{"id":359871,"date":"2025-11-06T13:32:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T13:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/359871\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T13:32:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T13:32:21","slug":"spinal-tap-the-end-continues-official-classic-rock-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/359871\/","title":{"rendered":"Spinal Tap: The End Continues official Classic Rock interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Of all the comebacks of the 21st century, the return of Spinal Tap<\/a> is simultaneously the most consequential and inconsequential of them all. Led Zeppelin<\/a>\u2019s one-off show at London\u2019s O2 in 2007 might have been the most talked about, and Black Sabbath<\/a>\u2019s recent reunion\/farewell the most poignant, but nothing will provoke as much joy, celebration and mockery as the return of Tap.<\/p>\n

A brand new documentary, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues<\/a>, sees the band reuniting with director Marty DiBergi, the man behind celebrated 1984 documentary This Is Spinal Tap, which captured the disastrous US tour in support of their infamous Smell The Glove album.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The band weren\u2019t inactive in the years that followed the original film. They attempted a comeback with 1992\u2019s ill-fated Break Like The Wind album, and subsequently played a handful of gigs, including a memorable appearance at 2007\u2019s Live Earth concert, where they were joined by what was (inaccurately) billed as \u201cevery known bass player in the universe\u201d. But after yet another attempted relaunch with 2009\u2019s Back From The Dead album fell apart in apparent acrimony, it seemed like Tap were finally done.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Except you can\u2019t keep a good band down, and the same applies to Spinal Tap. When Hope Faith, daughter of the band\u2019s late, cricket bat-wielding manager Ian Faith, discovered that Tap were contractually obliged to play one final gig, wheels were set in motion. It ultimately led to singer\/ guitarist David St Hubbins, guitarist Nigel Tufnel and bassist Derek Smalls getting back together for a huge comeback show in New Orleans.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to reunite your band on stage for a good time, it\u2019s another thing to reunite your band in a court of law,\u201d St Hubbins says today of the lawsuit-dodging impetus behind the show.<\/p>\n

And so the three of them are back at the rock\u2019n\u2019roll coal face once more, pick-axes and shovels in hand. They talk to Classic Rock individually via Zoom with the cameras off, although whether that\u2019s for privacy or vanity isn\u2019t clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look in the mirror and I see an old man,\u201d says Tufnel. \u201cI don\u2019t feel like an old man inside, but there\u2019s an old man in that mirror. Sometimes he\u2019s so old he\u2019s not even looking at me. That\u2019s how fucking old he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

\n

\"Spinal\n<\/p>\n

Guest Elton John, David St Hubbins, Derek Smalls and Nigel Tufnel thrill the Tap faithful at the one-off reunion show in New Orleans. (Image credit: Bleecker Street\/Kyle Kaplan)<\/p>\n

David St Hubbins is in a chipper mood. But then he would be, given that he\u2019s currently relaxing in Morro Bay, the coastal town in California where he\u2019s lived for several years. \u201cI\u2019m a bit of a superstar here,\u201d he says. \u201cWhich is to say that I\u2019m the only remotely recognisable person who lives here.\u201d<\/p>\n

St Hubbins didn\u2019t quit music after Tap fell apart. In the film, when DiBergi tracks him down he\u2019s playing with a local Mariachi band in Morro Bay. \u201cWell, that\u2019s just a weekend thing,\u201d he says. \u201cInstead of learning Spanish, I just decided to play Spanish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike some musicians of his vintage, St Hubbins has managed to eke out a living from his chosen trade, although he did have to diversify. In recent years he\u2019s done everything to making music for podcasts to writing the soundtrack for a yet-to-be-released horror movie set in an old-age home (\u201cIt\u2019s called Night Of The Assisted Living Dead\u201d). Most successfully, he\u2019s carved out a semi-lucrative career himself composing hold music. \u201cIt\u2019s the music you hear when you\u2019re put on hold,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt\u2019s a great way of expressing yourself without thinking.\u201d He even won an award for the latter. \u201cA Holdy,\u201d he says proudly.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Still, he admits there were reservations about the new movie.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, nothing but reservations,\u201d he says. \u201cWe didn\u2019t care for the way we came across in the first film. It seemed like Marty DiBergi focused on all the worst aspects of being a hard-working rock band on tour in the United States. I\u2019m not saying every show was amazing. Some of them were more like a flaming bag of dog crap on your doorstep that you have to stamp out as soon as possible then take your shoes to be cleaned. But we didn\u2019t like the way he presented us as this bumbling tribe of mad men. Which I\u2019m not denying we were.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of the problem was St Hubbins\u2019 relationship with Tufnel \u2013 or lack of it. He hadn\u2019t spoken to his childhood friend in 15 years, ever since the band fell apart following the Back From The Dead album \u201cMy issues with Nigel go back to when we were in single digits. There were a couple of things that happened that I couldn\u2019t get past. Nigel\u2019s different. He forgets things. He has the uncluttered mind of a tot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Nigel\n<\/p>\n

