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About This Quiz
It's been over three decades since Marty DiBergi introduced the metal legend, Spinal Tap, to the world in "This Is Spinal Tap." Since then, it has become one of the most-quoted movies in comedy and remains a favorite of fans and the creators alike. How well do you remember this mockumentary?
The movie was made and is set in what decade?
1960s
1970s
1980s
The movie was released in 1984, but the “tour†took place in 1982. Presumably, it took Marty DiBergi time to edit his footage.
1990s
What country is Spinal Tap from?
England
Everyone knows Spinal Tap as the hard rocking metal band from England, but all three lead actors are more or less American. Christopher Guest, aka Nigel Tufnel, normally speaks with an American accent, but he does hold dual British and American citizenship and by the right of hereditary British peerage, is the 5th Baron Haden-Guest.
Germany
Sweden
United States
Director Marty DiBergi starts the film by saying he normally directs what?
TV shows
Commercials
Marty DeBergi says that he normally directs commercials, saying “That little dog that chases the covered wagon underneath the sink? That was mine.†Marty was played by Rob Reiner, who in addition to directing "Spinal Tap," also directed "Stand by Me" and "The Princess Bride." He was also Michael “Meathead†Stivic on "All In The Family."
Movies
Podcasts
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David St. Hubbins played what part in Spinal Tap?
Lead guitar
Bass
Drums
Rhythm guitar and lead vocals
David St. Hubbins was played by Michael McKean, who has a long history as a successful actor and musician. He is known for his roles as Chuck McGill on "Better Call Saul," Lenny on "Laverne & Shirley," and Mr. Green in "Clue." He also won a Grammy for co-writing the title song for “A Mighty Wind."
Nigel Tuffnel played what part in the band?
Keyboards
Lead guitar
Lead guitarist Nigel Tuffnel was played by Christopher Guest. Guest’s experience with making Spinal Tap inspired him to carry on the mockumentary trend, and he’s credited with writing, directing, and starring in "Waiting for Guffman," "Best In Show," "A Mighty Wind," "For Your Consideration," and "Mascots."
Drums
Rhythm guitar
Derek Smalls played what instrument?
Drums
Bass
Bassist Derek Smalls was played by Harry Shearer. Many people might not know Shearer by sight, but they know his voice. Anytime Mr. Burns, Smithers, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, Kent Brockman, or Dr. Hibbert appears on "The Simpsons," that’s Harry Shearer.
Keyboards
Lead guitar
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Which instrument was played by Viv Savage?
Drums
Keyboards
Keyboardist and somewhat minor character Viv Savage was played by David Kaff, who is slightly unique in this cast. While the other members of Spinal Tap are actors who happen to be musicians, Kaff is a musician who happens to be an actor. He was the keyboardist/pianist for English prog rock back, Rare Bird.
Bass
Accordion
Which band member needed constant replacing?
The singer
The manager
The keyboardist
The drummer
It’s bad luck to be the drummer of Spinal Tap. Among the many weird causes of death are spontaneous combustion, a "bizarre gardening accident" and choking to death on vomit which may or may not have been their own. Spinal Tap’s influence spread from the musical world to the magical world, when “J. K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter book series, cited Spinal Tap as an inspiration for the repeated unfortunate events that cause all Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers at Hogwarts to leave the job before completing a full school year, similar to the fate of Spinal Tap's drummers.â€
Spinal Tap is a thinly-veiled parody of what major band?
The Rolling Stones
Bachman Turner Overdrive
The Who
The Beatles
While it’s never overtly said, there are many subtle parallels between The Beatles and Spinal Tap. David and Nigel were childhood friends, as were John and Paul (and Paul and George). Jeanine was clearly a representation of Yoko Ono, the black cover of their new album harkens back to The White Album, and Michael McKean demonstrates many Lennonesque antics throughout the film.
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The Beatles wasn’t the only band Spinal Tap lovingly parodied. In a nod to Led Zepplin, what instrument does Nigel use to play his guitar?
Tambourine
Flute
Violin
During a guitar solo, Nigel rubs a violin against his guitar. This is a clear parody of Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, who used a violin bow to play his guitar during concert solos.
Trombone
The members of the band discuss a particularly disgusting way in which one of their drummers died, which is another tongue-in-cheek reference to many late great musicians. How did he die?
Choked on vomit
One of the drummers of Spinal Tap choked on vomit, which they think was his “but you can’t really dust for vomit.†This is a nod to many musicians who were either proven or rumored to have died from choking on vomit, including John Bonham, Bon Scott, and Jimi Hendrix.
