This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

In director Rob Reiner's very funny, improvisational, low-budget satirical rock-related comedy - it was his debut film. The typical concert film that coined the term "rockumentary" told about the ill-fated, 1982 "Tap Across America" tour by Spinal Tap - one of Europe's loudest bands, in their first US tour in six years. The spoof was so convincing that many viewers were fooled into believing that the band was real although it was entirely bogus and fictional. There were four co-writers for the mostly-improvised film (all of whom also starred in the film): Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Rob Reiner.

The parody music film about the band's comeback tour featured non-stop hilarity, mixing both obvious gags and lampooning in-jokes, as well as many brief star cameos, i.e., Billy Crystal as bossy head waiter Morty the Mime, Fran Drescher as record company publicist Bobbi Flekman ("Money talks, and bulls--t walks!"), Patrick Macnee as the vacuous Sir Denis Eton-Hogg - head of Polymer Records and Hoggwood - a camp for pale young boys, Bruno Kirby as a NY limo driver obsessed with Frank Sinatra, Paul Shaffer (David Letterman's band leader) as Midwestern Chicago promoter Artie Fufkin, and many others.

The heavy metal British group had numerous tour misadventures, including how they couldn't locate the amphitheatre stage for a performance in Cleveland, being stopped at airport security for wearing an "artificial limb," experiencing numerous show cancellations, mixed-up hotel accommodations, mechanical-equipment failures, a second billing to a puppet show, an 18" Stonehenge prop debacle, a failed promotional appearances - a no-show record signing, a two-word previous record album review ("S--t Sandwich"), and group member David's demanding girlfriend Jeanine Pettibone (June Chadwick) - dedicated to astrology - who sabotaged the group's manager Ian by taking charge and suggesting ridiculous onstage astrology-horoscope costumes and makeup.

With a small budget of $2.5 million, the film had a very quiet theatrical release and grossed only $4.7 million. But quickly, it became a cult favorite on videotape, leading co-writer/actor Christopher Guest to direct a string of other mockumentaries (Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), and A Mighty Wind (2003), which reunited all three Spinal Tap actors as folk singers).

• in the film, fictional cinema verite director Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner, the film's actual director), a neophyte documentary film-maker, explained how for years, he had been following the members of a rock 'n' roll group now named Spinal Tap; the heavy metal band was promoting their new LP album "Smell the Glove" on a tour dubbed: "Tapping Into The Millennium"

Rockumentary Film-Maker Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner, The Film's Actual Director)

• he explained how he had first encountered the unknown group in 1966 in Greenwich Village, NY, and now the band had become legendary and prominent: ("17 years and 15 albums later"):
  • "...That band was Britain's now-legendary Spinal Tap... still going strong. And they've earned a distinguished place in rock history as one of England's loudest bands. So in the late fall of 1982, when I heard that Tap was releasing a new album called 'Smell the Glove', and was planning their first tour of the United States in almost six years to promote that album, well, needless to say, I jumped at the chance to make the documentary - the, if you will, 'rockumentary' - that you're about to see. I wanted to capture the - the sights, the sounds, the smells of a hard-working rock band on the road. And I got that; and I got more, a lot more. But hey, enough of my yakkin'; whaddaya say? Let's boogie!"
• the members of the group arrived at JFK in New York City, and then in a NYC venue, the legendary group played "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight"; the group members included:
  • David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), the blonde guitarist-singer
  • Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), the mustached bass-guitar player-singer
  • Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), the brown-haired lead singer-guitarist, and the life-long friend of lead singer David
  • Viv Savage (David Kaff), a strange troll-like keyboardist
  • Mick Shrimpton (R.J. Parnell), the latest drummer
    

David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) - The Blonde Lead Singer

Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) - The Lead Guitarist

Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) - The Bass Player

• afterwards, they were interviewed the next day in a garden area (with a castle backdrop) by DiBergi about the early days of the band in the East End of London; they had first performed as a folk group known as The Originals, then The New Originals, and also as The Thamesmen before becoming Spinal Tap