Nigel Tufnel and director Marty DiBergi at the guitarist\u2019s cheese shop in Berwick-upon-Tweed. (Image credit: Bleecker Street\/Kyle Kaplan)<\/p>\n

The pair\u2019s unresolved issues are evident when the members of Tap finally meet for the first time in a decade and a half. There\u2019s a tension to the three of them being in the same room together that the presence of DiBergi\u2019s cameras can\u2019t paper over.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve grown musically, and I\u2019m not saying I\u2019ve left everyone in the dust, but there are times when it seems like Nigel is dragging his feet and he wants to stay where he is,\u201d says St Hubbins. \u201cHe wants to be a rebel. That\u2019s fine. That\u2019s what I want too. But I\u2019ve got a bit of discipline to my rebellion. He\u2019s an anarchist; I\u2019m a structuralist.\u201d<\/p>\n

St Hubbins seems to put most of the blame at his bandmate\u2019s feet, but one scene in the film suggests he may be a big part of the problem himself. At one point, Paul McCartney<\/a> drops by the studio to watch Tap rehearse for the show and offer musical advice. While Tufnel and Smalls welcome what McCartney has to say, St Hubbins is significantly less welcoming, to the point of embarrassment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, listen, I just thought he was a bit: \u2018This is the way it should go, this is the way it should be,\u2019\u201d he says, a little defensively. \u201cAnd I couldn\u2019t agree.\u201d He was in Wings<\/a> and The Beatles<\/a>, though. It\u2019s not like he doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s talking about. \u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong. I think he seems like a personable chap. And he\u2019s got some chops as a songwriter. Just not as a collaborator.\u201d<\/p>\n

More surprising is the presence in the film of unlikely Tap fan Elton John<\/a>. \u201cHe smells like the inside of your grandmother\u2019s purse,\u201d St Hubbins says with a fond sigh. Without giving too much away, what starts gloriously \u2013 Elton duetting with the band on Stonehenge \u2013 ends in ignominy and potentially life-threatening injury. \u201cI have not personally heard from his lawyers,\u201d says St Hubbins, \u201cbut I hear he\u2019s doing okay, bless his heart.”<\/p>\n

Of course, Spinal Tap II isn\u2019t really about what happens on stage in New Orleans, or even the build-up to it. What it\u2019s really about is the unspoken lifelong love affair between David St Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel. He\u2019s the great love of your life, isn\u2019t he?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, people have said that before, but no,\u201d St Hubbins replies. \u201cI feel like Nigel\u2019s hero. And he has been my hero in a lot of ways. We are co-heroic.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pauses for a moment in contemplation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a good phrase. I\u2019m coining that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Marti\n<\/p>\n

Tufnel and DiBergi talk guitars (Image credit: Bleecker Street\/Kyle Kaplan)<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a world of quiet, we stood for loud,\u201d Derek Smalls says, proudly yet modestly, of Spinal Tap. The moustachio\u2019d bassist once described himself as the \u201clukewarm water\u201d between the fire and ice of Nigel Tufnel and David St Hubbins. Today he calls himself \u201cthe glue that holds these oversized personalities together\u201d.<\/p>\n

The analogy is apt. In the film, Marty DiBergi reveals that Smalls has been working in the Museum Of Glue in London. \u201cThe New Museum Of Glue,\u201d the bassist corrects. \u201cGlue is a fascination of mine. Exploring the glues of different nations at different times. Some of it has an animal background to it, some of it\u2019s purely chemical. And I thought, you know, I could bring this to the public\u2019s attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the three members of Tap, Smalls has arguably had the highest profile of all in the years since the first film. He released a solo album, Smalls Change, in 2018, and he\u2019s been a judge on Dutch TV talent show Rok Starz.<\/p>\n

