Spinal Tap is a primarily fictitious heavy metal band, the subject of the 1984 rockumentary/mockumentary film This Is Spınal Tap. The film was accompanied by a soundtrack album of the same name. In the years since the film was made the actors who portrayed the band members have played concerts and released music under the Spinal Tap name, blurring the line between parody and reality.
The band members are portrayed by Michael McKean (as lead singer David St. Hubbins), Christopher Guest (as guitarist Nigel Tufnel), and Harry Shearer (as bassist Derek Smalls). They first appeared in a 1978 ABC comedy special, The TV Show. The same trio of actors would be reunited as the American folk music revival band The Folksmen in the 2003 mockumentary A Mighty Wind.