David St. Hubbins

Nigel Tufnel

Derek Smalls

• they were viewed on British TV in an old B/W clip from the mid-1960s playing "Pop, Look & Listen" as The Thamesmen, resembling the Beatles; they discussed how there had been an endless string of deceased drummers; their original drummer was blonde and geeky Joe "Stumpy" Pepys who was remembered as having a lethal gardening accident, and then Eric "Stumpy Joe" Childs who choked to death on someone else's vomit; by the late 1960s and early 70s, the band had begun to transition to playing heavy metal rock 'n' roll
• an opening-night party (a record-promotional reception) was held to celebrate the group's first album before a scheduled Madison Square Garden NYC performance; the group of players (attired in complete heavy metal regalia) had just arrived in America to endorse their newest and controversial album/cover "Smell the Glove"; at the party, they were introduced to the "hostess with the mostest" Polymer Records publicist (in charge of Artist Relations) - Bobbi Flekman (Fran Drescher); she introduced the band to Sir Denis Eton-Hogg (Patrick Macnee) - her boss, the influential President of Polymer Records; refreshments were being served by two Mimes (Dana Carvey and Julie Payne), plus a third bossy head Mime named Morty (Billy Crystal)
• as the band was transported in a limo to their next scheduled appointment, they were reading Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr.'s autobiography "Yes I Can"; however, the limo driver Tommy Pischedda (Bruno Kirby) began bragging about Frank Sinatra: ("You know what the title of that book should be? 'Yes, I Can If Frank Sinatra Says It's OK'. 'Cause Frank calls the shots for all of those guys"); the "limeys" were uninterested in hearing about Sinatra and shut the limo window; in the front passenger seat, Marty tried to justify their snub: "They're not uh, they're not used to that world, Frank Sinatra, it's a different world that they're in"; the limo driver persisted: "When you've loved and lost the way Frank has, then you uh, you know what life's about"
• in the back of the limo, the group's manager - Ian Faith (Tony Hendra), the band's shifty-eyed, cricket stick-wielding promoter, spoke with band member David St. Hubbins about the release and publicity for their latest album; without much marketing success in NY, where they were regarded as a "fad" (stated explicitly by the driver), his alternate plan was to leave the city as soon as possible to play in Philadelphia, PA ("a real rock and roll town"); at Fidelity Hall in Philadelphia, the group of bass guitarists played one of their albums' sexist and vulgar songs: "Big Bottom"
• during another excerpt from their garden interview with DiBergi, it was revealed that previous albums including "Intravenus de Milo" (with a tasteless cover of the famous Venus de Milo sculpture with an IV tube connected to her stump) and the religious-toned "The Gospel According To Spinal Tap" hadn't been well-received, and in fact were highly-criticized as "tasteless," containing "retarded sexuality and bad poetry," and "pretentious"; the two-word review for their "Shark Sandwich" album had been "S--t Sandwich"
• at the Recording Industry Convention in Atlanta, GA, the group in their hotel suite learned that Ian had been forced to cancel a show date in Boston: ("I wouldn't worry about it though, it's not a big college town"); in the Hospitality Suite for Polymer Records, Ian admitted to the record company's publicist Bobbi that he knew there were problems with the group's objectionable and provocative album cover for "Smell the Glove" ("The company is rather down on the cover"); she complained to Ian about the offensive and very sexist nature of the album's cover (and of an in-bondage female smelling a glove) and how it wouldn't sell well:
  • "You put a greased naked woman on all fours with a dog collar around her neck, and a leash, and a man's arm extended out up to here, holding onto the leash, and pushing a black glove in her face to sniff it. You don't find that offensive? You don't find that sexist?...it's 1982! Get out of the '60s. We don't have this mentality anymore"
• Ian weakly argued back to Bobbi: "Well you should have seen the cover they wanted to do. It wasn't a glove believe me"; Bobbi received a phone call from Denis Eton-Hogg notifying her that the 'sexist' album was rejected and was not going to be released; after the call, she told Ian and the band-members about an album-cover boycott: "Both Sears and K-Mart stores have refused to handle the album"; Bobbi suggested that rather than arguing with her ("Money talks and bulls--t walks..."), rethinking the objectionable album cover might be a better idea; she promised to later talk to Denis and maybe compromise with the band on a new design concept that everyone could live with
• in his continuing interview in a restaurant with David and Nigel, DiBergi asked them why the "make up of your audience seems to be, uh, predominately young boys"; Nigel explained the usual reaction of females to the band: "Really they're quite fearful - that's my theory. They see us on stage with tight trousers we've got, you know, armadillos in our trousers, I mean it's really quite frightening..."
