Spinal Tap in Lego Rock Band. L-R: Derek Smalls, David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel
Spinal Tap (stylized as Spın̈al Tap, with a dotless letter i and a metal umlaut over the n) is a fictional English heavy metal band created by American comedians and musicians Michael McKean (as lead singer and co-lead guitarist David St. Hubbins), Christopher Guest (as lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel) and Harry Shearer (as bassist Derek Smalls). They are characterized as "one of England's loudest bands". McKean, Guest, and Shearer wrote and performed original songs for the band.
The band first appeared on a 1979 ABC television sketch comedy pilot called The TV Show, starring Rob Reiner. The sketch, actually a mock promotional video for the song "Rock and Roll Nightmare", was written by Reiner and the band, and included songwriter/performer Loudon Wainwright III on keyboards. Later the band became the fictional subject of the 1984 rockumentary/mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap and its 2024 sequel.
This Is Spinal Tap was accompanied by a soundtrack album of the same name. In the years following the film's release, the actors have portrayed the band members at concerts and released music under the Spinal Tap name. Guest, McKean, and Shearer toured in the United States in April and May 2009 and performed as Spinal Tap in a "One Night Only World Tour" on June 30, 2009, at Wembley Arena in London, three days after playing the Glastonbury Festival.
The trio also portray the fictional American folk music revival band The Folksmen; some Spinal Tap concert appearances have featured Guest, McKean, and Shearer opening for "Tap" as the Folksmen.
Songs featured in the series[]
Spinal Tap has a total of 16 songs featured across the series:
| Song title | Original album | Decade |
|---|---|---|
| "Short and Sweet" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |
| "(Funky) Sex Farm" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |
| "Warmer Than Hell" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |
| "Saucy Jack" | Spinal Tap: Rock Band Edition | 2009 |
| "Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |
| "America" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |
| "Back from the Dead" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |
| "(Listen to the) Flower People (Reggae Stylee)" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |
| "Big Bottom" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |
| "Cukes and Cakes" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |
| "Gimme Some Money" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |
| "Heavy Duty" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |
| "Hell Hole" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |
| "Stonehenge" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |
| "Rock 'n' Roll Creation" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |
| "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" | Back From The Dead | 2009 |