Spinal Tap Interview - Saturday Night Live

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Barry Bostwick interviews the band Spinal Tap. Aired 05/05/84
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[@johnwatts8346]

'a mans relationship with the devil is his own private affair' brilliant.

[@ourcorrectopinions6824]

Michael McKean's blank "dumb" facial expressions are killing me. Then he spits some knowledge that's Satanically brilliant.

[@annatevka8830]

😫😂

[@jasonmurdoc9533]

It’s after they say that”professionals” like their music it’s perfect timing

[@danielfisch389]

„Some guitarists have style and technique. I got volume“ (Nigel Tufnel) 😁

[@TheReal7Bit]

This is the reason why Spinal Tap became such a cult movie, this is brilliant comedy. How can they not crack each other up.

[@danielishere734]

Michael McKean looks like he's going to laugh a few times

[@kdonoghue]

Agreed, but also have to include the camera operator who knows just when to zoom in on Derek Smalls when he is picking his nose.

[@productwholeslave2122]

Wtf is that sneeze lmao

[@highlanderlj]

Tell me about it. They crack me.up continually 🤣😆🤣😆😂😂😂😂

[@matthewotooleis]

I think they are trying to crack each other up.

[@kdub1242]

I've followed the Tap since the time I was just a sprog in Chiswick, and I have appreciated their intellect and philosophy as much as their music. They are the thinking person's heavy metal band.

[@robstimson4234]

Plus they have feelings. Remember graveside at Elvis' grave? "Well, this is depressing.."

[@productwholeslave2122]

@@robstimson4234 and They have a notable sense of humor... Remember, Nigel says, maybe they should have done it in bobly

[@productwholeslave2122]

And in this, again, Nigel says, no no it's too late for you....

[@richterscalemedia7790]

True poets those three. Fire, ice and luke-warm water.

[@nobugsinak]

Before Spinal Tap, no other heavy metal band thought an amp could go to 11. That's because no other heavy metal bands were thinking. They're not just the thinking person's heavy metal band. They're the thinking heavy metal band.

[@DougVanPelt]

Love it. "Mozart! Mozart! Don't play loud! But he would."

[@thirdeye1751]

I love it when Nigel does this little chewing action while he's waffling on about Mozart :D The subtleties like this are what makes them fkn hilarious :D

[@williamgraw1729]

"It's a thin line between clever and stupid". Nigel Tuffnell

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

If you're been in bands, you lived every bit of that movie, irl

[@ourcorrectopinions6824]

David St. Hubbins said "it's a thin line between clever and..." Derek Smalls said "stupid". Not a Nige quote.

[@AndyDavis39]

🧿❤💙🚗🚙❣🦋🧿

[@munkygrip1977]

‘Fine’ line. Not ‘Thin’. Apologies for my pedantry but the details matter when it comes to Tap 😂

[@Man777Alive]

These are probably the best English accents done by any American.

[@jrb1802uk]

Lake Bell in Man Up. Best English accent ever by an American.

[@DarkDeath-yg7nv]

so not dick van dyke in mary poppins?

[@NxDoyle]

Meryl Streep, Renée Zellweger. They're bang on. Chris Guest is the only one of the three who has it 100% right all the time, but he's half-English.

[@jrb1802uk]

@@NxDoyle Not 100% of the time. More 90% .. but yes hes better than McKean and Shearer

[@davidbull7210]

@@jrb1802uk Guest then Shearer then McKean

[@davefieramosca6974]

I got to see Spinal Tap in Milwaukee. These guys are great musicians, it was a fun show. The Stone Henge monument was so huge they couldn't get it to come down out of rafters 😅

[@jamegumm]

I tried to see them in Cleveland... they never hit the stage😥

[@davefieramosca6974]

@@jamegumm mabey they couldn't find the stage 🤣

[@mikesinur1992]

@@jamegumm Yes they did. They played Nautica and instead of pods, they came out of giant eggs. It was a great show.