• in one of the film's hilarious sequences, backstage at Chapel Hill, NC in the Vandermint Auditorium (a legendary venue at the University of NC), an angry Nigel spoke to Ian about his problem with the "miniature bread" slices provided to them by the university's catering, because the awkwardly-large meat slices were hanging out of the sandwiches; he also mentioned problems with the pimento-less olives; Ian was worried that Nigel was so upset that it would affect his performance
• sometime later after performing "Hell Hole" (ending with Nigel on the stage's floor), in Nigel's guitar room, he showed off and bragged about all of his guitar-instruments and technical audio equipment to rockumentary film-maker DiBergi: "The sustain, listen to it"; when DiBergi responded: "I'm not hearing anything" - Nigel added: "Well, you would though, if it were playing"; DiBergi was also reprimanded for even pointing at one of his cherished instruments; and then in the famous "These go to 11" scene, Nigel also praised his very special Marshall amp to Marty - boasting that the amplifier could go "one louder" up to a volume setting of eleven: ("Eleven. Exactly. One louder"); he gave a response ("These go to 11") to DiBergi's query about why they just didn't make 10 louder:
  • "Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?"
• in the lobby of a Memphis, TN hotel where they were booked for their next gig, Ian was amongst the group of fourteen who were informed by the befuddled hotel clerk Tucker 'Smitty' Brown (Paul Benedict) that there had been a serious mistake regarding their reservations: "You wanted seven, uh, suites....Yes w-we-he mistakenly put you on the seventh floor with one suite"; Ian insulted 'Smitty' by calling him a "twisted old fruit," before Smitty was assisted by Reba to straighten out the reservation
• in the hotel hallway, the band members watched as another lead rocker-singer Duke Fame (Paul Shortino) and his manager Terry Ladd (Howard Hesseman) were surrounded by two of his crazed groupies (Cherie Darr and Lara Cody), while ignoring Spinal Tap; the band members were unimpressed by the group that had once opened for Spinal Tap: (David and Nigel: "What a wanker!" and Derek: "Total no talent sod"); David explained how Spinal Tap had to apologize to the booing crowd for Duke Fame's set: ("It's all hype. It's all bought")
• Duke and his entourage were on their way to catch a limo to their 20,000 seat sold-out show; David also initiated a discussion about Duke's latest album cover - with a lurid photo of the singer Duke tied to a table and surrounded by semi-nude women with bull-whips; although David thought the album cover was much worse than the one on "Smell the Glove," Ian explained that it was considered inoffensive because the male was the victim: ("If the singer's the victim, it's different. It's not sexist"; Nigel complained that it represented a double-standard: "He did a twist on it" and Ian wondered why they hadn't thought of it themselves: ("If we had all you guys tied up, that probably woulda been fine"); David and Derek concluded the conversation, stating: "It's such a fine line between stupid...and clever"
• and then, they were informed that their rooms were restored to them, but also found out that their Memphis gig had actually been cancelled: "Memphis show cancelled due to lack of advertising funds"
• in Ian's office, DiBergi asked him if the group's popularity was waning, evidenced by their reduced number of bookings in smaller venues; Ian rationalized: "I just think that the, uh, that their appeal is becoming more selective"; he also explained the reason for his large cricket bat on his desk - "Certainly in the topsy, turvy world of heavy rock, having a good solid piece of wood in your hand is quite often - useful"
• meanwhile, on the phone with his longtime girlfriend Jeanine (June Chadwick), David told her about show cancellations (by their Chicago promoter) in the mid-western cities of St. Louis, Kansas City, and Des Moines, and that she wouldn't be able to travel with him and the band until they arrived in Milwaukee, WI; the news of her joining the band ("She's coming on the road, she's going to travel with us, she's gonna go on the road with us") seemed to displease Nigel; although discouraged by all the bad news, they were slightly encouraged to hear one of their older songs from the mid-1960s, "Listen To The Flower People," being played on the local radio station, but then the DJ Johnny Q on Golden 106 insulted them: "They are currently residing in the 'where are they now' file"
• at the gravesite of Elvis "The King" Presley at Graceland in Memphis, the band members sang a cappella - a version of "Heartbreak Hotel" without knowing the lyrics or harmonizing together; it was a somber and depressing moment for the group: (Nigel: "It really puts perspective on things, though, doesn't it?" David: Too much, there's too much f--king perspective now")
• during another excerpt from the earlier garden interview with DiBergi, the group watched a video playback of their first hit song in 1967 - the flower-power best-selling single: "Listen to the Flower People"; Derek remembered: "We were changing the world," and David thought back: "We toured the world, we toured the States...it was a dream come true"; the group recalled that their third drummer at the time, Peter "James" Bond, spontaneously combusted and exploded on stage with "a flash of green light" at Isle of Lucy's Blues-Jazz Festival; David dubiously added: "You know, dozens of people spontaneously combust each year, it's just not really widely reported"

