Spinal Tap II: The End Continues

During an interview with AARP Movies for Grownups, Reiner was asked whether Spinal Tap’s final concert featuring appearances from McCartney and John is intended as a statement about reinvention.

“It basically says: ‘No matter how old you are, if you can still do it and still enjoy doing it, then do it,’” Reiner replied. “I asked Paul McCartney about this. I said, ‘There’s you, Mick Jagger, Elton John, and you still like to perform. What is it about you guys? Is it that you just love the music? And you love performing?’” According to Reiner, McCartney responded with a line from the new movie: “And he says, ‘Yeah. And the drugs.’”

Reiner continued, “The point is, these guys just love doing it. If they’re given an opportunity, they’ll get in front of an audience and play.”

From HollywoodReporter.com, July 15, 2025

[…] Reiner insists the film’s rock star cameos aren’t just an excuse for the musicians to hang out with the actors, and vice versa.

“We try to figure out what the idea is before we ask,” he explains. “In other words, we wouldn’t just ask people to do it just for the sake of it. Paul McCartney comes out of a very real thing that happened with him. The guys were rehearsing at this facility out in the Valley here in L.A. It was a big rehearsal facility. They had a number of bands, and the guys were rehearsing for a tour. They were about to go on, and Paul McCartney was in another studio rehearsing for his tour, and at one point, he just dropped in on them. He came in and said, ‘Hey fellas, sing us a song.’ And they wound up singing the worst version of ‘Start Me Up’ that ever lived. But the point is, we took that from reality. That’s something that actually happened.“

In the film, the Beatle walks in on the Tap rehearsing a song, one of a few new numbers that will be featured on an accompanying album. “McCartney comes, he listens, and then he gives a suggestion of what to do, how to fix it,” Reiner says. “And then they get into singing together…. And then that one is in the album.“

In addition to lending his musical talents, McCartney was also one of the funniest improvisers among the artists featured in the film. “They were all great. Paul McCartney is really funny. I mean, really funny,” Reiner says.

From Rob Reiner applauds Paul McCartney’s improv in ‘Spinal Tap II’ first look (exclusive), July 22, 2025