Spinal Tap A to Zed

Gumby: During "This is Spinal Tap," Nigel occasionally has a Gumby doll with him or is shown wearing Gumby clothing. He wears a Gumby shirt, for example, during the Atlanta party and at Shank Hall in Milwaukee for a sound check. In one of the intimate scenes that DiBergi didn't use, the camera catches Nigel watching "The Gumby Show" on a hotel room television while playing with the bendable Gumby and Pokey dolls he keeps in his shirt pocket. "Do not bite me," he mimics Gumby telling his pony companion. "You are my friend." In another scene, Nigel crosses the arms and bows the head of the flexible Gumby before the band visits Graceland during the Memphis stop of its 1982 tour. During an interview with Derek that DiBergi did not include in his film, the bass player muses, "Wouldn't it be great if Nigel could remain that fabulous man-child in his bloody Gumby T-shirt all the time?" Nigel would later explain his affection this way: "Gumby represents to me Everyman. He's perfect. He's clayish. You need to be to have that kind of flexibility." (DV)