David with Girlfriend Jeanine Pettibone (June Chadwick)

Ian Introducing the New All-Black Album Cover

• at their next venue, Shank Hall in Milwaukee, WI, after a sound check, the group played one of their old songs: "Gimme Some Money" (or G.S.M.); David's girlfriend Jeanine appeared and joined up with David and the group, although Nigel was clearly disappointed; Ian entered the hall and announced how he had decided to release the objectionable album (and its cover); unwisely, he had changed the design cover - it would be entirely-black on both sides, the opposite of The Beatles' 'White Album': (Ian: "It's going to be that simple, beautiful, classic!"); Nigel criticized it: "It's like a black mirror," and David also reacted negatively:
  • "Well, I think it looks like death, it looks like mourning...I think we're stuck with a very, very stupid and a very, and a very dismal looking album, this is depressing....This is something you wear around your arm, you don't put this on your f--king turntable"
• Ian was hopeful that the album's release would turn their fortunes around: "I frankly think that this is the turning point, okay? I think, I think this is, we're on our way now....It's time, time to kick arse!"; in the next sequence, the group played "Rock and Roll Creation" with some of the supporting players encased in giant cocoon-like clear plastic
• as the group's latest drummer Mick was in a bathtub, filmmaker DiBergi asked if he had any fears about suffering a fate like the previous drummers, and he answered that he was hopeful that he would suvive based upon "the law of averages"; on their tour bus, Mick played computer video games while others (except for David and Jeanine) were with groupies in the back of the bus
• David and Jeanine were also separately interviewed about their relationship; David claimed she had a positive influence on him: "She sort of sorted it out for me, straightened it out for me, gave me a path, you know, a path to follow," although she was also "very honest" and "brutally frank" and communications between Nigel and Jeanine were sometimes blocked

Nigel Explaining to Marty His Work on a Song ("Like My Love Pump")

Bass Player Derek Smalls' Embarrassment at an Airport Security Checkpoint

• later, as he played the piano, Nigel explained to Marty how he had created a memorable song fusing Bach and Mozart (or M-ach) "Lick My Love Pump" with offensive lyrics
• in a scene at an airplane security checkpoint, bass player Derek Smalls became embarrassed after being asked to repeatedly go back to the walk-through security; he set off a hand-held metal detector wand directed toward his crotch by the female Airport Security Officer (Gloria Gifford) who then asked him: "Do you have any artificial plates or limbs?..."; he was caught with a zucchini wrapped in aluminum foil stuffed into his pants

Midwest Promoter for Polymer Records Artie Fufkin (Paul Shaffer)

Holiday Inn Room Service Guy (Archie Hahn)

• their next on-stage hard-rock song was: "Heavy Duty"; afterwards, in their Holiday Inn hotel room in Chicago, IL, the band was introduced to their local record promoter Artie Fufkin (Paul Shaffer) of Polymer Records; Derek was lying in bed with groupie Cindy (Victory Tischler-Blue), while Nigel was accompanied by Belinda (Joyce Hyser); they were interrupted by the delivery of food from a Room Service Guy (Archie Hahn) - who reacted: "Oh, thank god, civilization! Where do I put this?"

Poorly-Attended Record Album Signing

Artie Fufkin Speaking with the Store Owner (Charles Levin) About The "Terrible" Signing

