16 m. ago BRIAN VINER reviews Spinal Tap II: The End Continues: Even with names like McCartney and Elton... Spinal Tap hit a few bum notes in spoof sequel

Not many films are revered quite like This Is Spinal Tap, Rob Reiner's 1984 spoof which is often credited with pioneering the 'mockumentary' genre.

Events

9 h. ago Judge allows Trump to cut more than $1bn in National Science Foundation grants

Court declined preliminary injunction in case brought by scientists seeking to halt purge of more than 1,600 grantsThe Trump administration can go ahead and purge more than 1,600 research grants issued by National Science Foundation (NSF) worth more than $1bn, after a judge declined to grant a preliminary injunction in a case brought by a coalition of organizations representing thousands of scientists.The NSF is the premier federal investor in basic and cutting-edge science and engineering, which until Trump’s second term enjoyed bipartisan support, with the agency’s independent review process revered globally as the gold standard. Continue reading...

Politics

15 h. ago Rob Reiner reveals hilarious Spinal Tap line that Paul McCartney came up with

Beatles singers appears in film alongside fellow guest stars Elton John, Lars Ulrich, Questlove and Chad Smith

Politics

19 h. ago Spinal Tap II: The End Continues review – rockers return for mockusequel of pin

Enter the Tapocalypse as Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Rob Reiner return in a still-funny, cameo-studded telling of the hapless band’s final gigLegendary faux rockers Spinal Tap, with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer as, respectively, lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel, lead singer David St Hubbins and bassist Derek Smalls, return in a cameo-studded rockusequel – or, rather, mockusequel – about the band’s contractually enforced and horribly ill-fated one-off reunion gig in New Orleans. It’s their first time playing together since a mysterious reported row between David and Nigel in 2009 brought the Tap bandwagon to a halt.And to paraphrase the Smiths: that joke is still funny it’s not too close to home and it’s not too near the bone but it is close, and you might have to work a little bit harder to remember how you felt the first time you saw the original. There’s lots of good stuff here, some witty reboots and reworkings of gags from the first fil...

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24 h. ago Spinal Tap II: The End Continues review: the rocks gods of mockumentary turn it up to, er, 10½

Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest and co and back for one last blow-out with Elton John and Paul McCartney adding the superstar sparks

Politics

24 h. ago Spinal Tap II: The End Continues review – a startlingly unfunny sequel

It might be the point that this belated follow-up to the 1984 classic is irrelevant, half-baked and poorly timed – but where are the jokes?

Politics

62 h. ago Most iconic spoof bands of all time – Glastonbury sets, Big Brother and Disney star

Spinal Tap are back at the cinema this week, serving up metal with a side of silliness. But where do they rank among history’s greatest spoof bands?

Politics

3 d. ago Kate Moss takes on David Bowie in her first ever podcast: best listens of the week

The global fashion star chats to famous musicians about her friend – the man behind Ziggy Stardust. Plus, a comedian borrows a Hollywood celeb’s car for off-the-wall interviewsKate Moss has transformed into Ziggy Stardust for the cover of Vogue, but her connection to David Bowie isn’t just sartorial. They were also friends. The supermodel hosts her first podcast about Bowie’s chameleonic period from 1970 to 1975, when he morphed into an androgynous alien, a glam rock god, a purveyor of blue-eyed soul and everything in between. Elton John, Iggy Pop and Twiggy are among the starry interviewees. Hannah J DaviesWidely available, all episodes out on Wednesday 10 September Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago ‘Our songs last three minutes but they feel like an hour’: the return of Spinal Tap – an exclusive that goes up to 11!

Over 40 years since This is Spinal Tap was mistaken for a comedy, its hard-rocking subjects are back in a legally obligated sequel. Our writer heads to smell the gloveSpinal Tap are remembering the old days. It was 1966, and the young beat group from Squatney in east London – still, at that point, the Thamesmen – were honing their act in the tough clubs of the Benelux circuit. A young band from Britain could learn a lot, facing up to riotous crowds of Dutch, Flemings, Walloons and Luxembourgers. What lessons did Tap take from that year?“If you speak really loudly, it’s all right if you don’t have any of the local language,” says David St Hubbins, Tap’s leonine lead singer. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Madness guitarist Chris Foreman says he has ‘treatable but not curable’ cancer

The guitarist and songwriter is best known for being part of the 80s pop group behind the hit songs Our House, It Must Be Love, and House Of Fun.

