Spinal Tap’s Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins on Their Reunion

After more than 15 years, Spinal Tap has reunited to play one more gig and director Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner), who captured the band in all its fading glory for 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap, has once again chronicled the reunion and the intervening years in Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. The mockumentary opens in theaters nationwide on Friday (Sept. 12).

Prior to the film’s opening, Billboard interviewed the British band’s Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) — bass player Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) was unavailable — in Los Angeles about the long-awaited reunion, as well as working with Sir Paul McCartney. Suffice to say St. Hubbins is not a fan, but concedes that the former Beatle is, at best, a “decent songwriter.” The pair also share their memories of the late Ozzy Osbourne and what they thought of the original film.

“It felt like it was just yesterday,” Tufnel says of the reunion, “because you look and everyone’s in the same place.”

“Looking the same. More tattoos,” St. Hubbins interjects. “Except old. You think, ‘That’s weird. There’s an old man singing and you go, ‘Oh, that’s me!’”

The duo, who claimed to have not seen the new movie, also took exception with the original film, feeling DiBergi had portrayed them at their worst, including the legendary footage of them getting lost on their way to the stage. “We felt ridiculed, and it wasn’t a good feeling,” St. Hubbins says. “Us being lost. Everyone gets lost every once in a while,” added Tufnel, before St. Hubbins jumped back in: “It’s only happened to us 10 or 12 times.”

Watch the video above to see their reaction to being denied induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as well as their thoughts on Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood’s cover of “Big Bottom” that went viral and helped spur the reunion.