There have been tough times for him. Smalls got an offer to work at a Russian club, which, unfortunately for him didn\u2019t involve playing music. \u201cI had to do some dancing in clothes that I wouldn\u2019t normally wear. The punters weren\u2019t always sure where to put the money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contacts he made in the Low Countries led him to becoming a spokesman for a new Belgian cryptocurrency, Bruegelcoin. \u201cNamed after the painter,\u201d he explains. \u201cThey were going to pay me in crypto. It was great for about two months, but then the bottom fell out. So now I\u2019ve got a bunch of Bruegelcoin \u2013 in case you\u2019re interested in buying any.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tap reunion couldn\u2019t have come at a better time. Smalls insists that he tried to contact his bandmates over the years. \u201cI picked up the phone,\u201d he says. \u201cThe problem is they didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Was he nervous about meeting the other two after such a long time when it became clear that the reunion was happening?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell I wouldn\u2019t say I was nervous,\u201d he replies. \u201cI\u2019d say I was petrified. I was wondering how they would react to me and how I would react to them. In the end we just decided not to react.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"David\n<\/p>\n

David St Hubbins, Derek Smalls and Nigel Tufnel are back together, and the excitement and special chemistry is plain to see. (Image credit: Bleecker Street\/Kyle Kaplan)<\/p>\n

As one half of Tap\u2019s rhythm section, Smalls was key to finding a new drummer for the band \u2013 a task made difficult given the demise of several previous incumbents, all of them in scarcely believable ways. Two favoured candidates, Metallica<\/a>\u2019s Lars Ulrich and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers<\/a>, ran scared of the job. In the end they landed on the unknown Didi Crockett – young and female, a first for Tap.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, there were some worries,\u201d he says. \u201cOne, you don\u2019t want to be accused of killing a woman. And two, the whole MeToo thing was happening at the time. We thought: \u2018Let\u2019s get on the MeToo side of the MeToo movement by getting a woman.\u2019 But she\u2019s a great drummer. And she\u2019s great to look at, which is the main thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the New Orleans gig itself? Smalls says he enjoyed it, despite the tensions in the build-up and the\u2026 well, let\u2019s say eventful climax.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was a great crowd,\u201d he says. \u201cSome of them were paid to come, but they were great nonetheless. I saw people mouthing along to the lyrics. They actually knew them. Which is more than David does – he has to have them on a piece of paper to cue them up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smalls is cagey about whether there\u2019s life for Spinal Tap beyond the documentary. \u201cI\u2019m not allowed to say, but I think you haven\u2019t heard the last of the great Derek Smalls,\u201d he concludes. \u201cAre you sure you don\u2019t want to buy some Bruegelcoin?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Paul\n<\/p>\n

Paul McCartney drops in\u00a0to listen to a Tap rehearsal and offer some advice (Image credit: Bleecker Street\/Kyle Kaplan)<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m guessing you live alone. Maybe you have a fake thing going on, but I\u2019m guessing you live alone. Outside of Dulwich.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nigel Tufnel is narked. A conversation that began equably enough has descended into irritation on his part. He\u2019s not quite at the stage of ripping off his microphone and storming off camera, partly because he\u2019s too polite and partly because it\u2019s a blank Zoom screen so it wouldn\u2019t have the same effect.<\/p>\n

The guitarist, who formed Spinal Tap precursor The Thamesmen with childhood friend St Hubbins in 1964, is vague as to where he\u2019s speaking to Classic Rock from. \u201cWait a second,\u201d he says in that inimitable semi-detached drawl. \u201cI have a book that tells me where I am. Oh, hang on, that page is missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

