Spinal Tap gets a glorious do-over of its disastrous “Stonehenge” performance from the original 1984 film This Is Spinal Tap during the movie’s upcoming sequel, this time with a little help from Elton John. The artists’ new take on the cut is the lead track from the soundtrack to Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, due Sept. 12 from Interscope in tandem with the film’s theatrical release.
In an accompanying video, John (wearing a druid cloak, naturally) and his grand piano are seen emerging from beneath the stage to accompany Spinal Tap members David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) during a raucous live concert. This time, the stage prop Stonehenge monument has been built in the proper dimensions (18 feet tall, rather than 18 inches) and the band is able to complete the performance without major embarrassment.
As previously reported, The End Continues features numerous real-life music stars, including Paul McCartney, who lends a hand on a remake of Spinal Tap’s “Cups and Cakes,” and Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who help enliven “Big Bottom.” John also guests on a fresh take on “Flower People,” which in the film’s mythology was a hippy-dippy 1967-era early Spinal Tap single in a Beatles style — or, prior to St. Hubbins, Tufnel and Guest being christened “one of England’s loudest bands.”
Spinal Tap director/co-writer Rob Reiner announced in 2022 that he and the principal cast of the peerless mockumentary were reuniting for a sequel. The plot is based around the now-septuagenarian Tap reforming to fulfill a contractual obligation with their late manager Ian Faith (Tony Hendra, who portrayed the character in the original film, died in 2021).
Here is the track list for The End Continues:
1. “Nigel’s Poem”
2. “Let’s Just Rock Again”
3. “Flower People” with Elton John
4. “Brighton Rock”
5. “The Devil’s Just Not Getting Old”
6. “Cups and Cakes” with Paul McCartney
7. “I Kissed a Girl”
8. “Angels”
9. “Big Bottom” with Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood
10. “Judge and Jury”
11. “Rockin’ in the Urn”
12. “Blood To Let”
13. “Stonehenge” with Elton John