[@bonniemiller274]

I saw them in 1992 at the Tower Theater near Philadelphia. They were amazing! At the end of the show they played "Big Bottom" brought girls up on stage and gave each one a foil wrapped zucchini!

[@cyrannodb]

@@bonniemiller274 I saw them in 1992 at Great Woods in Massachusetts. They did "Big Bottom" as the final encore and they were joined onstage by about a half-dozen girls in g-strings and nothing else. I was *not* expecting that! 😮😁👍

[@debbietaylor]

I'm 59 and still the funniest movie of my Lifetime !

[@danielciocilteu3545]

I hope you also heard the DVD commentary in which they do a raw comment over the entire movie in character. It's like watching the movie's sequel.

[@krusty6246]

Amazing how they kept a straight face during interview

[@Moluccan56]

They were the best at that! I wonder if they were having a quiet competition to see who would break first. They never did by the look of it.

[@Avacado721]

Collectively Zero breaking character is unbelievable

[@lookandlisten5740]

"Satan....sure it's great stuff" Now that's the Xmas message that we can all relate to.

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

"An evening's fun". LOL!

[@garyinmarz8938]

These guys are pure gold

[@75hilmar]

"MOZART! MOZART! DON'T PLAY LOUD!"

[@peggyporter2135]

That's my favorite line of all time!!!

[@andreasstam1]

As he cranks it up to 11

[@BlueMHart]

For those who don't know: that's not a laugh track, that's the Saturday Night Live audience reacting to what they're watching. SNL has always left in the audience laughter when they show pre-taped pieces (except for a few episodes in the first season, when they were finding their footing). It sure would feel funnier without the laughter, but I can't blame the audience for reacting the way anyone would when watching this. Side note, I've seen every episode of Spin City and yet it completely slipped past me that that's Barry Bostwick interviewing them! He played the Mayor!

[@alextirrellRI]

I'm not sure about this example, but I know that nowadays NBC does add more laughter in post. Recently I had to check something between the DVR and when it went up on Hulu and there were more laughs added on the Hulu version. That said, yes, SNL has always left in the live studio reactions to video shorts like this.

[@Khronogi]

@@alextirrellRI They tape two times a night if I remember, could be that as well.

[@vanhiyakumoto5857]

I thought that was Peter Weller

[@rexrexford]

too handsome for Peter Weller@@vanhiyakumoto5857

[@matthewwelch4305]

Ohhhhh, Braddddd! Oh, dammit! 😁

[@ac4185]

Super professional to not just crack up every time. I sure do.

[@mathiasjonsson8222]

Go to any Oasis interview after watching this. 😂

[@kurakura281]

Legend has it that Liam watched the whole of Spinal Tap without realising it was a spoof.

[@terrimcghee6922]

@@kurakura281apparently there were others back in the 80’s who thought it was a real “Rocumentary” and some one said they should have featured a well known band!

[@Bumbaclartios]

LMFAO

[@jon-francis9289]

Absolutely uncanny. Jeff Beck, Rick Parfitt and Geezer Butler. Spinal Tap was brilliant on so many levels.

[@Dawn-Marie]

Anytime im feeling down, I put on "This Is Spinal Tap" ... Cheers me right up ! Funniest movie EVER !

[@jonstern7511]

It's great. Have you seen Withnail and I, though? It's also a classic!

[@DBREW]

"14 yo white boys" spot on

[@AllenFreemanMediaGuru]

I thought they said 40 yr old.

[@Fritha71]

And 14 year old white girls as well - at least if you happened to live in Finland in the mid 80s like me! I was one of them =D

[@JoannaSternbergYoutube]

Michael McKean looks like a mermaid with the wig and his aqua teal outfit 🧜‍♀️

[@ourcorrectopinions6824]

That can only be a compliment.

[@JoannaSternbergYoutube]

@@ourcorrectopinions6824 it is a compliment!

