NEWS
The first trailer preview from the long-awaited Spinal Tap 2 film has been shared, with cameo appearances from Paul McCartney and Elton John.
The movie is a follow-up to the beloved 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap – based on fictional rock band Spinal Tap, which has become a cult classic in recent years. It stars Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer portraying the hapless heavy metal trio, all of whom are set to return to the second film.
Now, a new trailer has been shared for its follow-up, Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues. Per the synopsis, the upcoming film “blends the same musical mayhem and satire that made the original a cult classic and features some fantastic rock cameos in the process. Will this concert be their triumphant return, or just another Stonehenge-sized catastrophe?”
This time around, the band are set to play one reunion show, which comes years after the height of their success, with the band members having now assimilated back into everyday life, with one working as a cheesemonger and playing music only at a tiny local pub.
Now, without a drummer, after the last one “sneezed himself into oblivion”, the band returns to the spotlight, with Marty DiBergi (a Martin Scorsese-esque documentary filmmaker played by real director Rob Reiner) once again on board, this time recording the band’s reunion concert.
There’s also a series of cameos from megastars including John, Questlove and McCartney. Check it out below.
It comes after a first clip was shared earlier this month, in which The Thick Of It star Chris Addison plays a music executive and advises the band that “at least one, but ideally two of you, would die” in an upcoming farewell concert. In a separate promo teaser, Reiner’s character also attempts a group Zoom call with the band, which ends in disaster.
Last year in an interview with Empire, Reiner shared what singer David St. Hubbins, guitarist Nigel Tufnel and bassist Derek Smalls have been up to following the disbandment of Spinal Tap.
The sequel was first revealed in 2022, with Reiner at the time telling NME: We never thought we would do a sequel. It was only because we started to talk to each other and we came up with an idea we think might work – we don’t know it will. We’re going to try. The bar is incredibly high. We debated whether or not we should do it… I said, ‘Look at us, we’re all in our 70s. How much time are we going to have [left] to have some fun?’”
The director also accepted that there were a lot of Spinal Tap fans out there who were worried it might be terrible. “You don’t want us to cock it up!” he added. “That’s the thing: we wouldn’t try unless we thought we had something that could work.”
It is expected to come out on September 12 this year in the US, with a UK premiere yet to be announced.
NEWS
Celebrated playwright and comedian Ben Elton has approached Noel Gallagher about creating an “Oasis jukebox musical”.
The two recently crossed paths at the Queen Budapest premiere at London’s BFI Imax. During their conversation, the We Will Rock You writer expressed his interest in building a stage production around Oasis’ songs.
The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column reported that the guitarist laughed and pointed him towards his brother Liam, saying: “You better ask our kid.”
Someone close to Liam suggested casting the singer would be a challenge, claiming no actor could "match" his "swagger".
Built around Queen’s songs, We Will Rock You enjoyed an impressive run, becoming the Dominion Theatre’s longest running musical and earning a place among the West End’s longest running productions. It also received the Laurence Olivier Award for Most Popular Show.
Interest in Oasis remains enormous, with 11 million people signing up for the Oasis Live ’27 ticket ballot.
After the Live Forever band returned to touring last year for the first time in 16 years, their famous rivalry with Blur became the subject of a stage comedy.
In The Battle, Gavin and Stacey actor Mathew Horne portrayed Andy Ross, the Britpop music executive who found himself in the middle of one of British music’s most memorable feuds.
He said: “This play is right in the sweet spot of my teenage cultural experience. I’m thrilled to be exploring this iconic era in music on stage with such a talented creative team involved.”
The production revisited August 1995, when Blur and Oasis went head to head by releasing Country House and Roll With It on the same day, each hoping to reach Number One.
Blur secured the victory with sales of 274,000 copies, compared with 216,000 for Oasis.
That chart contest fuelled years of public jabs between members of both groups, although relations have become less hostile over time.
A UK tour had been planned for the production, but its remaining performances were cancelled following the Birmingham and Manchester engagements in February and March this year.
Oasis Live ’27 begins on May 21 at Glasgow’s Celtic Park, with 42 concerts scheduled, including a record six performances at Knebworth.
