Jacuzzi-soaked ego in check, a little film called Spinal Tap emerges.
Episode Four takes a walk on the dark side: Guns N' Roses, Metallica, thrash, grunge, and how the music and images of Marilyn Manson became associated with the Columbine massacre.
Told from the perspective of the musicians, promoters, writers and fans who have kept metal's flame alive for four decades, "Heavy: The Story of Metal," contains revealing, hilarious and sometimes shocking conversations. Interviews include Sebastian Bach, Jerry Cantrell, Phil Collen, Bruce Dickinson, Fred Durst, Ace Frehley, Rob Halford, Scott Ian, Tony Iommi, Chris Jericho, Lemmy Kilmister, Chuck Klosterman, Jani Lane, Tommy Lee, Doc McGhee, Bret Michaels, Dave Mustaine, Vinnie Paul, Mark Putnam, Riki Rachtman, Dave "Snake" Sabo, Nikki Sixx, Slash, Dee Snider, Geoff Tate, Eddie Trunk, Rob Zombie and more.
Independent Film Channel To Air Spinal Tap
The Independent Film Channel is airing "This Is Spinal Tap" every Saturday at 10 p.m. in November and jump-starts things at 9:30 p.m. today with "Spinal Tap Goes to 20," a behind-the-scenes look at the 1984 "mockumentary" starring Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Rob Reiner, who also directed the film. Pulling out every heavy metal music cliché known to man, the classic rock parody follows faux British band Spinal Tap, which is trying desperately to make a comeback in America.