Artie Blaming Himself For the Failure - Asking to Be Kicked in the Ass

• the next day during an afternoon record album signing at Disc 'n' Dat in South Bend, IN, no one showed up and it was a miserable failure; Artie was disappointed with the record store owner (Charles Levin) and their "relationship" - who admitted that business was "terrible"; but then, Artie immediately blamed himself for oversaturing the radio airwaves, and for bad timing: "We saturated, we over saturated. That's what it is, It's me, I did it, I f--ked up. I f--ked up the timing, that's all. I f--ked up the timing, I've got no timing, I've got no timing, I've got no timing"; he turned around and asked Nigel to punish him: "Do me a favor, just kick my ass, okay? Kick this ass for a man, that's all, kick my ass, enjoy! C'mon, I'm not asking, I'm telling with this, kick my ass!"
• at their next stop at the Xanadu Star Theater in Cleveland, OH during their 1982 tour, as they proceeded to the stage and a rowdy audience from the basement's dressing room, and even asked directions from a Janitor (Wonderful Smith), the band became hopelessly lost, following a convoluted route through a maze-like group of corridors and walkways, as Derek yelled out: "Rock 'n roll! Hello Cleveland!"
• afterwards, at the Season's Restaurant in Cleveland, OH, the group discussed their new album; Jeanine criticized its lack of success on the poor job of mixing the vocals while mispronouncing Dolby: ("You couldn't hear the lyrics on all of it...you don't do heavy metal in dobly"), aggravating Nigel in particular; David was fatalistic: "We shan't recover from this one. We shan't recover from this one"
• David and Jeanine transitioned into proposing newly-designed costumes and make-up "fashioned after the signs of the Zodiac"; David showed sketches of each of the band members dressed up: Viv as a Yin-Yang Libra, Nigel as a goat-like Capricorn, Derek as a crab-like Cancer, and David as a lion-like Leo; Ian was perturbed by the Zodiac idea: "Have you any idea what it will cost to dress up the band as animals?"; as an alternate suggestion, Nigel proposed to David that they could enhance their on-stage production value and performances with the construction of a Stonehenge monolith monument (a three-rock Trilithon); on a bar napkin, he doodled the basic specifications (in inches) for its construction and handed it to Ian

The Disastrous Stonehenge Foam Stage Prop - As Doodled on a Bar Napkin and Designed by an Artist Polly Deutsch (Anjelica Huston) in Austin, TX

• shortly later, Ian met with female Artist Polly Deutsch (Anjelica Huston) in Austin, TX who had built the foam Stonehenge triptychs at a height of 18 inches, as specified on the napkin; Ian was flabbergasted that it wasn't 20 feet high: "This is the piece?...Are you telling me that this is it? This is scenery? Have you ever been to Stonehenge?", but the Artist defensively asserted and pulled out the original drawing: "Ian, I was supposed to build it 18 inches high!...Look, look, look. This is what I was asked to build. 18 inches, right here, it's specified, 18 inches. I was given this napkin, I mean"; Ian responded: "Forget this. F--k the napkin!"; apparently, Nigel had mixed up inches with feet, and Ian had ignored the dimensions; there was no time to redo the construction
• during their disastrous Stonehenge finale in Austin, TX, the undersized stage prop - an 18 inch miniature Stonehenge monolith monument - was lowered to the stage from the rafters and dwarfed by a pair of midgets cavorting around it; the stage prop was almost knocked down by two Little Druid dancers (Chris Romano and Daniel Rodgers) in Celtic costumes
• afterwards in their Austin hotel room, a blame-shifting discussion was led by David:
  • "I do not, for one, think that the problem was that the band was down. I think that the problem may have been, that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being crushed by a dwarf. Alright? That tended to understate the hugeness of the object."
• Ian tried to downplay the disaster to David: "I really think you're just making a much too big thing out of it....Nigel gave me a drawing that said 18 inches....Now, whether or not he knows the difference between feet and inches is not my problem. I do what I'm told"; David countered: "But you're not as confused as him are you? I mean it's not your job to be as confused as Nigel is"; Ian answered him: "It's my job to do what I'm asked to do by the creative element of this band. And that's what I did"
• when Ian was ganged up on by David and blamed for his poor management: ("Maybe you're taking on more than you can...uh...uh.. uh...handle") with Jeanine adding: "It's not exactly the first time you've messed things up is it?", Ian attempted to explain his impossible work schedule and duties:
  • "For one thing that goes wrong, one-one single thing that goes wrong, a hundred things go right. Do you know what I spend my time doing? I sleep two or three hours a night. There's no sex and drugs for Ian, David. Do you know what I do? I find lost luggage. I locate mandolin strings in the middle of Austin....You know? I prise the rent out of the local Hebrews. That's what I do!"
• ultimately, it was suggested by David that his girlfriend Jeanine should "help out" and/or replace Ian; their idea was to take over and co-manage the band, but Ian would have nothing to do with them and promptly quit: ("I am not managing it with you or any other woman, especially one that dresses like an Australian's nightmare. So f--k you!!!. And f---k all of you because I quit! Alright? That's it! Good night!!")
• in the next scene at the airport before a flight to Denver, CO, Jeanine had taken over, and was relying on her astrological charts (the band's sign was Virgo "with Saturn in the third house") to predict that the band should have lots of good luck; during a further interview session in a storeroom between DiBergi and Nigel, Nigel admitted he had a strong relationship with David: ("We're closer than brothers. Brothers always fight, sort of disagreements, and all that. We really have a relationship that's way, way past that"); however, in the next sequence at a recording session at the Rainbow Trout Studio near their Denver lodge, Nigel and David entered into a vicious argument about how David's girlfriend Jeanine was interfering in his ability to concentrate; Derek considered his two band-mates (Nigel and David) as "poets" and "visionaries," but admitted that they were like "fire and ice"; his role in-between them was to remain "lukewarm"
• after landing in Seattle, WA, due to the cancellation of their original gig at the Civic Arena, the group was diverted by Jeanine; the band proceeded directly by limo to the Lindbergh Air Force Base in Seattle for the base's monthly "at-ease weekend"; Jeanine introduced the group to Air Force Lieutenant Bob Hookstratten (Fred Willard) in an airplane hangar; although the lieutenant suggested that they play "a couple of slow numbers," the band played the raunchy song "Sex Farm" for the straight audience
• in addition, during their disastrous base show, Nigel became frustrated with an equipment malfunction (his equipment was broadcasting the base's ATC signals); he threw down his guitar on-stage and smashed it before walking off and quitting; afterwards in their hotel lobby, while under "heavy sedation," David claimed to DiBergi that he wasn't too upset by Nigel's departure, realistically rationalizing that in "the world of rock and roll," there would always be changes; he ended by vowing: "No, we, we shan't work together again"
• next, while at the Themeland Amusement Park in Stockton, CA, the band discovered that they had been booked as the secondary outdoor amphitheatre act for a headlining puppet show; due to Nigel's absence, their musical pieces were severely limited to about 10 minutes worth of music ("What are we going to do, we've got nothing to play here"); Derek unwisely suggested that the band - re-invented and re-named Spinal Tap Mach 2 - play an experimental free-form "Jazz Odyssey" for the festival crowd, and as feared, it turned out to be an utter 'thumbs-down' disaster
• as their 1982 tour was winding down, a last-minute, end-of-tour pool-side party for the group was held in Los Angeles, CA on the rooftop of a hotel before their final gig; when prophetically asked by a Rolling Stone Reporter (Zane Buzby) if this was the end of the line for the group, David vaguely philosophized: "I don't really think that the end can be assessed, uh, as of itself as being the end because what does the end feel like..."; Derek spoke about how he didn't want to be a 45 year-old playing for audiences half his age; David and Derek pondered shutting down Spinal Tap and experimenting with their earlier idea for a 'Jack the Ripper' musical titled "Saucy Jack"