It may be that he\u2019s in Berwick-upon-Tweed, the English town near the border with Scotland, where he runs a cheese and guitar shop with his girlfriend Moira. \u201cEven as a lad in Squatney [the deprived London suburb where Tufnel and St Hubbins met and grew up] I liked cheese,\u201d he says. \u201cMy mum brought me Stilton once. I loved it right away: \u2018Yeah, get me some more of this.\u2019 \u2018Not likely.\u2019 She wasn\u2019t trying to deprive me, she just didn\u2019t have the money. So I\u2019ve liked it for my whole life. I love guitars and I love cheese, so opening a shop seemed obvious to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It did seem like you vanished after the first film. \u201cIf you live in Berwick-upon-Tweed I haven\u2019t vanished,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m there in the shop. I haven\u2019t vanished at all. I just don\u2019t live in the centre of [disdainfully] London.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was your initial reaction when Marty DiBergi approached you about the new film?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, the first one was rubbish. It did make us more known than we were, but there are things he showed that weren\u2019t accurate. Like being lost all the time. We weren\u2019t lost all the time. We were lost some of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spinal Tap – Stonehenge ft. Elton John (Official Video) – YouTube
\n\"Spinal<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Did you have any demands for this one?<\/p>\n

\u201cFrankly, we\u2019re in not a position to have a say in anything. We could say whatever we like. We could say: \u2018Let\u2019s get paid a lot of money,\u2019 and they would just laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n

So you didn\u2019t get paid a lot of money?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got paid some money. It was not great money in the world of money. It was alright money. Alright money is better than no money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Were you worried about reuniting with David and Derek after so long?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe answer is yes. We hadn\u2019t spoken for fifteen years. No phone calls, no electronic mail, no what the kids call \u2018texts\u2019. I do have a mobile phone, but it\u2019s not the most up-to-date. I can get messages on it but not videos, for instance. A lot of people say: \u2018You should see this TikTok thing with people dancing. And I say: \u2018I can\u2019t see it.\u2019 I mean, I could see it if it was in front of me. My eyes are fine. I just can\u2019t see it on my phone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right. Back to the film. It did seem quite tense when you first got together.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was tension. It was mostly tension. Broken up by laughter, I suppose. And some playing and singing. But then there would be more tension.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why did the band play the reunion gig in New Orleans, when you could have played anywhere in the world?<\/p>\n

\u201cCould we? I wasn\u2019t aware of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, of course. You\u2019re Spinal Tap, you could have your pick of the world\u2019s great venues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it was out of our hands. I was told: \u2018This is where we\u2019re going to do the show.\u2019 I said: \u2018Okay, just send an aeroplane ticket.\u2019 Which they did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are you surprised that Elton John, who is in the new film, is a Spinal Tap fan?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe must have gotten a call from Marty. He could have said: \u2018Absolutely not. Why would I fucking want to do that?\u2019 But he said yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe he needed the money.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, then you\u2019re stupid if you think that. You have not been following the world of music and money. Even I know that he\u2019s bloody wealthy, and I\u2019m not the most in-touch person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues – Official Trailer | SDCC 2025 – YouTube
\n\"Spinal<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

What do you think of the finished film?<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t seen it.\u201d<\/p>\n

You must know what\u2019s in it, though.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Sighing] I remember doing it. I know that I\u2019m in the film. But I was not editing the film.\u201d<\/p>\n

After making it did you and David part on good terms, or did you still hate each other?<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, we don\u2019t hate each other. It\u2019s very complicated when you have a long-term relationship with someone you\u2019ve known since you were a kid. It\u2019s not hatred. There is hatred, but it\u2019s mixed in with respect and love and a bit more hatred.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last question\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, good.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Spinal Tap\u2019s legacy? Do you have one?<\/p>\n

\u201c[Testily] You shouldn\u2019t ask people that question. You can\u2019t make up your own legacy, because you\u2019d be fooling yourself. People in the future decide that for you. I have some friends in Berwick-upon-Tweed. They like me. My girlfriend says: \u2018I love you\u2019. That\u2019s more important to me than saying: \u2018Oh, will Tap be remembered as the people who couldn\u2019t find the stage.\u2019 I don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry, I didn\u2019t mean to offend you.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m beyond being offended now,\u201d he replies, but then proceeds to disprove his point by launching into a bizarre rant about Classic Rock\u2019s domestic status and the South London suburb of Dulwich.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an inglorious end to our conversation, but maybe it\u2019s the only way for a Spinal Tap interview to conclude. This is a band whose long and sometimes inglorious career has been defined by acrimony, ignominy and idiocy. There are many bands out there, but there is only one Spinal Tap, and for that we should be grateful.<\/p>\n

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 11. <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues – Today’s Best Prices<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Of all the comebacks of the 21st century, the return of Spinal Tap is simultaneously the most consequential…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":359872,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[171,975,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-359871","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115503008896689447","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359871\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}