[@cindye5285]

To this day I my brain just keeps screaming...It's Lenny Kosnowski!

[@bradconway6111]

It’s “ Mer-mam”!

[@michaeljohnson-li5nn]

I have the albums ‘The Gospel According to Spinal Tap’ and ‘Shark Sandwich’ both are masterpieces of rock music. I play them regularly and loud (my stereo goes to 11).

[@benpawlett9336]

More like Shit sandwich 🥪

[@stephenjwarnecki2438]

You got one that goes to 11! Mine only goes to 10. I'm jealous! Tap dosent sound as good on 10 as 11!!

[@michaeljohnson-li5nn]

@@stephenjwarnecki2438 ‘well, it’s one louder isn’t it’.

[@JimmyNasium]

You mean “shit sandwich”?

[@sundaynightdrunk]

And this is entirely improvised. The guy just asks questions and they run with whatever.

[@Moluccan56]

To have the confidence to be able to do this is commendable.

[@giacomozeitgeist7178]

"...and they go 'yeah'..." Hilarious :D

[@neaituppi7306]

The even funnier thing is much of the movie was improvised, and they are probably improvising all of this.

[@sm5574]

I like that Mozart's mother would call him by his last name.

[@MaidenUtah1]

Nigel reminds me of a not-so-bright version of Bruce Dickinson

[@gregorymoore2877]

I hear Bruce Dickinson has a fever. And the only prescription... is more cowbell.

[@kurtkish6970]

Yup. But he’s fashioned after Jeff Beck (not the -stupid- part).

[@davidpage3893]

Ahhh…Bruce Dickinson who passed himself off as the down and out Peter Criss.

[@mikemurray4788]

He meant Bruce from iron maiden. Same hairstyle

[@ZMan14100]

"A scientific study........of the bun."--Nigel Tufnel

[@probotanimation]

I was lucky enough to see Spinal Tap live on the Break Like The Wind tour, and they were, in fact, the loudest band I ever saw live.

[@danielciocilteu3545]

What, they actually did live performances in concerts? Or was that like a comedy show?

[@probotanimation]

@@danielciocilteu3545 it was a real tour in 1992!

[@PurpleHaze_11]

Break like the wind😂😂😂😂😂

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

This interview goes to 11!

[@jamesfetherston1190]

I don't know how many times Spinal Tap broke up, but there was a period of the 1970s when Nigel played guitar for Lenny and the Squigtones. Even played on Dick Clark with them.

[@edwardgillelad]

I have been waiting for this clip most of my life.

[@gabegmusic8156]

These dudes are the bestest. I love Spinal Tap.

[@dirtworshiper2800]

I’m pissing myself. Have been since the movie came out years ago. Now I’m crying. These guys were fucking amazing.

[@jefolson6989]

Chris Guest is in reality the 5th Baron of Hagen-Guest. A British nobleman. Thank goodness he doesnt give off those vibes. Interesting trivia.

[@jasonmurdoc9533]

Supposedly in real life he very much gives those vibes

[@jefolson6989]

@jasonmurdoc9533 but he is funny. Not a traitor of brittish nobility

[@jasonmurdoc9533]

@ yeah but apparently he gets mad in real life if you think he’ll be funny, he’s on record as saying in real life he is serious not funny. Which sounds like British nobility to me

[@gburg9349]

Every time I play Tap at the bar I play at least 3 in row. Love the Tap

[@mhrgall]

Tap into America as well

[@StephenS-2025]

Too right. My relationship with the Devil is no one's damn business.

[@matthewlawlis2421]

Harry Shearer (Derek Smalls) is great in these interviews. He is, in his words, "the luke-warm water" of the group

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

"Why do you play so loud? "What?" How'd they miss that one?

[@gardenlover9663]

What?

[@Fongolitus]

might be a takeoff on the famous 1967 Pink Floyd Performance/Interview with Hans Keller on the BBC's 'Look of the Week' program where the first question Hans asks Roger and Syd "Why does it all have to be so terribly loud?"