Nigel's Sudden Arrival as a "Messenger" Backstage Before the Band's Final Gig

Jeanine Very Displeased by Nigel's Proposal to Re-form the Original Group

• before taking the stage for their last gig, Nigel suddenly arrived - calling himself a "messenger"; he had heard from Ian that their raunchy song "Sex Farm" had become a major top-5 hit song in Japan; he proposed rejoining the band and extending their tour to Japan; however, David acted miffed by Nigel's suggestion, and Jeanine hurriedly rushed the band onto the stage: "I think it's time to go in, we don't have time to discuss this now"; before joining the band onstage, David was bid good-luck by Nigel: "David; do a good show, alright"
• the band opened with "Tonight I'm Going to Rock You Tonight," but then, David motioned for Nigel (standing in the wings) to join the band to headline the number; David surprisingly announced to the crowd, to Jeanine's displeasure, that Nigel would be performing as the band's lead guitarist - and the group's performance was electrifying
• as the film concluded, their last performance in the US seamlessly transitioned into their revitalized performance for a sold-out crowd at Kobe Hall in Tokyo, Japan; Spinal Tap had hired a new drummer - Joe "Mama" Besser (Fred Asparagus) (after Mick Shrimpton had spontaneously combusted), and Ian had been rehired as the group's manager after Jeanine was displaced
• during the scrolling end-credits, further interviews with band members were played in the background about various topics: feelings about playing rock 'n' roll, listening to the classics on tape-cassettes, medically-accurate T-shirts, Denis Eton-Hogg's summer camp, patron saints, racism, personal philosophies of life, epitaphs, and canned tuna fish; the last line of the film came when Nigel responded to DiBergi's question about whether he would be happy doing something other than being a rock-and-roller, such as working in a haberdashery or hat shop, or as a shoe salesman:
  • "Well, I don't know. What are the hours?"