TL;DR: You probably typed SpinalTarp.com by mistake – but that’s fitting. This page collects the funniest and most instructive mistakes made by characters in This Is Spinal Tap, from Stonehenge-sized errors to amps that “go to 11.” These aren’t filmmaking goofs – they’re decisions that go sideways, just like real-life mistakes. Laugh, cringe, and maybe learn something about how not to read the napkin.
Track Listing
- What Counts as a “Mistake” Here
- Before the Tour Even Gets Going
- Album Covers, Gum, and Sandwiches
- Life on the Road
- Stonehenge: Inches, Not Feet
- The Band Meeting
- Rehearsal and the Credits
- The End Continues: The Lessons
Hi, I’m Mark Graban. I’m a podcaster.
This page isn’t about typos – it’s about the glorious, hilarious mistakes baked into This Is Spinal Tap, my all-time favorite film. From “Spinal Pap” limo signs to Stonehenge built in inches instead of feet, the band’s blunders are legendary – and often more instructive than the music itself.
I’ve seen it dozens of times, if not 100 times (going back to a grainy VHS in the ’90s), and I couldn’t resist collecting the band’s most unforgettable missteps – the kind of mistakes we all make in real life. My book’s cover designer (Don) and editor (Tom) are also both huge Tap fans, go figure.
So before you head off to the official Spinal Tap site, stick around. You’ll find clips, commentary, and maybe even a lesson or two about what mistakes can teach us – on stage, in business, or anywhere else things go off the rails.
A sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, came out on September 12, 2025, and I was able to attend the IMAX premiere in Hollywood two days earlier.
Of course, “Spinal Tarp” and “Spinal Pap” are two of the mistaken ways characters in the film refer to the band. If you know, you know. If you’re a huge fan of the film, you don’t need any of the words on this page… but please enjoy the collected clips.
How much more black could this page be? The answer is none. None more black. Well, actually, if it were any more black, you couldn’t read the text.
What Counts as a “Mistake” Here
This page is a collection of mistakes made by characters in the film. I’m not referring to “filmmaking mistakes” or “continuity errors,” as you might find on the IMDb “goofs” page for the film.
What’s a “mistake”? As I say in the book:
Mistakes are actions or judgments that turn out to be misguided or wrong. We believe we are making the right decision at the time, but eventually discover it was wrong, whether seconds or years later… Mistakes arise from decisions and actions that produce outcomes that don’t match our intended results.
The Mistakes That Make Us
The quotes on this page come from the film. Since nearly all of the dialogue was improvised, there’s no official script, but fans have put together a full transcript of the film if you want to check my work.
As the film’s director, Marty Di Bergi, would say… but, hey… enough of my yakkin’. Whaddya’ say? Let’s boogie.
Before the Tour Even Gets Going
“Spinal Pap”
The mistakes begin early with the limo driver, played by Bruno Kirby, holding up a sign at the airport that greets the band as “SPINAL PAP.” That mistake was born out of him not knowing the band’s name – partly because he thinks rock and roll is just “a fad” (although he’d never tell the band that).
Not knowing the name is one type of mistake. Accidentally typing “Spinal Tapp” when you know the band’s name is another type.
Two Lead Guitarists
During their first song on screen, Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins are both labeled as playing “lead guitar.” It seems like having two lead guitarists is a mistake in that I’d expect conflict and turmoil. Foreshadowing?
The Originals, the New Originals, and the Regulars
The band was initially called “The Originals,” but there was already a band in the East End with that name. That name was a mistake, so they “had to rename ourselves ‘The New Originals.'” That other band then “became ‘The Regulars.'” They could have changed it back, but what’s the point? Changing it back might have been a mistake.
“This Is a Fad”
The limo driver made the mistake of thinking the band wanted to hear what he had to say about music, particularly Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra. The band puts the divider glass up to cut him off. The limo driver then makes an incorrect prediction: “I mean I would never tell them this but this is uh… this is a fad.”
“It’s Not a Big College Town”
The manager, Ian Faith, thinks the New York Times will write something (he was probably mistaken). He also says the Boston gig is canceled, but mistakenly says not to worry about it because “it’s not a big college town.”
| CITY | VENUE | CAP. |
|---|---|---|
| NEW YORK | ARENA | 12,000 |
| BOSTON | ARENACANCELLED | 10,000 |
| MEMPHIS | ARENA theater | 9,000 1,200 |
| CHICAGO | RECORD STORE | ? |
| CLEVELAND | ARENA (ask for directions) | 8,000 |
| TBD | ARENA amusement park | Must be billed first |
Album Covers, Gum, and Sandwiches
Smell the Glove: Sexy vs. Sexist
The record label decides not to release their new album, Smell the Glove, because they think the album cover is sexist. The band made the mistake of putting “a greased, naked woman on all fours with a dog collar around her neck” on the cover.
