How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from This is Spinal Tap.
Quote #1
DRIVER: But it's, it's a passing thing...it's uh.... I mean I would never tell them this but this is, uh, this is a fad.
Here we get to hear how an outsider thinks and feels about the band's gradual decline. The conclusion? It's unavoidable. There's nothing necessarily great or enduring about them; they're just what happened to capture the public's interest for a number of years.
Quote #2
MARTY: The last time Tap toured America, they were, uh, booked into 10,000 seat arenas, and 15,000 seat venues, and it seems that now, on the current tour they're being booked into 1,200 seat arenas, 1,500 seat arenas, and uh I was just wondering, does this mean, uh, the popularity of the group is waning?
Pretty bold of Marty to ask Ian this question without being protected by a sheet of some sort of impenetrable material. That cricket bat is right there. The manager doesn't lash out, however, choosing instead to explain away their dwindling numbers by saying that their "appeal is becoming more selective."
Denial, party of one?
Quote #3
DJ: The Thamesmen later changed their names to Spinal Tap. They had a couple of B-side hits they are currently residing in the "where are they now" file. Johnny Q with you on Golden 106 and right after we...
Ouch. The band is all gathered together, in the midst of a feel-good moment, when the radio DJ has to come on and spoil it for everyone. We can tell by the speed with which the radio gets switched off (not to mention the speed with which certain obscenities are shouted at it) that everyone present is well aware of how cruel time has been to them, even if they would never openly admit it.
Quote #4
DAVID: Well let's hear yours. Let's hear your suggestion.
NIGEL: Stonehenge! Stonehenge. It's the best production value we've ever had on stage.
The band starts getting desperate, and this is never more apparent than when they decide to try resurrecting their crumbling product by reviving one of their hits from yesteryear. Unfortunately, the past can rarely be repeated with equivalent success, and this is learned the hard way when the return of "Stonehenge" is an unmitigated flop.
Quote #5
DAVID: No, but it's...you've got to understand that like in the world of rock and roll there are certain changes that sometimes occur, and you've just got to, sort of, roll with them, you know. I mean you read, you read... you saw exactly how many people who's been in this band over the years, 37 people's been in this band over the years. I mean it's like, you know, six months from now, I can't see myself missing Nigel more than I might miss Ross McLochness, or Ronnie Pudding, or Danny Upham, or Little Danny Schindler, or any of those.
The frontman doth protest too much, wethinks. Time might heal all wounds, but it also has a habit of entrenching people indelibly into our lives. If these two have been together for twenty-odd years, cutting the cord cleanly won't be so easy.