Electrocution
Drug Overdose
Old age
Which cast member wrote the script?
Michael McKean
Christopher Guest
Rob Reiner
All of them
All of the actors, including McKean, Guest, Reiner, Shearer, and others, ad libbed the majority of the movie. Reiner petitioned to have the entire cast listed as writers for the film, but the Writer’s Guild objected, and so only the main three band members and Reiner received credit.
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How many people were said to be or have been members of Spinal Tap?
37
According to interviews and other media, a total of 37 people have been members of Spinal Tap over the years. This includes David and Nigel as the original members, Viv as the one and only keyboard player, Derek as the current bass player, and the bass player before him. This means that Spinal Tap had 32 drummers all of which died in strange ways.
14
8
56
Spinal Tap is touring to promote their latest album, entitled what?
Feel the Love
Hear the Dove
Smell the Glove
The album cover for Smell the Glove creates quite a stir throughout the movie, both in its original iteration and the all-black version the studio decides to release. The album cover is described as “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.†The original cover art was inspired by Whitesnake's 1979 album, "Lovehunter."
Look Above
The band plays a song named after a famous landmark and have a failed stage prop modeled after that landmark. What is it?
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Eiffel Tower
The Great Wall of China
Stonehenge
Nigel has the idea to have a giant replica of Stonehenge set up behind the band while they play. He excitedly draws the dimensions on a napkin, but accidentally labels it with a “ (inches) instead of a ‘ (feet), so the model ends up being 18 inches instead of 18 feet.
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What equipment goes up to eleven?
Amps
This is probably the most quoted line from the entire movie and has been referenced countless times in pop culture. Most notably on IMDb, which normally ranks movies from one to ten, but displays a ranking up to 11 for this film. However, users can still only rank it a ten.
Microphones
Guitars
Keyboards
According to David, the real Saint Hubbins was the patron saint of what?
Heavy metal
Quality footwear
Marty remarks to David that his name is unusual and David says that Saint Hubbins is an unusual saint, being the patron saint of quality footwear. There is no Saint Hubbins in reality, but there is an actual patron saint of shoes and cobblers named Saint Crispin. However, Crispin doesn’t limit his patronage to quality and looks out for all shoes.
Ugly hats
British men
Nigel plays a beautiful Mach (Mozart/Bach-inspired) piece for Marty, and then reveals the song is called what?
All the Way Home
Sex Farm
Lick My Love Pump
Nigel describes the song as “part of a trilogy, a musical trilogy I'm working on in D minor which is the saddest of all keys, I find. People weep instantly when they hear it, and I don't know why.†He’s actually not the only one to believe this; many classical composers penned their belief that D Minor was the most melancholy of keys, hence why so many dirges and requiems are written in it.
Rock 'n' Roll All Night
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Nigel has a major freak-out and shouts at Ian over what type of food backstage?
Bagels
Tapas
Sandwiches
Nigel is upset that the backstage buffet has mini sandwiches. He and manager, Ian, have a hilarious exchange about ways to fix it, including folding the bread and folding the meat, which you “can’t do†because “it cracks.†In the end, Nigel proclaims that he is “a professional†and he’ll “rise above it."
Yorkshire Puddings
Derek and David reminisce about writing a musical about what serial killer?
Charles Manson
Ted Bundy
Jack the Ripper
Derek and David talk about when they tried to write a musical about Jack the Ripper. They then start singing “You're a naughty one, Saucy Jack. You're a haughty one, saucy Jack.†While the exact number is unknown, five kills have canonically been attributed to the Ripper.
Jeffrey Dahmer
How does this quote end: “We are Spinal Tap from the UK. You must be…�
Our audience
The USA
The British Spinal Tap opens their American tour by declaring to the crowd “We are Spinal Tap from the UK. You must be the USA!†The tour is called the Tap Into America Tour.
Our fans
Here to listen to us play
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After no one shows up to an album signing, what does Artie Fufkin ask David to do?
Beat him up
Kick his ass
Incompetent record label promoter Artie Fufkin was played by music legend Paul Shaffer, best known for being Dave Letterman’s band director. He was also briefly in the "Saturday Night Live" house band, the Not Ready For Primetime Players.
Fire him
Slap him in the face
Which is not a former name of Spinal Tap?
The Originals
The Thamesmen
The Bunnymen
Spinal Tap went thrrough several name changes before becoming Spinal Tap. They were first The Originals, and then The New Originals, then The Thamesmen. Echo & The Bunnymen is a new wave rock band from Liverpool.
The New Originals
At the end of the film, the band is seen experiencing success in what country?
