"Spinal Tap" Stonehenge figures surfacing after all these years?

Jeff Abraham/Jonas PR
(310) 656-3355
[email protected]


SPINAL TAP is
"BACK FROM THE DEAD"
and CELEBRATING with
NEW ALBUM RELEASE ON JUNE 16, 2009
Album includes 19 songs and hour-long DVD


(LOS ANGELES, CA – May 1, 2009) – This year marks the 25th anniversary of the cult classic film "This is Spinal Tap" and now England's Loudest Heavy Metal Band, SPINAL TAP, is celebrating with the release of their first new album in almost two decades, Back From The Dead (The Label Industry Records/Artist2Market/INgrooves). Street date is Tuesday, June 16, 2009. SPINAL TAP's last album was 1992's Break Like The Wind.

On Back From the Dead, Tap members David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls unearth their long-self-suppressed studio versions of the classic songs from the movie "This is Spinal Tap," as well as six new additional songs, and an exclusive hour long accompanying DVD featuring a track-by-track video commentary by the band. Back From The Dead also features guest appearances by Phil Collen, Keith Emerson, John Mayer and Steve Vai. "This album title says it all. We're back from the dead. But we weren't dead. But we definitely are back," proclaimed Hubbins.

Back From The Dead is a deluxe CD/DVD package aggressively priced and containing 19 original Spinal Tap songs, a one-hour DVD and unique pop-up diorama package that unveils three 12-inch action figures (courtesy of Sideshow Collectibles) of the band along with a proportionally sized Stonehenge. Back From The Dead is destined to be a collector's item, especially among collectors.

The new album includes the newly interpreted Tap classics 'Hell Hole,' 'Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight,' 'Heavy Duty,' 'Rock 'n' Roll Creation,' 'America,' 'Cups and Cakes,' 'Big Bottom,' 'Sex Farm,' 'Stonehenge,' 'Gimme Some Money' and '(Listen to the) Flower People.'

"While the movie and soundtrack accurately represented our stage sound at the time, the studio versions of these songs on this album represent the cosmic maturation of the material, within a digital context. Also, they're louder," stated Smalls.

The new songs recorded specifically for Back From The Dead include 'Warmer Than Hell,' 'Short and Sweet,' 'Celtic Blues,' Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare,' 'Back From The Dead' and "the first known studio recording of the soon-to-be-long-forgotten 'Jazz Oddyssey.'"

Back From The Dead once again shows SPINAL TAP defies categorization, hop scotching from genre to genre all with moments of brilliance. The album is that perfect combination of Loudness, Vulgarity and a pinch of Evil. Back From the Dead promises to finally give SPINAL TAP their rightful place in history as "The true unsung and misunderstood geniuses of Rock 'n' Roll" and they dedicate this new album to all those metal titans the world has come to love—or at least tolerate.

Back From The Dead was produced by CJ Vanston, who arranged and played keyboards on the band's Break Like The Wind album and was musical director for their 1992, 2000 and 2007 tours. As a film composer, he has produced music for Christopher Guest's movies "Waiting For Guffman," "Best In Show," "A Mighty Wind," and "For Your Consideration."

The Back From The Dead deluxe CD/DVD package is being distributed completely outside of the traditional major label infrastructure. Retail distribution and marketing of physical CDs will be handled by Artist2Market (A2M) while digital marketing and distribution will be serviced by INgrooves.

Track List
Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
Back From The Dead
(Funky) Sex Farm
Rock 'n' Roll Creation
Jazz Oddyssey I
Gimme Some Money
Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare
Heavy Duty
America
Jazz Oddyssey II
(Listen to the) Flower People (Reggae Stylee)
Hell Hole
Big Bottom
Celtics Blues
Jazz Oddyssey III
Warmer Than Hell
Stonehenge
Short and Sweet
Cups and Cakes
In addition to the above 19 songs, fans of SPINAL TAP can find a free download for the previously unreleased 'Saucy Jack' from Hubbins' unfinished musical about Jack the Ripper on the band's website HYPERLINK "https://www.spinaltap.com" www.spinaltap.com. There are also rumors that there will be exclusive versions of 'Sex Farm' and '(Listen to the) Flower People' available on certain digital outlets – stay tuned.

And if that is not enough, the band will be releasing a very special 11 inch, limited edition vinyl version of Back From The Dead.


About Spinal Tap - SPINAL TAP formed in 1964 when good friends David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel joined forces and formed The Originals. After finding out that there was already a group with that title, they would go through a series of name changes until finally joining up with bassist Ronnie Pudding and drummer John "Stumpy" Pepys, becoming The Thamesmen. After releasing two minor hit singles, 'Gimme Some Money' and 'Cups and Cakes,' Pudding left to form Pudding People and was replaced by Derek Smalls. With this line-up, the band recorded '(Listen to the) Flower People.' A surprise hit, the single went gold in the United Kingdom and the band toured worldwide.

SPINAL TAP's 1982 tour in support of the album 'Smell The Glove' was captured on film by director Marty Di Bergi resulting in the documentary "This Is Spinal Tap," which the band immediately labeled a "hatchet job" and "character assassination."