Nigel Tufnel mistakenly asks, “What’s wrong with being sexy?” He’s corrected… “-ist” – “sex-ist.”
Gum on the Finger
When not chewing his gum, Nigel puts it on his finger. When director Marty Di Bergi asks, “Why don’t you put it on the table?” Nigel says, “I might forget about it if it’s on the table.” I guess he’s preventing that mistake of forgetting his gum.
Folding the Bread
Later, backstage, Nigel is confused by the sandwich tray and the small bread. Ian tells him to “fold it,” but Nigel mistakenly folds the bread when Ian meant for him to fold the meat and cheese to make it fit the small bread.
Why do you keep folding it?
An exasperated Ian Faith
Down and Can’t Get Up
During a show, Nigel goes down on his back while playing guitar and can’t get up. He mistakenly assumed that he’d be able to get up. He needs help from a roadie.
“Listen to the Sustain”
While showing off his guitar collection, Nigel holds up a guitar and tells Marty to “listen to the sustain.” Marty says, “I can’t hear anything.” Nigel replies, “You would… if it were playing.”
These Go to 11
With his amp that “goes to 11” in volume, Nigel mistakenly thinks that’s louder than any “10” would be because “it’s one louder.” Marty asks, “Why don’t you just make ten louder and make ten be the top… number… and make that a little louder?”
Nigel thinks and replies:
These go to 11.
Nigel Tufnel
Life on the Road
The Memphis Hotel Mix-Up
When trying to check into a Memphis hotel, there’s a mix-up. The band and their team were put on the 7th floor with one “King Leisure” suite instead of getting seven suites on one floor. Ian makes the mistake of calling the hotel clerk, played by Paul Benedict, “a twisted old fruit” (which draws an appropriately shocked reaction from the woman working behind the desk, since that comment wasn’t nice).
Not Their Fans
In the lobby, the band thought the excited fans were there for them. Nope, they were fans of another rock musician, Duke Fame (played by Paul Shortino). Duke’s manager, Terry Ladd (played by Howard Hesseman), thinks Ian’s name is “Liam.” David mistakenly thinks “they were still booing him when we came on stage” after following Duke at a concert.
Des Moines, “in Indiana or Something”
David tells his girlfriend Jeanine that Des Moines is “in Indiana or something.” He also thinks it’s a great idea for her to join them on the tour, which turns out to be a mistake.
The Where-Are-They-Now File
The band is excited to hear their old song on the radio, “Cups and Cakes” – but after it plays, they’re sadly discouraged by the DJ saying they are “currently residing in the where-are-they-now file.”
Status: currently residing here
see also: The New Originals
Harmony at Elvis’ Grave
David thinks the band has made a mistake in visiting Elvis’ grave because it’s depressing. After their mistaken attempt to sing harmony on “Heartbreak Hotel,” David makes the mistake of cursing, and bass player Derek Smalls tells him to watch his language and to show some respect.
Jazz-Blues or Blues-Jazz?
As David recalls playing at a “jazz-blues festival,” Nigel corrects him: it was “blues-jazz really.”
The All-Black Cover
When they see the new album cover for Smell the Glove, Derek mistakenly asks if it’s a “test pressing.” The band thinks the all-black cover is a mistake and “it looks like death.” It’s the real, non-sexist cover.
Smell the Glove, front cover. Back cover available on request. It’s also black.
Stuck in the Pod
During a performance of “Rock and Roll Creation,” the pod doesn’t open for Derek and he’s stuck inside. There’s a quick roadie response to try to help. It finally opens just as David and Nigel are going back into their pods at the end of the song. Derek then gets his arm caught in it closing when trying to go back in.
The Law of Averages
When asked about the previous drummers’ deaths, Mick Shrimpton mistakenly thinks the “law of averages” suggests he will survive. Spoiler alert: He does not.
DRUMMER INCIDENT
Airport Security and the Cucumber
Derek mistakenly thinks he can go through (pre-TSA) airport security with a foil-wrapped cucumber in his trousers. It gets detected, of course. At least airport security didn’t make the mistake of letting metal through!
The Empty Record Store Signing
Nobody shows up for the band’s record store album promotion and signing event. The band was promised “massive radio support,” and Polymer Records promo man Artie Fufkin (Paul Shaffer) figures they “over saturated.”
