The Law of Averages Caught Up With Him
May 9, 2022 9:18 AM Subscribe
Drummer Ric Parnell, who played drummer Mick Shrimpton in This Is Spinal Tap, later touring with the band as his identical twin Rick Shrimpton, died last week at age 70 of complications from a blood clot in his lungs.
When asked how he landed the Spinal Tap gig that changed his life, Parnell shared the humorous story with a local Montana newspaper, the Missoulian, in 2007.The NYT obituary has the story of how he ended up in Missoula:
“The first question they asked was, ‘What do you think about a movie that’s going to tear your career apart?'” said Parnell. “I said, ‘You should have made this movie about 10 years ago.’ They then asked me what other bands I’d been in, and I said, ‘Well, I was in a band called Atomic Rooster.’ They looked at each other and said, ‘Yep, that’s it, you’re our man.'”
He played numerous studio sessions over the years and can be heard on records by Beck, Toni Basil and others. For a time he toured with the R&B saxophonist Joe Houston. They would stop every year for a few shows in Missoula before heading into Canada to tour there. But, as Mr. Parnell often told the story, one year the group didn’t have the right paperwork to cross the border and had to extend its stay in Missoula.He hosted a radio show in Missoula called "Spontaneous Combustion," and became a fixture of the community. A GoFundMe to cover final expenses has already tripled its goal.
“I basically got stuck here and then didn’t want to leave,” he told The Independent. “I’d always liked this place — it’s like Boulder in the 1970s, when I first came to the states. I became a Missoulian instantly.”
Looks like he played drums for Atomic Rooster after Carl Palmer left for ELP. (And TIL: Palmer had been part of Crazy World of Arthur Brown before helping to form Rooster)
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 9:58 AM on May 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 9:58 AM on May 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
🥁🔥
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 9:58 AM on May 9, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 9:58 AM on May 9, 2022 [8 favorites]
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posted by schyler523 at 10:02 AM on May 9, 2022
posted by schyler523 at 10:02 AM on May 9, 2022
The strange thing is it wasn't his blood clot.
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posted by ocschwar at 10:09 AM on May 9, 2022 [28 favorites]
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posted by ocschwar at 10:09 AM on May 9, 2022 [28 favorites]
I remain impressed at how good the music in Spinal Tap actually is. It's not really my style. . . but, it's also actually music. The Monkeys and Bamboozled (in comedy rather than music) are the other ones I can think of easily where the performance being parodied on screen is also actually done with real skill. [Edit: also Documentary Now.] I didn't know anything about the guy until now. But, he sounds cool.
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posted by eotvos at 10:14 AM on May 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
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posted by eotvos at 10:14 AM on May 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
It really puts perspective on things, though, doesn't it?
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posted by MtDewd at 10:28 AM on May 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
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posted by MtDewd at 10:28 AM on May 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
The strange thing is it wasn't his blood clot.
You can't really dust for blood clots.
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posted by Ragged Richard at 10:29 AM on May 9, 2022 [16 favorites]
You can't really dust for blood clots.
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posted by Ragged Richard at 10:29 AM on May 9, 2022 [16 favorites]
According to Wikipedia, he was part of two Atomic Rooster albums: "Made In England" and "Nice 'n' Greasy". The latter could absolutely be a Spinal Tap album.
I remain impressed at how good the music in Spinal Tap actually is.
There are a whole lot of bands (and even quite a few good bands) who have put out music that is worse than anything on Spinal Tap's albums.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 10:31 AM on May 9, 2022 [6 favorites]
I remain impressed at how good the music in Spinal Tap actually is.
There are a whole lot of bands (and even quite a few good bands) who have put out music that is worse than anything on Spinal Tap's albums.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 10:31 AM on May 9, 2022 [6 favorites]
Alas, one of Mick Shrimpton’s most glorious moments did not make the final cut.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:55 AM on May 9, 2022 [15 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:55 AM on May 9, 2022 [15 favorites]
The curse of the Spinal Tap drummer strikes again, it seems.