Sweden
Japan
Nigel arrives as a messenger for Ian at the end of the film and tells them they’ve reached #5 on the Japanese charts, a fact that helps reunite the band. Real-life bands that have enjoyed major success in Japan include Mr. Big, Cheap Trick, and Scorpions.
Korea
Brazil
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Which song is a major success in Japan?
Cry (All The Way Home)
Lick My Love Pump
Turning Japanese
Sex Farm
In March of 2009, McKean, Guest, and Shearer appeared on NPR’s "Talk of The Nation." They were asked to play two Spinal Tap songs, and according to NPR, had wanted to play Sex Farm. However, NPR producer Susan Lund “checked the lyrics of "Sex Farm" on Google...I thought they were clever and funny, but I had a concern about the taste factor.†The guys from Tap agreed to play a different song.
David’s girlfriend, Jeanine, is a devotee of what practice?
Pilates
Tai Chi
Yoga
Jeanine Pettibone was played by June Chadwick, who, unlike her on-screen beau and his bandmates, actually IS English. Chadwick was chosen for her skill at improv.
Krav Maga
Which of his own rules does Nigel break by letting Marty interview him about his Sea Foam Green six-string Fender Bass VI with the price tag still attached?
Don’t touch it
Don’t point at it
Don’t talk about it
All of the above
Nigel is very protective of his guitar collection, especially the guitar he doesn’t let Marty touch. He then goes on to say that the guitar is not to be played, touched, pointed at, looked at, or even talked about. Kind of hard to do when you’re showing off your guitar and discussing it on film.
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For what cartoon character does Nigel have an affinity?
Dennis the Menace
He-Man
Garfield
Gumby
Nigel is shown to have a strong love for Gumby. He often carries Gumby and Pokey figurines in his shirt pockets and is often shown wearing Gumby shirts.
Why does self-proclaimed “fish nut†Nigel love canned tuna?
They have no bones.
There are eight different species of tuna: albacore, Southern bluefin, Bigeye, Pacific bluefin, Atlantic bluefin, Blackfin, Longtail, and Yellowfin. And for the record, all eight species have bones.
He likes the taste.
They smell better than other fish.
They were nice enough to climb into the can for him.
Nigel tells Marty that if he were not a musician, he would prefer to sell what item of clothing?
Hats
Marty talks to Nigel about what he’d be doing if he wasn’t a musician and Nigel says that he could be “a salesman, like maybe in a, uh, haberdasher, or maybe like a, uh, um... a chapeau shop or something.†But he has an important question: “What're the hours?â€
Shoes
Gloves
Ties
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What foil-wrapped vegetable does Derek stuff down his pants?
Eggplant
Carrot
Zucchini
In order to improve his, um, male appearance, Derek Smalls stuffs a foil-wrapped zucchini, often called a courgette, down his pants. His habit is discovered at the airport when the foil sets off the metal detector. During this scene, several announcements are heard on the PA system. The voices making those announcements are David, Nigel, and Derek, in their natural American accents.
Pepper
The end credits reveal that Spinal Tap is a fictional band. To hurt crush the spirits of the viewer, the credits also reveal what holiday mascot is also not real?
The Tooth Fairy
The Easter Bunny
As the credits roll, a disclaimer reads that the band, Spinal Tap, is fictional, and follows that up with "And there's no Easter Bunny, either!" Unfortunately, most people didn’t see the disclaimer, as Reiner was approached regularly by fans telling him they loved his documentary, but wished he’d chosen a more well-known band as the subject.
Santa Claus
Cupid
How does Derek describe his role in the band?
Lukewarm water
Derek is asked about his bandmates, David and Nigel, and says that they are "distinct types of visionaries ... like fire and ice," and he feels his role in the band to be "in the middle of that, kind of like lukewarm water."
Comic relief
Helium balloons
Background noise
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What is the name of the first song David and Nigel wrote together?
(Cry) All The Way Home
(Cry) All The Way Home was written by David and Nigel during their skiffle phase as The Thamesmen. The song is on the Spinal Tap album, “Break Like The Wind." All the actors in the movie are actually really competent musicians and played the music themselves.
Lick My Love Pump
Big Bottoms
Sex Farm
The members of Spinal Tap visit the grave of what famous rock 'n' roll legend?
Buddy Holly
Jim Morrison
Ronnie Van Zant
Elvis Presley
The boys of Tap visit the grave of Elvis Presley, who, despite what many conspiracy theorists may say, died in 1977. However, the movie shows the band visiting a grave in the woods. Elvis Presley's actual grave is in the Meditation Garden at Graceland, in front of a fountain.
You Got:
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