Big Bottom

The Zoo Crew, those groovy hippie DJs at THE ZOO radio station, are spinning the classic "Big Bottom" by Spinal Tap from their iconic album "This is Spinal Tap," delighting their Zoo Freaks audience. This track, a standout from the 1984 mockumentary, is a hilarious ode to the female behind, packed with cheeky double-entendres like “The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin’” and “My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo / I’d like to sink her with my pink torpedo.” The song’s low, bass-heavy sound is a musical joke, with all three band members—David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer)—playing “lead bass” to amplify the absurdity. In a Songfacts interview, Shearer, who portrays Smalls, shared that the band loves performing "Big Bottom" live, noting its various arrangements and his personal passion for bass, especially the upright bass. The song’s legacy endures, with covers by Soundgarden and Pansy Division, and a memorable 2007 Live Earth performance featuring Foo Fighters, Metallica, and Beastie Boys members, dubbed “every bass player in the known universe” by Rolling Stone Australia.

Another layer of trivia comes from the song’s place in the fictional Spinal Tap universe. Originally released on the band’s fake 1973 album "Brainhammer," “Big Bottom” was part of their controversial "Smell the Glove" album saga, where the raunchy cover art led to a plain black release—parodied as an inspiration for Metallica’s Black Album. Fans on spinaltapfan.com have pointed out the song’s nod to KISS’s “Love Gun” with lyrics like “My love gun’s loaded and she’s in my sights.” A user comment on Songfacts also claims the riff might echo KISS’s “Cold Gin,” adding to the song’s tongue-in-cheek homage to heavy metal tropes. The track even made it to "Saturday Night Live" on May 5, 1984, with a John Belushi lookalike on bass synthesizer, cementing its cult status. On X, fans still share clips of the song’s performance in the film, praising its deadpan delivery and quotable lines, keeping the Zoo Freaks’ love for this track alive.

Spinal Tap began as a fictional band created for the 1984 mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap," directed by Rob Reiner, who also plays filmmaker Marty DiBergi. The core trio—Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel, Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins, and Harry Shearer as Derek Smalls—crafted a satirical take on rock bands, drawing from real-life inspirations like Led Zeppelin’s "The Song Remains the Same" and The Band’s "The Last Waltz." The film’s dialogue, mostly improvised, showcased their comedic chemistry, honed through years of collaboration. Guest, McKean, and Shearer, all accomplished actors and musicians, had worked together on projects like Guest’s "National Lampoon" sketches and McKean’s stint on "Laverne & Shirley." Their ability to play competent musicians added authenticity, with all three performing live on the soundtrack, including “Big Bottom.” The band’s fictional backstory traces their start in the 1960s as the Thamesmen, evolving from flower-power hits like “Listen to the Flower People” to heavy metal, a shift Derek Smalls describes as a “sophisticated view” of sex and music in a Collider quote.

The Spinal Tap phenomenon grew beyond the film, with the band releasing real albums and touring, blurring the line between fiction and reality. Their official website, www.spinaltap.com, offers a deep dive into their faux history, discography, and upcoming projects like the announced "Spinal Tap II," set for release on September 12, as noted on spinaltapfan.com. You can follow their antics on Facebook, Instagram, and X, where they post updates and interact with fans. Dedicated fan communities thrive, including the Spinal Tap Fan Site, which compiles trivia, discography, and links to Amazon for merch, and the Spinal Tap Fans Facebook Group, where Zoo Freaks and others share memes, quotes, and stories about classics like “Big Bottom.” These platforms keep the band’s absurd legacy rocking, ensuring Spinal Tap remains, as Nigel Tufnel would say, “none more black.”