Spinal Tap, the rock band, consists of a core of singer/guitarist David St. Hubbins, lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel, and bassist Derek Smalls, with lots of other people, especially keyboardists and drummers, who have been in the band for shorter periods. (Tap's drummers have a history of dying oddly -- bizarre gardening accidents, choking on someone else's vomit, spontaneously combusting on stage, etc.) A list on the fan site at www.chiprowe.com/tap has documented these members (including during Tap's earlier incarnations as the Thamesmen):

  • Adams, Jimmy (horn) 1965-66
  • Apso, Lhasa (vocals) 1965-66
  • Besser, Joe "Mama" (drums) 1982
  • Bond, Peter "James" (drums) 1974-77
  • Brixton, Tony (keyboards) 1965-66
  • Childs, Eric "Stumpy Joe" (drums) 1969-74
  • Clovington, Geoff (horn) 1965-66
  • Laine, Dicky (keyboards) 1965-66
  • MacLochness, Ross (keyboards), 1974-75
  • Pepys, John "Stumpy" (drums) 1964-69
  • Pettibone, Jeanine (tambourine), 1982
  • Pudding, Ronnie (bass), 1966-67
  • "Ricky from San Francisco" (guitar), 1982
  • Savage, Viv (keyboards), 1975-82
  • Schindler, Little Danny (harmonica, vocals), 1965-66
  • Scrubbs-Martin, Julie (vocals), 1965-66
  • Shrimpton, Mick (drums), 1977-82
  • Shrimpton, Ric (drums), 1992-
  • Smalls, Derek (bass), 1967-
  • St. Hubbins, David (guitar), 1966-
  • Tufnel, Nigel (guitar), 1966-
  • Upham, Denny (keyboards), 1966-68
  • van der Kvelk, Jan (keyboards), 1965
  • Vanston, C.J. (keyboards), 1992-
  • Wax, Nick (keyboards), 1965-66
While David tells Marty DiBergi during the 1982 filming of This Is Spinal Tap that there had been 37 people in the band, only 20 have been documented. The lost 17 likely were short-term hires during the turbulent years of 1965 and 1966. In a 1992 interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Nigel mentioned that 12 drummers had preceded Ric Shrimpton, meaning that seven of the missing 17 were drummers. The current total stands at 42.