Spinal Tap A to Zed
Stonehenge: Classic rock spectacle perfected
by Spinal Tap before their 1982 tour brought it down a notch;
the Nigel tune first appeared on the disastrous 1975 concept album,
"The Sun Never Sweats" and was rereleased on the 1984
soundtrack album. Written by Nigel after a bad dish of Indian
food got him a seat "on the porcelain bus" and gave
him strange dreams. (GP) (During a 1992 interview, Nigel described
the song as "an anthem to my Druidic ancestors.") Stonehenge
is a group of standing stones on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.
Archaeologists believe the monument either served some sort of
religious function or was used as an astronomical instrument.
In an example of life imitating art, Cullen Murphy notes in his
book "Just Curious" that there has been talk of constructing
a replica near the real Stonehenge because crowds are threatening
the site. Murphy suggests it be called "Foamhenge" but
doubts it will ever be built. "A synthetic Stonehenge,"
he writes, "might last forever and would be plagued by few
of the maintenance problems that have beset the original monument.
More important, it would be certain to baffle future generations.
Scholars five thousand years from now would have to ask themselves
not only 'What was it for?' but also 'Why are there two?' "
(CT4) That bit of trivia aside, Tap would later accuse Black Sabbath
of stealing its Stonehenge stage show idea. (IST) During the filming
of "This is Spinal Tap," the band discusses bringing
Stonehenge back to revitalize its stage presence. (If you listen
closely during "This is Spinal Tap," you can hear a
fan yell "Do Stonehenge!" during the Chapel Hill concert.)
The idea proves to be a disaster-largely because of Nigel's confused
state-and is quickly abandoned after just one performance in Austin.
Years later, the band mulled over performing at Stonehenge itself.
Derek: "Tap at 'henge would obviously be a dream gig. But
there are security concerns. I don't know if you know this here
in the US, but it's not a quiet, placid place, especially around
the solstice. There have been disruptions, hippies go there to
do their ceremonies and all sorts of things; druids, pseudo-druids,
and neo-druids frequent the place. It gets a bit snarky there,
but it's always been something we've wanted to do." (SH)
See Code; Deutsch,
Polly; Horns; Indian
Food; Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame.
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