Formative Film chosen by The Equatorial Group - plus live music from the band!
This Is Spinal Tap - And The Equatorial Group
Hilarious cult classic mockumentary about a ridiculous rock group, starring a noteperfect cast including Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer. Chosen as a Formative Film by The Equatorial Group, who will perform live, including tracks from the film!
Director: Rob Reiner
Cast includes: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard, Anjelica Huston
Formative Film chosen by The Equatorial Group - plus live music from the band!
82 mins - plus 20 minute live music set & short interval / 1984/ USA
*Please read our important information about our Covid-19 safety precautions before visiting.*
A fictional British rock group, Spinal Tap, attempts to mount a comeback by embarking on a US tour, but as time moves on they must confront the fact that they just aren’t as popular as they used to be. Including 'interviews' with each band member and Marty DiBergi, the film-maker who is a diehard fan of the band.
This hilarious, groundbreaking, universally adored, largely improvised mockumentary is much imitated, but never bettered.
"Focusing on a fictional heavy metal band named Spinal Tap, the film brilliantly parodies real-life heavy metal music as well as the rockumentaries about them. Director Marty DiBergi (a joking reference to Martin Scorsese, who directed The Last Waltz, 1978, and worked as an editor on WOODSTOCK, 1970), played by director and co-writer Rob Reiner, follows the group, making a documentary about them, as they embark on an ill-fated American tour to promote the release of their album Smell the Glove. The film’s satire was so sharp, and its style so much like that of actual rockumentaries, that This Is Spinal Tap was taken as real by many..." - Barry Keith Grant, BFI Screen Guides
About The Equatorial Group
Our Formative Film series invites special guests to present a film that was influential to their lives and to share the reasons for their choice.
The latest screening in our occasional Formative Film series is chosen by one of our favourite bands, the popular East Sussex-based The Equatorial Group (pictured, right). They will share why This Is Spinal Tap has had an influence on them.
The band will also perform a short set before the screening, and they promise a few surprises including a song from the film alongside some of their own gorgeously crafted, country-influenced, harmony-rich folk rock. Always a live treat, this promises to be an intimate and memorable show from The Equatorial Group, who have been busy gathering a loyal following from alt-country and rock fans alike.
Named after a collection of telescopes at nearby Herstmonceux Observatory, The Equatorial Group features Twe Fox, Andy Tourle, Helen Weeks, Dave Davies and Neil Grimes. With two perfectly crafted pedal steel laden albums under their belt, Apricity and Falling Sands, the band has supported The Bluetones, Willy Mason, Hayley Savage and Joan Shelley, among others. Plus, in April this year a support slot for Joana Serrat at Bexhill's De La Warr Pavilion, in association with Music's Not Dead record shop.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
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