Sir Paul McCartney to star alongside Sir Elton John in sequel to 1984 rock comedy This Is Spinal Tap as director Rob Reiner promises ‘a few surprises’

Beatles’ legend Sir Paul McCartney is to star alongside Sir Elton John in the sequel to rock comedy This Is Spinal Tap.

Macca, 81, will also appear alongside Garth Brooks in the follow up to the 1984 movie.

The original film followed members of the fictional heavy metal group Spinal Tap – dubbed ‘one of England’s loudest bands’.

Now, director Rob Reiner who made the first movie says he is making a sequel featuring a host of stars.

He revealed Sir Paul has a role on Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre podcast.

Big names: Beatles ‘ legend Sir Paul McCartney is to star alongside Sir Elton John in the sequel to rock comedy This Is Spinal Tap (pictured last month)

Fame game: Director Rob Reiner who made the first movie says he is making a sequel featuring a host of star (Sir Elton John pictured in June)

Rob said: ‘We’re making a sequel. We’re going to start shooting at the end of February.

‘Everybody is back, Paul McCartney is joining and Elton John, and a few other surprises, Garth Brooks.’

Discussing the success of the first film, he said: ‘The only thing that matters is getting people that are good at improvising.

‘You have to get people who feel comfortable doing that.’

This Is Spinal Tap, also known as This Is Spın̈al Tap: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi, is a 1984 American mockumentary film starring Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer as members of the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap.

Rob himself plays Martin ‘Marty’ Di Bergi, a documentary filmmaker who travels with the English band on their American tour.

The movie satirises the perceived stereotypical behaviour of rock bands on tour.

It takes inspiration from the 1976 Led Zeppelin documentary The Song Remains the Same, 1978’s The Last Waltz about Canadian-American rock group The Band, and is similar to 1978 TV film All You Need Is Cash by The Rutles.

Telling the tale: The original film followed members of the fictional heavy metal group Spinal Tap (pictured) – dubbed ‘one of England’s loudest bands’

It comes after Sir Paul McCartney’s band The Beatles reached No 1 once again earlier this month – with what is likely to be their last ever record.

Now And Then – which is based on a 1978 recording and enhances John Lennon’s vocals through artificial intelligence – debuted at No 42 after just ten hours of sales when it was released this month.

But the track then climbed to the top. It means it has beaten Free As A Bird, which peaked at No 2 when it was released in 1995 and was based on the same set of home demos by Lennon.

Now And Then was written and sung by Lennon eight years after the band split up, and developed and worked on by Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Sir Ringo Starr in 1995.

It was finally finished by Sir Paul and Sir Ringo this year, thanks to help from AI-backed audio restoration technology, which meant Lennon’s voice in the recording could be isolated.

Hitmakers: It comes after Sir Paul McCartney’s band The Beatles reached No 1 once again earlier this month – with what is likely to be their last ever record

No other act in UK music history has had such a long gap between two No 1 tracks. The previous record was set by Kate Bush, who waited 44 years between her first chart-topper in 1978, Wuthering Heights, and her second, Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), last year, when the song received a boost after being featured on hit Netflix series Stranger Things.

Sir Paul described the news as ‘mind-boggling’, telling the Official Charts Company: ‘It’s blown my socks off. It’s also a very emotional moment for me. I love it!’ 

Now And Then is The Beatles’ 18th No 1 hit, extending their lead as the group with the most chart-toppers in the UK, ahead of Westlife (14) and Take That (12).

They have also drawn level with Elvis to share the record for the act with the greatest number of different songs to reach the top in the UK.

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