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Kate Bush’s ‘Stranger Things’ Resurgence Helped Inspire the Spinal Tap Sequel

Rob Reiner said the viral boom Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' experienced after 'Stranger Things' inspired the plot of the Spinal Tap sequel.

When Rob Reiner and the members of Spinal Tap were trying to crack the story for the long-awaited sequel to the classic heavy metal mockumentary, they found some unexpected inspiration in Kate Bush and Stranger Things. Next, they had to figure out what would suddenly be driving demand for a reunion of a band that, as Reiner put it, “hadn’t played in 15 years.” That’s when they remembered the resurgence of Kate Bush’s 1985 song “Running Up That Hill” after it was featured on Stranger Things in 2022. Spinal Tap II will find Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer all reprising their roles as band members Nigel Tufnel, David St. Hubbins, and Derek Smalls, respectively, while Reiner is both directing and portraying the in-film documentarian Marty DiBergi.

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