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1. 

   Golgo13
   

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   I saw something online where people said they actually prefered the Comic Strip Presents...Bad News over This Is Spinal Tap.

   I couldn't believe anyone could favour the pale Channel 4 imitation of the seminal mock-rock-doc that is Spinal Tap, but one of the first things I discovered was that Bad News predates Spinal Tap by a year or so. Wow. I guess you knew that, but I always thought Tap came first. Maybe I came to Bad News when they did More Bad News. I probably wasn't allowed to stay up late when the original came out.

   Anyway, so at least it wasn't a rip-off of Tap, which is what I thought.

   I still reckon Tap is much better though. Might have to go look at Bad News again to be 100% sure, but...

   Posted 2 years ago #
2. 

   waylandsmithy
   

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   A Mighty Wind is good, too. Same people as Spinal Tap, but with folk music.

   Posted 2 years ago #
3. 

   rickwestwell
   

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   I'm a massive Comic Strip fan when they were good - The Yob, Mr Jolly, Fistful of Travellers' Cheques - so I had a soft spot for Bad News, and watched it again the other day.

   It's not as good as I remember. Disappointingly so.
   Spinal Tap is non-stop genius, on the other hand.

   Having said all that, I still love the Comic Strip, and there are some good quotes even in Bad News, it's just the bits I didn't remember that are rubbish.

   Posted 2 years ago #
4. 

   Curbie Firetank
   

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   Bad News Tour (Jan 1983) was indeed before the This is Spinal Tap (1984) but McKean et al had performed as Tap on SNL in the 70's.

   Definitely watch Bad News Tour again though, it's still pretty funny and quite a different concept (rubbish pub band) to Spinal Tap (a once big band in free fall). Both are great in their own way. Indeed you should also watch (if not done so already) The Return of Spinal Tap in which they perform complete songs (plus a few doco inserts) - absolutely brilliant!

   Posted 2 years ago #
5. 

   OllieP
   

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   Not seen Bad News since I was very young. But love Spinal Tarp. One of many great moments in the film is where they meet a rock singer Duke Fame in a hotel lobby who they'd played with in the past. He's now filling huge arenas while they're gigs are being pulled because of poor ticket sales. After exchanging forced pleasantries, David St. Hubbins recalls, "We carried him. We had to apologize for him with our set. People were still booin' 'im when we were on."

   Posted 2 years ago #
6. 

   charlies_hat
   

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   I lost a fierce pub argument to the same a couple of years ago, my stance was that Tap came first, although I'm a big BN fan - I thought the albums were much better than the two docs. Was really suprised to see that BN was first, although I think Tap may have been made before, but spend ages in post production and in between times BN were unleashed...

   Posted 2 years ago #
7. 

   Quaz
   

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   Bit late to the fray, but BN vs ST is apples and oranges. Spinal was far better crafted and scripted, and about a band on the way down. Bad News was more improvised but with better songs, about a bad metal band who lucked into a contract and were doomed to fail. Having said that, Spinal tap's "Fat Bottoms" was good. Both shows are just different riffs on a wide genre.

   Posted 2 years ago #

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