The band is fake, but the cameo is real. Elton John makes a hilarious pop-in for an updated version of Spinal Tap’s iconic tribute to the place where demons dwell, banshees wail and children dance to the pipes of pan in a just-released video for “Stonehenge.”
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The single appears on the soundtrack album, The End Continues, a companion to the upcoming sequel to the OG mockumentary, 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap. The 13-track LP, due out alongside the film, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, on Sept. 12, features a return to some of the farcical band’s most beloved tracks with help from John (“Flower People”), Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood (“Big Bottom”) and Sir Paul McCartney (“Cups and Cakes”).
Following the signature ominously silly intro from guitarist/singer Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) — “In ancient times/ Hundreds of years before the dawn of history/ Lived a strange race of people, the Druids” — John emerges from the depths of the stage, throws off his hooded cloak and gets to Tapping.
“Stonehenge! Where the demons dwell/ Where the banshees live and they do live well/ Stonehenge! Where a man’s a man/ And the children dance to the Pipes of Pan,” John sings over the song’s prog rock thunder and unnecessary series of instrumental solos. Whether he’s singing about crying dew drops or cats meowing, John capably rocks the arena, except this time, instead of the embarrassingly puny 18-inch recreation of the iconic prehistoric megalithic stone structures in rural England from the original film, the band’s crew got the proportions right and a massive, 18-foot-high rock arch descends from the rafters in time for mandolin and gong solos.
John totally got into the spirit of the bit on Instagram, writing, “This was a blast, rocking out with @spinaltap for their new movie, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, and re-recording their epic ‘Stonehenge’ – this one is best played at volume 11!”
Along with the returns of the four Tap classics, the album will also feature nine new songs with predictably laughable titles, including: “Let’s Just Rock Again,” “Brighton Rock,” “The Devil’s Just Not Getting Old,” “Rockin’ in the Urn” and “Blood to Let.”
When the movie hits screens in September, director Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) will be back in the fold to crank the joke amps up one louder, along with guitarist/singer David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) and Polymer Records publicist Bobbi Fleckman (Fran Drescher). There will also be cameos from McCartney, John, Brooks and Yearwood, the Roots’ Questlove and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and Metallica timekeeper Lars Ulrich.
Watch John rock “Stonehenge” below.