Lost Backstage in Cleveland
The band also famously gets lost backstage before their Cleveland performance. They get directions from a maintenance worker and then end up back in the same spot. He tries telling them, “There’s a little jog there” (during their path to the stage) – and Derek replies, “We don’t have time for that.”
A sign or two might have helped.
Mixed “in Dubly”
Jeanine thinks the album would have done better if it had been mixed right, because “you don’t do heavy metal in Dubly” (she means Dolby).
Stonehenge: Inches, Not Feet
The Napkin
David thinks the solution to their problems is to do a stage production of their song “Stonehenge” that includes a replica monument. In one of the most famous mistakes in the film, the monument was incredibly small.
The napkin that Nigel sketched it on was marked 18″ (18 inches) instead of 18′ (18 feet). The designer built it to what she thought were the specifications (the napkin). She probably made a mistake by not checking to see if the piece was really supposed to be that small. Ian says something about “When we get the actual piece,” and the designer (played by Anjelica Huston) says, “But this is what you asked for… this is the piece.”
Fuck the napkin!
Ian Faith
The Reveal
And then we see the reveal on stage (and the resulting argument).
Ian probably made a mistake in using the tiny Stonehenge on stage… unless he was so upset with the band that he did it intentionally (or passive-aggressively) to make them look bad.
“Making a Big Thing Out of It”
David complains about what happened. Ian says, “I really think you’re just making a much too big thing out of it.”
Then Derek replies with one of my favorite lines:
Making a big thing out of it would’ve been a good idea.
Derek Smalls
The band blames Ian. “It’s not your job to be as confused as Nigel,” he’s told by David. Ian says that his job was to do what the band told him to do – although he probably should have used a little critical thinking in that situation to avoid the embarrassment on stage.
The Band Meeting
David starts complaining about other “gaping holes” (or mistakes) in the planning of the tour, blaming Ian. Ian asks why Jeanine is in the band meeting – is that a mistake? It might have been a mistake for Ian to ask.
Ian complains that the band doesn’t handle mistakes well:
David, whenever a single bump or a ruffle comes into this little fantasy, adolescent fantasy world that you guys, you guys have built around yourselves… you start screaming like a bunch of pansy hairdressers. I mean it’s just a problem you know. It gets solved…
Ian Faith
Except, as Jeanine says, “It doesn’t.”
Ian says the band focuses too much on the mistakes, defending himself by saying:
For one thing that goes wrong… one… one single thing that goes wrong, a hundred things go right.
Ian Faith
David suggests that Jeanine basically co-manages the band, which is a mistake in that Ian quits as a result.
In the quiet aftermath, Derek makes the mistake of raising the practical question of whether they’re going to play Stonehenge tomorrow. David yells, “No we’re not gonna fucking do Stonehenge!!!”
Rehearsal and the Credits
Wife or Girlfriend?
Later, as the band practices, David is having trouble playing his parts and they’re all getting frustrated. Nigel mistakenly refers to Jeanine as David’s wife and gets corrected. This is after David previously got mad at Ian for calling her his “girlfriend.” So yeah, “Whatever the fuck she is,” as Nigel exclaims.
The “Medically Accurate” T-Shirt
During the end credits, Nigel shows off a T-shirt he insists is his “exact inner structure” – “exactly medically accurate.” It’s green. When Marty points out that it wouldn’t be green, Nigel insists it is, then backs down: “maybe it’s not green.”
The End Continues: What Spinal Tap Teaches Us About Mistakes
In the world of Spinal Tap, mistakes are louder, prouder, and often wrapped in leather. Whether it’s an amp that “goes to 11,” a Stonehenge monument measured in inches instead of feet, or a manager who claims Boston isn’t a college town, the film is one long, glorious parade of well-intended decisions gone sideways.
But that’s what makes it brilliant – and weirdly instructive.
The band stumbles, argues, gets lost (literally and figuratively), and still finds a way to carry on. Sure, they might be trapped in pods or stuck signing autographs for no one, but they also remind us that mistakes aren’t the end of the road – they’re just part of the backstage chaos that precedes growth… or at least another gig in Japan.
If nothing else, This Is Spinal Tap shows us that embracing the missteps – rather than denying, blaming, or folding the bread wrong – makes for a much better story. And maybe even a better culture.
So as you reflect on these moments, ask yourself: Are you managing your team like Ian Faith… or like someone who reads the napkin before building the set?
Is it your job to do what the creative element of the team tells you to do? Or is it your job to not be as confused as your Nigel?
If you’re into learning from mistakes without getting stuck in the “where-are-they-now” file, check out my book, The Mistakes That Make Us.
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The Mistakes That Make Us
by Mark Graban
Learning from mistakes builds better teams, stronger leaders, and a culture of improvement.