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Spinal Tap

Spinal Tap

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Spinal Tap Redux

Interview by Jim Sullivan, Rock's Backpages, December 2013

I LISTENED to some of it in my youth, but spent most of my post-teenage years trying to avoid this crap: pandering, patronizing, mono-dimensional, unimaginative ...

Audio interviews

Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel (2009)

Interview by Gavin Martin, Rock's Backpages audio, June 2009

Trout farming, raising miniature horses, a theory about Stonehenge and his complicated relationship with David St. Hubbins: the Tap man tells all.

File format: mp3; File size: 21.6meg, interview length: 23' 35" sound quality: * (phoner)

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Heavy Metal Blunder: This Is Spinal Tap

Review by John Mendelsohn, Creem, May 1984

THE MISSUS USED to be married to a little asshole who produced comedy specials for cable television. The principals of This Is Spinal Tap – ...

Spinal Tap: the Comics Behind the Funniest Rock Movie Ever

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 24 May 1984

Celebrating seventeen years of heavy metal's most painful career ...

This Is Spinal Tap (15)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Ian Birch, Smash Hits, 30 August 1984

Remember The Bad News Tour? How The Comic Strip tore into the ludicrous excesses of heavy metal groups? ...

This Is Spinal Tap

Review by Cynthia Rose, New Musical Express, 8 September 1984

Director: Rob Reiner; Starring: Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer ...

Spinal Tap: The Spinal Solution

Interview by Cynthia Rose, New Musical Express, 8 September 1984

Cynthia Rose shares a wake-up cuppa with Derek Smalls, Nigel Tufnel and David St Hubbins, the unlikely rockers who made it from New York back ...

Spinal Tap: This Much Talent!

Interview by Andy Gill, Q, October 1990

This Is Spinal Tap: the movie that became a legend, the spoof band whose name became a by-word for all that is incompetent, disastrous and ...

Spinal Tap: This Much Talent!

Interview by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, December 1991

2013 NOTE: This piece is slightly longer than the version that appeared in NME, since I took the liberty of reinstating a small handful of ...

Spinal Tap: It's an Ill Wind...

Interview by Paul Elliott, Kerrang!, 25 April 1992

...that brings East End boys made good SPINAL TAP back to the place of their roots. With the release of their first album in 10 years, Break ...

Various Artists: The Freddie Mercury Tribute, Concert For Aids Awareness, Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 2 May 1992

IT'S, UH, KINDA TRAGIC ...

Spinal Tap: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 18 July 1992

THE VERTEBRATE ROCK'N'ROLL SWINDLE ...

25 Essential Music DVDs

Guide by Nicholas Jennings, Inside Entertainment, September 2004

1. The Last Waltz THE BAND'S elegant swansong is the ultimate rock concert movie. Director Martin Scorsese's discreet camerawork and superb sound captures inspired performances from ...

Toto: Get in the Van…

Interview by Scott McLennan, Rip It Up (Australia), February 2008

Steve Lukather's resumé over the last three decades not only showcases a prolific musician, it also suggests a wildly divergent talent unafraid of variety. The ...

Spinal Tap: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 1 July 2009

NO MATTER how witty they may be, few satires or novelty songs repay repeated listening. So how come a packed Wembley is rocking to the ...

Spinal Tap: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 2 July 2009

THE BIZARRE blurring of the lines between comedic fiction and showbusiness reality continued apace with the staging of Spinal Tap's "One Night Only World Tour" ...

Killer Riffs: A Guide to Parody in Popular Music

Essay by Simon Reynolds, Pitchfork, 19 October 2016

From the Residents' freakish Beatles sendups, to Spinal Tap's meta-metal escapades, to the gastronomic goofs of "Weird Al", a chronicle of those who have turned ...

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