[@2sc458]

Michael McKean almost loses it at 3:30. So tough to straight face with these riffs.

[@Churro_Flaminguez]

Who is this Michael McKean person you're referencing?

[@waynej2608]

​@@Churro_Flaminguez He's the David St. Hubins guy, the lead singer. He's brilliant. They all are!

[@kurtkish6970]

Brother of Saul Goodman from “Better Call Saul”!!!!

[@victorsimpson4487]

Their improvisation is off the charts.

[@gotcarter536]

laughter totally kills it. whole point is what they're saying isn't acknowledged funny.

[@gotcarter536]

@@michaelprovost6066 Wow, have no memory of ever watching this, let alone commenting. However, having just had a little reminder I have to say I still agree with myself Michael. Putting the live laughter over the recorded piece kills the actual humour.

[@CousinCreepy]

I think you'll find that these short films were shown to a live audience during the actual broadcast of Saturday Night Live. This is genuine and spontaneous laughter.

[@jw7073]

@@CousinCreepy still kinda ruins the clip tho

[@enbbug1]

It’s still kinda from an old episode of snl

[@NxDoyle]

Laughter is involuntary, and the people laughing are sitting in the audience of Studio 8H during a live taping of SNL.

[@RVBOY2]

"Hello Laverne"

[@linad53]

Seen the movie for the first time when I was like 8 - fell in love with Nigel, can’t watch anything where he isn’t Nigel - best band ever!

[@chuckselvage3157]

These guys just ad lib it. Gold.

[@theshapeexists]

How am i just seeing this in late 2024 for the first time? Im a huge spinal tap fan.

[@sandrafaith]

Brilliant, simply brilliant.

[@charlesgreen8703]

“It’s not about a woman at all...it’s about a woman’s pair of cheeks”!

[@michaelbyrne5507]

I'm a Geordie and I was convinced they were English!

[@paulazemeckis7835]

I always heard about them in the 80"s but never saw them. I would have loved them. I must admit their feigned Bri-ish accents seemed spot-on. The faux-blonde guy is a babe!

[@mem1701movies]

He plays CHUCK on BETTER CALL SAUL

[@gardenlover9663]

And he was Lenny on Laverne and Shirley.

[@vladvampirelord8910]

"How could Ieave this behind..."

[@ugadawgs1990]

I remember when Täp was to perform their song, “Sausage Sally” on the John Denver show in ‘75. I waited outside the studio for their autographs for three days before realizing they’d been cancelled from the show entirely.

[@joadbreslin5819]

They weren't cancelled. They had mistakenly driven their tour bus to Denver for the taping, as I recall.

[@ugadawgs1990]

@@joadbreslin5819, similar to what happened when they were opening for Boston in Los Angeles? American geography clearly isn’t a subject taught in the UK.

[@MarleneColarossi]

Still crazy after all these years!

[@SideShowSlim]

Spinal Tap interviews are classic

[@miadavis]

Christopher Guest totally made this!!!

[@Kasino80]

Guest seems like the one who could riff the most and longest to throw the others off.

[@johncurcio3621]

Brilliant! This interview is all about intellect. It's like interviewing three Einsein's.

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

... three Einsteins* (plural, no apostrophe)

[@tasanik]

I have no idea what Spinal Tap is, but I am laughing uncontrollably!

[@jasonmurdoc9533]

Wait till you see the movie

[@marthaworc7873]

Nigel not only should teach history, he should teach religion. lol David, BRILLIANT!

[@dmmamc]

This was in May, 1984. Barry Bostwick had recently starred in the "George Washington" network miniseries on CBS. I'm surprised that didn't come up in this bit.

[@boataxe4605]

Sure wish this included their performance.

[@TheMusicDude1997]

it's chuck!

[@EyeLean5280]

I'm a professional and I do indeed love Spinal Tap.

