Elton John Joins Spinal Tap For New Recording of ‘Classic’ Track
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer—in a scene from the original—will be joined by Paul McCartney and Elton John, among others, in Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.
They’re turning it back up to 11! The most beloved rock mockumentary of all-time, 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap, is finally getting a sequel, with original stars Michael McKean (as David St. Hubbins), Christopher Guest (Nigel Tufnel), and Harry Shearer (Derek Smalls) all onboard. And this time, they’ll be joined by Paul McCartney, Elton John, Garth Brooks, Questlove and others.
Rob Reiner, who directed—and co-wrote the original with Guest, McKean and Shearer—has once again directed the reboot, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. (He will recreate his role as filmmaker Marty DiBergi, from the original.) It opens September 12, 2025. The first official trailer was released on July 24. Watch it below.
On July 31, the first music video was released of a re-recording of the band’s classic cut, “Stonehenge,” featuring Elton John. The song will be included on the new film’s soundtrack, which also arrives on Sept. 12. It’s available for pre-order in the U.S. here. [Links for Canada and the U.K. are coming soon.]
“Stonehenge” looms large in Tap lore thanks to a prop gaffe captured in the first movie, where the band ordered an 18-foot high version of the monument but instead received an 18-inch one. They’ve performed the song many times since, with rocks of various sizes, and Tufnel even appeared on NatGeo’s 2008 Stonehenge: Decoded special to share his theories about the mysterious megaliths. For the new recording of the song, John brings his most arena-sized vocals to the mix, lording over shredding guitar, swirling synths, pounding drums, shrill pan pipes, and a full-band medieval jam session. Tufnel still holds down the eerie spoken parts.
The film, which will revolve around the faux-hard rock band planning one final concert, was originally set to premiere on March 19, 2024, just a couple of weeks after the 40th anniversary of the original film’s debut.
Related: Guest, Shearer and McKean reunited in 2019 for a special 35th anniversary performance
“I can tell you hardly a day goes by without someone saying, why don’t you do another one?” Reiner told Deadline when the sequel was announced in 2022. “For so many years, we said, ‘nah.’ It wasn’t until we came up with the right idea how to do this. You don’t want to just do it, to do it. You want to honor the first one and push it a little further with the story.”
Reiner continued: “They’ve played Albert Hall, played Wembley Stadium, all over the country and in Europe. They haven’t spent any time together recently, and that became the premise. The idea was that Ian Faith, who was their manager, he passed away. In reality, Tony Hendra passed away [in 2021]. Ian’s widow inherited a contract that said Spinal Tap owed them one more concert. She was basically going to sue them if they didn’t. All these years and a lot of bad blood we’ll get into and they’re thrown back together and forced to deal with each other and play this concert.”
Watch the original film’s classic “Hello Cleveland” scene. “Go straight ahead… turn right at the next two corners…”
Watch the famous Stonehenge scene from This Is Spinal Tap
The original film was produced on a shoestring budget of $2.25 million. The 2025 film was reportedly made for $22 million, still very low by today’s standards.
In 2002,This Is Spinal Tap‘s lasting appeal led the U.S. Library of Congress to designate it as a culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant film.
A new book about This Is Spinal Tap is coming in conjunction with the eagerly awaited sequel. For the first time, director Reiner and co-creators Guest, McKean, and Shearer provide the full behind-the-scenes story of the making of the groundbreaking film and its upcoming sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.
A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever: The Story of Spinal Tap, via Gallery Books, arrives September 9, 2025. It’s available for pre-order in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.
Spinal Tap The End Continues Soundtrack 2-CD Tracklist
Disc 1
1 Redbud Tree
2 Haul Away
3 Don’t Forget Your Hat
4 Privateering
5 Miss You Blues
6 Corned Beef City
7 Go, Love
8 Hot or What
9 Yon Two Crows
10 Seattle
Disc 2
1 Kingdom of Gold
2 Got To Have Something
3 Radio City Serenade
4 I Used To Could
5 Gator Blood
6 Bluebird
7 Dream of the Drowned Submariner
8 Blood and Water
9 Today Is Okay
10 After The Bean Stalk
6 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationLoved, and could relate to, the original Tap film.
Looking forward to the return of Spinal Tap, and turning my home theater amp up to 11 once again
I will purchase a whole new 11.4 home theater system with massive Klipsch floor standing speakers. The amplifier will be custom built so it plays up to 12!
Yay! Spinal Tap 2 Should be Dolby I mean doubly Great!
Maybe AI could let Fred Willard make a cameo
Please release it on Laserdisc.
I regret to say this trailer is — underwhelming. The ST members (and Macca and Elton) are so old they look as if they’re already embalmed…