Politics

2 w. ago Spinal Tap II, Julia Roberts and Paul Thomas Anderson: the best films of autumn 2025

An original Alan Bennett screenplay, a classy star turn for George Clooney and a Bruce Springsteen biopic are all on their way to the big screen• See the rest of our unmissable autumn arts preview picks hereAll release dates are UK and subject to changeComic book author and novelist Charlie Huston adapts his own cult bestseller of the same title, Darren Aronofsky directs – and this comedy certainly signals a shift in tone after his last movie, body-image tragedy The Whale. Austin Butler stars as ex-baseball-player Hank Thompson who gets mixed up in the seedy underbelly of crime in 90s New York. • 29 August Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Julia Schell scores six tries as Canada thrash Fiji in Women’s Rugby World Cup

Pool B: Canada 65-7 FijiImpressive Canada score 11 tries in ominous displayCanada are quietly going about their business as the dark horses of this World Cup with eyes firmly on the hosts, England, and defending champions New Zealand. The team may benefit from flying under the radar but it does not make them any less a contender for the trophy. The clinical nature of their opener against Fiji announced their arrival in England in style, particularly through the full-back Julia Schell who was spectacular in the second half as she scored six tries in 21 minutes.The fact Canada are being overlooked by many does not correlate to recent results with wins against Australia and the USA and a draw against the Black Ferns at Pacific Four. They are also ranked as the No 2 side in the world so the 11-try result was not surprising in the hugely physical battle which also saw replacement Fiji prop Bulou Vasuturaga shown a red card for a high tackle after a bunker review. Continue reading...

Sport

3 w. ago Altius Group secures top 10 position in Scotland’s M&A rankings

Altius Group has been recognised as one of the top ten advisers in Scotland in the Experian M&A MarketIQ Review for H1 2025. The achievement highlights the Group’s continued growth across the UK, with top ten recognition also secured in Wales and four regions in England, as well as the UK as a whole.

Politics

3 w. ago ‘I got a nosebleed in minutes!’ How the Wedding Present’s indie banger classics inspired a musical

They lit up the 80s and 90s with abrasive tracks that were like kitchen-sink dramas. But can the Wedding Present’s acerbic songs work on stage? We meet the team making it happen – and the ‘rock god’ who penned the hitsIn 2009, Matt Aston was watching the Wedding Present frontman David Gedge perform a “bizarre and brilliant” gig with the BBC Big Band when he was struck by a notion: that the combination of the singer’s conversational lyrics and brassy, orchestrated new arrangements felt a bit like, well, watching a musical.“I parked the idea,” says Aston, a theatre director and writer. “Then some time later, I saw David’s other band Cinerama with a 16-piece orchestra and thought, ‘This could be musical theatre!’” Aston had had a few drinks and remembers sitting afterwards, trying to convince his mate – screenwriter and playwright William Ivory, who hadn’t been drinking – that this wasn’t the daftest idea ever. “Billy said, ‘You can’t make a musical out of Wedding Present lyrics. It’s ...

Events

4 w. ago Trump orders relaxed rules for rocket launches, appearing to benefit Musk and Bezos

Companies like SpaceX and Blue Horizon may be able to forgo reviews required under National Environmental Policy Act Donald Trump is looking to relax environmental rules for commercial spaceship companies. In an executive order titled “enabling competition in the commercial space industry” that he signed on Wednesday, he said it’s imperative to national security that the private rocket-ship industry increase launches “substantially” by 2030.That would mean, according to the executive order, that those companies may be able to forgo the environmental reviews that are required under the National Environmental Policy Act (Nepa). Private space companies are required to get launch permits from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). And, as part of that process, companies are subject to review under the National Environmental Policy Act. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Screen Babble: The rise of social games on TV, the best mockumentaries and the return of Wednesday

Your monthly dose of television and film discussion returns wherever you get your favourite podcasts

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