This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

Edit this Page
Rob Reiner Director

A mockumentary (or rockumentary depending on who you ask) about England's loudest rock band Spinal Tap. Filmmaker Marty DiBegri will follow the band, capturing the sights, the sounds, and the smells of their US tour.
Trivia:

Spinal Tap has a bit of a cult following, with the actors still producing music and releasing videos to this day.

9 More Trivia
Reference: Gimme Shelter

2 More Movie References
Quote: Nigel Tufnel

These go to 11.

14 More Quotes
Writers
Cast
Rob Reiner Marty DiBergi
Michael McKean David St. Hubbins
Christopher Guest Nigel Tufnel
Harry Shearer Derek Smalls
Kimberly Stringer Heavy Metal Fan
Chazz Dominguez Heavy Metal Fan
Shari Hall Heavy Metal Fan
R.J. Parnell Mick Shrimpton
David Kaff Viv Savage
Tony Hendra Ian Faith
See Full Credits

Plot Overview: "Such a fine line between stupid and clever."  

Documentarian Marty Dibergi (Rob Reiner) first encountered Britain's loudest rock band Spinal Tap in a club called The Electric Banana. He decided to document their second tour in the US, or as he calls it, a "rockumentary."  
 
Spinal Tap is comprised of three main rockers: lead singer/guitar David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), lead guitar Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), and bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer). Spinal Tap is touring the USA to promote their new album: Smell the Glove.  
 
Controversy about the album arises when Bobbi Flekman (Fran Drescher) tells the band's manager Ian Faith (Tony Hendra) that the record company is displeased with the cover. The cover depicts a greased up, naked girl with a dog collar around her neck, and a hand shoving a glove in her face.  
 
 "How much more black can this be? And the answer is none. None more black."
 "How much more black can this be? And the answer is none. None more black."
When the band sees the new cover Ian chose, they are also displeased. The cover is just plain black, eerily foretelling Metallica's Black Album. The album fails to generate much interest, but the band has more significant issues than that. 
 
David's girlfriend, Jeanine Pettibone (June Chadwick) has joined the tour, much to the dismay of the rest of the band. Nigel gets the idea of doing Stonehenge, and he gives Ian a napkin with a sketch of the Stonehenge monument. However, the monument ends up being hilariously small, but the band is not amused. Ian quits and Jeanine becomes Spinal Tap's new manager. 
 
During a gig at an army base, Nigel picks up some transmissions on his guitar's radio. He runs off the stage, which the rest of the band takes to mean he quit. Derek and David decide to keep Spinal Tap going, with even less success then they previously had. Nigel comes by before a performance and tells the band that they their song "Sex Farm" is a hit in Japan. He later joins the band on stage, cementing his return to Spinal Tap. Spinal Tap goes on to tour Japan, enjoying big success there.   
 

Reception and Legacy: "That's just nitpicking"

This is Spinal Tap received positive reviews from critics, namely Roger Ebert, who praised the films' satirical take on rock and roll. This is Spinal Tap's real success would come years after it was released however. 
 
This is Spinal Tap has developed a large cult following, causing the actors to continue to produce and perform music as Spinal Tap. The film has landed on multiple "best of" lists, including AFI's 100 Laughs (#29), Empire's Top 500 Films of All Time (#48), New York Time's Best 1,000 Movies Ever, Total Film's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time, and Entertainment Weekly's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time. 
 
This is Spinal Tap has been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress, and has been inducted into the National Film Registry. A significant honor indeed. It was the 11th film to be released under the The Criterion Collection banner. The Criterion Collection is a series of "important classic and contemporary films", that get released on DVD and Blu-Ray with tons of special features.  
 

"Going to 11"

   
"It&squot;s one louder." 
"It's one louder." 
Undoubtedly the most famous scene in This is Spinal is when Nigel shows Marty his collection of guitars. He also shows Marty his amp, which has the knobs that have a highest setting of 11, and not 10 like most amps. Nigel thinks this makes it louder, and gives them extra power on stage. Marty asks why not just adjust the volume to make 10 have the same volume of 11. Nigel pauses and says "these go to 11." 
 
This scene spawned the phrase "going to 11" meaning "taken to the extreme" or something along those lines. The phrase was used so much that it was entered into the 2002 Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. The definition states: "up to maximum volume."
 

Songs: "I can do without the rock and roll."

This is Spinal Tap is somewhat of a musical because it routinely features songs by Spinal Tap, written and performed by the actors themselves. Here are the songs in This is Spinal Tap, in order of their appearance in the film. Some songs differ to those played in the film, in regards to the lyrics. They were written to reflect the studio versions.
 

Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You 


Little girl, it's a great big world
But there's only one of me
You can't touch 'cause I cost too much
But tonight I'm gonna rock ya (Tonight I'm gonna rock ya)
Yeah, tonight I'm gonna rock ya (Tonight I'm gonna rock ya)
Tonight!

You're sweet but you're just four feet
And you still got your baby teeth
You're too young and I'm too well hung
But tonight I'm gonna rock ya (Tonight I'm gonna rock ya)
Yeah, tonight I'm gonna rock ya (Tonight I'm gonna rock ya)
Tonight, whoa yeah!

You're hot, you take all we've got
Not a dry seat in the house
Next day, we'll be on our way
But tonight we're gonna rock ya (Tonight we're gonna rock ya)
Yeah, tonight we're gonna rock ya (Tonight we're gonna rock ya)
Tonight!

Little girl, it's a great big world
But there's only one of... Me! 
    

Gimme Some Money 

  
Stop wasting my time
You know what I want
You know what I need
Or maybe you don't

Do I have to come right flat out and tell you everything?
Gimme some money, gimme some money

I'm nobody's fool
I'm nobody's clown
I'm treating you cool
I'm putting you down

But baby I don't intend to leave empty handed
Gimme some money, gimme some money
Oh yeah! Go Nigel, Go!

Gimme some money, gimme some money
Gimme some money, gimme some money

Don't get me wrong (Gimme some money, gimme some money)
Try getting me right (Gimme some money, gimme some money)
Your face is OK
But your purse is too tight (Gimme some money, gimme some money)
I'm looking for pound notes, loose change, bad checks, anything
Gimme some money, gimme some money

Gimme some money, gimme some money
Gimme some money, gimme some money
Gimme some money, gimme some money
Gimme some money, gimme some money
Gimme some money, gimme some money     

Big Bottom

  
The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin'
That's what I said
The looser the waistband, the deeper the quicksand
Or so I have read

My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo
I'd like to sink her with my pink torpedo

Big bottom, big bottom
Talk about bum cakes, my girl's got 'em
Big bottom drive me out of my mind
How could I leave this behind?

I met her on Monday, 'twas my lucky bun day
You know what I mean
I love her each weekday, each velvety cheek day
You know what I mean

My love gun's loaded and she's in my sights
Big game is waiting there inside her tights, yeah

Big bottom, big bottom
Talk about mud flaps, my girl's got 'em
Big bottom drive me out of my mind
How could I leave this behind?

My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo
I'd like to sink her with my pink torpedo

Big bottom, big bottom
Talk about bum cakes, my girl's got 'em
Big bottom drive me out of my mind
How could I leave this behind?  
 

Hell Hole 

 
The window's dirty, the mattress stinks
This ain't no place to be a man
I ain't got no future, I ain't got no past
And I don't think I ever can

The floor is filthy, the walls are thin
The wind is howling in my face
The rats are peeling, I'm losing ground
Can't seem to join the human race

Yeah!
I'm living in a hell hole
Don't want to stay in this hell hole
Don't want to die in this hell hole
Girl get me out of this hell hole

I rode the jet stream, I hit the top
I'm eating steak and lobster tails
The sauna's drafty - oooh, the pool's too hot
The kitchen stinks of boiling snails

The taxman's coming, the butler quit
This ain't no way to be a man
I'm going back to where I started
I'm flashing back into my pan

Yeah, that's what I am doing, and why not? 
It's better in a hell hole
You know where you stand in a hell hole
Folks lend a hand in a hell hole
Girl get me back to my hell hole      

(Listen to the) Flower People  

 
Listen, (Shhhh) to what the flower people say (Ahhhh)
Listen, it's getting louder every day

Listen, (Shhhh) it's like a bolt out of the blue (Ahhhh)
Listen, it could be calling now for you

Flower people walk on by
Flower people don't you cry
It's not too late (No!)
It's not too late

Listen (Shhhh) it's like a Mozart symphony
Listen (Shhhh) it's something just for you and me

Listen (Shhhh) to what the flower people say (Ahhhh)
Listen, it's getting truer every day

(Ahhhh)      

Rock and Roll Creation

 
When there was darkness and the void was king and ruled the elements
When there was silence and the hush was almost deafening

Out of the emptiness, Salvation! (Salvation!)
Rhythm and light and sound
It 'twas the Rock & Roll creation
It 'twas a terrible big bang
It 'twas the ultimate mutation
Ying was searching for his yang
And he looked and he saw that it was good

