It won't bring all their deceased drummers back to life, but Live Earth 2007 has served to reunite the surviving members of Spinal Tap.
The ersatz British metalheads will show their green side this summer at the U.K. installment of Live Earth, where they'll put in their two cents (or sing "Gimme Some Money") about the fight against global warming.
Spinal Tap, composed of guitarist Nigel Tufnel, singer-guitarist David St. Hubbins and bassist Derek Small (aka Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer) has been largely dormant for most of the new millennium, with their last big-time reunion coming in 2001 for their nine-city Back from the Dead tour, which included a stop at Carnegie Hall.
In addition to Spinal Tap's upcoming eco-friendly performance, a new 15-minute film directed by This Is Spinal Tap visionary Rob Reiner that brings fans up to date on the band's position on the environment is slated to screen tonight at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The New York fest kicked off earlier today with several global warming-themed short films produced by Live Earth organizer Save Our Selves, which counts Al Gore as a major partner.
Reprising his 1984 role as mockumentarian Marty DeBergi in the new short, simply called Spinal Tap, Reiner dishes about how he introduced the term "global warming" into the international lexicon and the band discusses their philanthropic past, including their campaigns to help ferrets and better the lives of people with high insteps.
"They're not that environmentally conscious, but they've heard of global warming," Reiner told the Associated Press. "Nigel thought it was just because he was wearing too much clothing—that if he just took his jacket off it would be cooler."
When they take the stage in July, the masters of hard-rockin' absurdity will be unveiling their new single "Warmer Than Hell." Here are a couple of lines from the sure classic, courtesy of Reiner:
"The devil went to Devon, it felt like the fourth degree/
He said, 'Is it hot in here, or is it only me?"
"What I think is going to be nice about this whole effort is there will be marching orders for people," Reiner, a longtime environmental and political activist, told the AP. "Not only from a personal standpoint of what individuals can do in their lives, but a macro perspective with respect to the public sector and government."
All of which must sound like so many big words to Nigel, David and Derek. Maybe if someone writes it down on a napkin…
Spinal Tap joins Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters, Duran Duran and various other legit artists already confirmed for the all-day event July 7 at London's Wembley Arena. Other concerts will take place in New Jersey, Shanghai, Sydney, Johannesburg and cities still to be determined in Japan, Brazil and Antarctica.