In 1992, when SPINAL TAP seemed almost forgotten, they re-formed and returned to the spotlight along with a new album Break Like The Wind. In 2007, the band reunited to play the Live Earth Concert at Wembley Stadium in London to show their support for Global Warming. On June 30, 2009, SPINAL TAP will reunite once again for their 'One Night Only World Tour' at London's Wembley Arena.

About Artist2Market (A2M) - A2M is an artist services company that provides established artists and content owners with an independent and do-it-yourself alternative to the traditional recorded music industry distribution model. Combining an efficient and focused sales and distribution platform with additional services based on individual artist needs, A2M streamlines the traditional music supply chain, removing significant costs and keeping artists in control. While artists maintain 100% intellectual property ownership, A2M focuses on providing artist-specific suites of services that maximize artist profitability and deliver content to the marketplace at costs well below the industry standard.
www.artist2market.com

About INgrooves - INgrooves is a digital media infrastructure company that provides various distribution and marketing services via its INgrooves and ONE Digital divisions. ONE Digital is a proprietary software platform that provides distribution and administration to large distributors, record labels and film production companies at rates far below the industry standard. INgrooves provides clients customized distribution, marketing, promotion, synch licensing and administrative support to help maximize the earnings potential of specific releases or catalogues.
www.ingrooves.com

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This Is Spinal Tap TM and © 1984 StudioCanal S.A. This Is Spinal Tap was created by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean & Harry Shearer and directed by Rob Reiner by special arrangement with StudioCanal.

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Darklord Dave said:

DARN DARN DARN DARN DARN!

I was so excited until I saw the pics - it's the original Tap figures - not the Stonehenge figures that we're supposed to come after in completely different costumes. (Lonnie - picture?) But weren't released because the first Tap figures tanked so dismally.

DISAPPOINTED!

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lcummins said:

These are the best I could do... I'm sure larger ones are out there somewhere!

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SpinalTapFan.com said:

Mat Falls, who sculpted the 12-inch Spinal Tap dolls for Sideshow Toys, agreed to answer a few questions about the delicate challenge of recreating the craniums of one of England's loudest bands.
How did you arrive at what must be the peak of your career as a dollmaker?
I began my career working in makeup effects for movies and television in Hollywood, but the way the industry was heading with CGI and digital effects I thought it would be best to look for another source of income. Now I'm one of the four partners in Sideshow Toys, and I sculpt all of our dolls.
Did you want to be a sculptor as a kid?
I grew up in Stockton, California, which is familiar to Tap fans as the site of the Themeland Amusement Park. I was really into horror films because of the makeup and costumes. I still love all the classics: Frankenstein, the Creature From the Black Lagoon, the Phantom of the Opera.
How did you land the Spinal Tap deal?
Sideshow's designer, Ken Morgan, and I are fans of the film. We were thinking about dolls we'd love to do, and Spinal Tap came up. We approached the band about creating action figures, and they loved the idea.
Tell me about the process of making the heads of each doll.
Ken and I met with the band and took photos of their heads. It was a kick to meet them, although I tried to remain professional. I had each of them pose expressionless, then slowly turn around so I could take four to six shots around their heads. Using the photos as a model, I sculpted each head in wax at one-sixth scale, or the same size they appear on the dolls. To do this, I shrank myself down so my head was also an inch-and-a-half inch high. Actually, I use a custom tool that resembles a looped piece of wire. It's a process of adding wax and taking it away. You block out the general features and then hone in for the finer features such as eyelids and nostrils.
Once the band was satisfied with the look of the sculpted heads, we made a soft rubber mold and from that a copy out of resin. The hair is sculpted in soft rubber and attached. We considered doing the hair with synthetic strands, such as you'd see on a Barbie, but the band's haircuts are stylized and we thought rooted hair might look too generic.
How about the rest of the body and the costumes?
We use standard 12-inch poseable male doll figures. The challenge of the fabric costumes was finding leopard skin fabric in the right scale for Nigel's vest. The spots had to be one-sixth scale to look right. With Derek we had to find convincing artificial leather that was moveable. There were no real problems with David; he's in white.
We also created specialized hands, positioned as they might be when strumming a guitar. We could have saved some money by just using stock hands but that wouldn't have looked realistic.
Who else is involved in making the dolls?
Tom Gilliland painted each doll and saw through the costume design. Robin Ferguson did the package design and Ken Morgan did the doll design. He works in 2-D and then I put it into 3-D. Sideshow has 15 to 20 employees in the office each day, depending on their moods.
How are the dolls selling? Do people order one doll more than others?
We started taking orders in October and virtually everyone has ordered all three dolls, which is smart. You can't have one without the others, and because there's a limited supply, people may not be able to get the other two later on. The plan is to have a second set of Tap dolls ready by February. I'll sculpt them from different portraits, and we'll give them new outfits. They'll also be able to speak their signature lines. [Sadly, these second set of dolls never came to be. But here's an exclusive look at what they were supposed to look like. Elsewhere, Cosmic Shambles has posed the dolls in some delectable positions.—Ed.]

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lcummins said:

These are the best I could do... I'm sure larger ones are out there somewhere!

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