[@Moluccan56]

How they kept straight faces when Christopher Guest said things, I’ll never know. They had no idea what the other was going to say. Just handed it to each other.

[@joyceyboyce13]

This must've been such inspiration for Fred Armisen, and subsequently Documentary Now with Bill Hader

[@thefollandgnat]

David at 0:55 is what Steve Coogan based his Mick Jagger on.

[@omegajrz1269]

In Percy Jackson?

[@donna25871]

Michael McKean’s testicle separation is hilarious.

[@StaceJohnson]

Can't wait for the sequel!

[@Phi1618033]

I heard they officially changed their name to Lumbar Puncture.

[@daneenmurf1043]

They wanted to follow the fad of spelling their name wrongly ( like Led Zeppelin ) but they accidentally spelt it right !

[@sebulbathx]

Brilliant!

[@KidFresh71]

Long live Spinal Tap

[@donsmore]

The condition of the video is good. The audio is a little weak. I had to turn it up to eleven.

[@catherineyoung3889]

when they start making sense its time to get into recovery....🤣

[@h.hickenanaduk8622]

Such a fine line.

[@darthvirgin7157]

so Mozart’s mother would call him “Mozart.” …and not Wolfgang.

[@steveconn]

How cool. Never saw this one.

[@todds.6028]

This is all improvised.

[@cz2165]

I think this is all ad-libbed. Genius!

[@glen7228]

I wonder why Nigel never talks his time playing guitar for Lenny and the Squigtones. American Bandstand 1979- Interview Lenny and the Squigtones

[@susangordon3794]

My favorite appearance of his!

[@gardenlover9663]

LOL

[@m90rider65]

Goodnight Springton, there will be no encore!

[@odiwolf6627]

Love the Tap

[@FedericoDLP]

Nigel does the accent very well.

[@BaccarWozat]

Wow, he sneezed a cigarette, that's impressive

[@Avacado721]

Is there a blooper reel of these guys??? Insane😂

[@blakepotter7937]

Nigel's tonal register has gotten lower over the years and I love a mature Nigel.

[@Lividwish]

Thanks for this gem! ❤ Jamie Lee Curtis is a lucky lady 😊

[@sandywhat2429]

Those tight pants 😳😂

[@Cynthia_Cantrell]

I highlights a whole 'nother pair of problems with "manspreading." I hope no musician's grapes were harmed in the making of this film.

[@sandywhat2429]

@@Cynthia_Cantrell 😂

[@MsKatyDidKnot]

Only Robert Plant wore tighter pants.

[@leethrelfalllt]

Professionals! Hahaha

[@jonathanriojas2177]

Audience laughter, whether warranted, always sounds weird when it’s in response to a Tap interview.

[@argelbargel7680]

Mozart did play as loud as he could.

[@gardenlover9663]

A scientific study... of the bun.

[@ThePookaHarvey]

The canned laughter really makes it.

[@bearcb]

I would never recognize Chuck McGill if I didn’t know he was in the band.

[@charlesgreen8703]

Yes in a past life he was David St.Hubbins! Lead Singer and Rhythm Guitarist Of The Legendary Spinal Tap! “There’s a fine line between clever and stupid”!

[@georgethomas4009]

And wasn’t he brilliant in that as well?

[@Alfa75V6]

they studied some well known singers and players

[@vahjayjayaddict]

Someone needs to start a Tribute band to Spinal Tap Tribute bands. Might catch on with the youth.

[@Mark-xb7ro]

Omfg its been years since i saw the movie but ive NEVER seen this and I love it.

[@johnbarrett5268]

The greatest rock band that never existed

[@walterkersting6238]

That guy is Lenny from Lenny and squiggly.

[@AdamGuitar87]

This would be much better without canned laughs! I love Paps!

[@4ctmam]

The laughter is not canned. It's there because it's SNL so basically the clip is played to a live audience and we can hear their reaction.

[@fretboardmaster70]

If only the canned laughter was in Dubly

[@mantra3000]

Brad!