When I'm alone beneath the stars and feeling insignificant
I turn within to see the forces that created me

I look to the stars and the answer is clear
I look in the mirror and see what I fear

It 'tis the Rock & Roll creation
It 'tis the absolute rebirth
It 'tis the rolling of the ocean
And the rocking of the earth
And I looked and I saw that it was good     
 

Heavy Duty 

 
No light fantastic ever crosses my mind
That meditation stuff can make you go blind
Just crank that volume to the point of pain
Why waste good music on a brain
Chorus:
Heavy, Duty
Heavy duty rock and roll
Heavy duty
Brings out the duty in my soul
I see you dancing there in front of the band
You're playin' the solos with no guitar in your hand
I don't pull no punches I wouldn't waste your time
And just cause it pays, that ain't no crime
Heavy, duty
Heavy duty rock and roll
Heavy duty
Brings out the duty in my soul
Don't need a woman, I won't take me no wife
I get the rock and roll and that'll be my life
No page in history baby- that, I don't need
I just want to make some eardrums bleed
Heavy, duty
Heavy duty rock and roll
Heavy duty
Brings out the duty in my soul
   

Stonehenge 

   
In ancient times...
Hundreds of years before the dawn of history
Lived a strange race of people... the Druids

No one knows who they were or what they were doing
But their legacy remains
Hewn into the living rock... Of Stonehenge

Stonehenge! Where the demons dwell
Where the banshees live and they do live well
Stonehenge! Where a man's a man
And the children dance to the Pipes of Pan

Hey!

Stonehenge! 'Tis a magic place
Where the moon doth rise with a dragon's face
Stonehenge! Where the virgins lie
And the prayers of devils fill the midnight sky

And you my love, won't you take my hand?
We'll go back in time to that mystic land
Where the dew drops cry and the cats meow
I will take you there, I will show you how

Oh!

And oh how they danced
The little children of Stonehenge
Beneath the haunted moon
For fear that daybreak might come too soon 

And where are they now?
The little children of Stonehenge 
And what would they say to us?
If we were here... tonight     

Sex Farm 

 
Working on a sex farm
Trying to raise some hard love
Getting out my pitch fork
Poking your hay

Scratching in your hen house
Sniffing at your feedbag
Slipping out your back door
Leaving my spray

Sex farm woman, I'm gonna mow you down
Sex farm woman, I'll rake and hoe you down
Sex farm woman, don't you see my silo rising high?

Working on a sex farm
Hosing down your barn door
Bothering your livestock
They know what I need

Working up a hot sweat
Crouching in your pea patch
Plowing through your bean field
Planting my seed

Sex farm woman, I'll be your hired hand
Sex farm woman, I'll let my offer stand
Sex farm woman, don't you hear my tractor rumbling by?

Working on a sex farm
Trying to raise some hard love
Getting out my pitch fork
Poking your hay    
This Is Spinal Tap 3 images
blog Movie Update 4 Adrenaline
Write a Review
72 votes, 4.1 avg.

  • 96

  • 7.9
General Information Edit
Name This Is Spinal Tap
US Release March 2, 1984
UK Release
AUS Release March 28, 1985
Runtime 82
Language(s)
Add a new language
English
Genre(s)
Add a new genre
Comedy
Music
Theme(s)
Add a new theme
parody
breaking up
Rating R
Alias(es)
Top Rated Lists
Films I love... in no order whatsoever! a list of 151 items by Mistress_Redhead
The Best Movies of the 80's! a list of 95 items by TheSacredTurf
DVD Collection! a list of 220 items by nofx4208
Similar Movies Edit
Related Pages Edit
  • edit Box Office
    Domestic $4,671,000
    Foreign +$0
  • = total worldwide gross $4,671,000
  • - a reported budget of $2,500,000
  • = a 86.8% net profit of $2,171,000
  • show in today's dollars »
  • activity & ranking
    170 people have watched this item.
    Rank This Week
    Rank This Month
    1293 All-Time Rank
  • By Rating
    5/5
    4/4
    3/3
    2/2
    1/1
    0/0
  • edit Links Around the Web
  • In today's dollars
    Domestic $4,671,000
  • = total worldwide gross $4,671,000
  • - a reported budget of $2,500,000
  • = a 86.8% net profit of $2,171,000
Top Editors
help  |  terms and conditions  |  privacy  |  advertise  |  rss

Submissions can take several hours to be approved.

Save ChangesCancel