This Is Spinal Tap

:For the medical procedure, see Lumbar puncture.

Reunions

Spinal Tap reunited in 1992 for an album of new material, partly produced by T-Bone Burnett, and a concert tour.

Related Topics:
1992 - T-Bone Burnett

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They later made a guest appearance on The Simpsons, a television show in which Harry Shearer is also one of the principal voiceover actors. In this animated appearance the band continued their disastrous track record, as a balloon "dark lord" prop failed to inflate properly over the heads of the crowd ("We salute you, our half-inflated dark lord"), and one of the band members was blinded by the laser light show. Later in the episode, Otto's school bus runs Spinal Tap's bus off the road. The bus then overturns and catches fire, a possible homage to the untimely and bizarre deaths suffered by Spinal Tap's drummers.

Related Topics:
The Simpsons - Harry Shearer - Laser light show

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In 1994, The Return of Spinal Tap was released on video; most of this was live material from a 1992 performance at the Royal Albert Hall, but it also included some interviews and follow-up on the band members.

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In 2000 a new song, "Back from the Dead" was made available for download from the official Spinal Tap website.

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In 2001, the band reunited for the 9-stop "Back from the Dead Tour" that began on June 1st at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. The tour ended in Montreal in mid-July at the Just for Laughs festival. The tour also included a show at Carnegie Hall in New York City. None of the shows were cancelled.

Related Topics:
Los Angeles - Montreal - Carnegie Hall - New York City

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This Is Spinal Tap has been released twice on DVD. The first release was a 1998 Criterion edition which used supplemental material from the 1984 Criterion laserdisc release. Sales of this edition were discontinued after only two years and the DVD has become a valuable collector's item. In 2000 a "Special Edition" was released with new supplemental material. The two editions both contain unique supplemental material: the Criterion edition has an audio commentary track with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer; a second audio commentary track with Rob Reiner, Karen Murphy, Robert Leighton, and Kent Beyda; 79 minutes of deleted scenes; a documentary Spinal Tap: The Final Tour; a mock promo film, Cheese Rolling; a TV promo, Heavy Metal Memories; and a music video, Hell Hole. The Special Edition has a new audio commentary track with Guest, McKean, and Shearer performing in character throughout, commenting on the film entirely in their fictional alter-egos, and often disapproving of how the film presents them; 70 minutes of deleted scenes (some of which were not on the Criterion DVD); a new short, Catching Up with Marty DiBergi; a shorter version of Cheese Rolling; the Heavy Metal Memories promo and six additional TV promos; music videos for Hell Hole, Gimme Some Money, Listen to the Flower People, and Big Bottom; segment of Spinal Tap appearing on The Joe Franklin Show; and the theatrical trailer.

Related Topics:
Criterion - Laserdisc - Audio commentary

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In 2002 the United States Library of Congress deemed the original film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Related Topics:
2002 - Library of Congress - National Film Registry

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McKean, Guest, and Shearer also performed as the traditional, Kingston Trio-esque folk band The Folksmen in the film A Mighty Wind.

Related Topics:
Kingston Trio - The Folksmen - A Mighty Wind

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