This Is Spinal Tap

:For the medical procedure, see Lumbar puncture.

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Spinal Tap is a semi-fictitious heavy metal rock band that first appeared in the 1984 Rob Reiner film This Is Spinal Tap. The band is portrayed as being British, although two of the three permanent band members (there has been a near constant rotation of drummers over the years) are played by Americans. The film was a mock rockumentary that satirized the wild personal behaviour and musical pretensions of bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Who, Queen, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and the latter-day Beatles among many others. Today, the band exists both as a fictitious entity, whose members are the characters portrayed by the actors, and also as a real entity, in that the actors have performed and released recordings under the band's name.

Related Topics:
Heavy metal - Rock band - 1984 - Rob Reiner - British - Rockumentary - Satirized - Led Zeppelin - The Who - Queen - Black Sabbath - Judas Priest - Beatles

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Spinal Tap was originally created by actors and comedians Michael McKean (as "David St. Hubbins"), Christopher Guest (as "Nigel Tufnel") and Harry Shearer (as "Derek Smalls") for a 1978 ABC comedy special, The TV Show. Soon after, the three comedians teamed up with Reiner to turn the idea into a full-length film. Much of the film was ad libbed, and several dozen hours of footage were shot before Reiner edited it down to the released film. A 4.5 hour bootleg version of the film exists and has been traded among fans and collectors for years. A ten hour version is also rumored. The most recent DVD editions of the film include one hour of deleted footage as an extra.

Related Topics:
Michael McKean - Christopher Guest - Harry Shearer - 1978 - ABC - Ad lib - DVD

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In addition to the three members of Spinal Tap plus Reiner, who appeared as "Marty DiBergi", the maker of the documentary, the film starred Paul Shaffer, Fred Willard, Fran Drescher, Bruno Kirby, Howard Hesseman, Ed Begley Jr., and Anjelica Huston. Dana Carvey and Billy Crystal also had small roles in the film.

Related Topics:
Paul Shaffer - Fred Willard - Fran Drescher - Bruno Kirby - Howard Hesseman - Ed Begley Jr. - Anjelica Huston - Dana Carvey - Billy Crystal

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