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eotvos: I remain impressed at how good the music in Spinal Tap actually is
One of the subtle gags of Spinal Tap was that they were super talented musicians, but dumb, puerile songwriters (hence, the gorgeous piano piece being called "Lick My Love Pump".) If the music were as bad as the lyrics, the whole thing would just fall apart.
posted by SansPoint at 10:55 AM on May 9, 2022 [17 favorites]
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eotvos: I remain impressed at how good the music in Spinal Tap actually is
One of the subtle gags of Spinal Tap was that they were super talented musicians, but dumb, puerile songwriters (hence, the gorgeous piano piece being called "Lick My Love Pump".) If the music were as bad as the lyrics, the whole thing would just fall apart.
posted by SansPoint at 10:55 AM on May 9, 2022 [17 favorites]
"Well, as long as I've got the sex and drugs, I can do without the rock 'n' roll."
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posted by Ben Trismegistus at 11:10 AM on May 9, 2022 [8 favorites]
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posted by Ben Trismegistus at 11:10 AM on May 9, 2022 [8 favorites]
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posted by lock robster at 11:14 AM on May 9, 2022
posted by lock robster at 11:14 AM on May 9, 2022
Surely they were complications from someone else's blood clot.
If you like the real-music'ness of Spinal Tap, check out the Lenny and the Squigtones album. It's not available on CD, but it's on YouTube
I see he was also the drummer on Toni Basil's "Mickey"
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posted by rhizome at 1:39 PM on May 9, 2022 [5 favorites]
If you like the real-music'ness of Spinal Tap, check out the Lenny and the Squigtones album. It's not available on CD, but it's on YouTube
I see he was also the drummer on Toni Basil's "Mickey"
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posted by rhizome at 1:39 PM on May 9, 2022 [5 favorites]
Yeah, agreed on Spinal Tap's music. Was listening to my local independent Chicago radio station (https://chirpradio.org) and a familiar sounding song came on... but I couldn't put my finger on who it was. Turns out it was Spinal Tap. I was really digging the song even before I remembered.
RIP.
posted by SoberHighland at 2:28 PM on May 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
RIP.
posted by SoberHighland at 2:28 PM on May 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
It really puts perspective on things, though, doesn't it?
Too much. There's too much fucking perspective now.
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posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 2:59 PM on May 9, 2022 [5 favorites]
Too much. There's too much fucking perspective now.
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posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 2:59 PM on May 9, 2022 [5 favorites]
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posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:22 PM on May 9, 2022
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:22 PM on May 9, 2022
I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I weren't under such heavy sedation.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 4:38 PM on May 9, 2022
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 4:38 PM on May 9, 2022
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Hoping it wasn't a bizarre gardening accident.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 4:41 PM on May 9, 2022 [4 favorites]
Hoping it wasn't a bizarre gardening accident.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 4:41 PM on May 9, 2022 [4 favorites]
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posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 5:02 PM on May 9, 2022
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 5:02 PM on May 9, 2022
I wouldn't worry about it. Missoula isn't a big college town.
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posted by credulous at 6:48 PM on May 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
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posted by credulous at 6:48 PM on May 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
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posted by Joey Michaels at 8:30 PM on May 9, 2022
posted by Joey Michaels at 8:30 PM on May 9, 2022
He's gone to heleaven
posted by hypnogogue at 7:57 AM on May 10, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by hypnogogue at 7:57 AM on May 10, 2022 [6 favorites]
One of the subtle gags of Spinal Tap was that they were super talented musicians, but dumb, puerile songwriters (hence, the gorgeous piano piece being called "Lick My Love Pump".) If the music were as bad as the lyrics, the whole thing would just fall apart.
It's sort of the inverse of the Rutles, where solid-but-(mostly) workmanlike musicianship is married to Neil Innes' brilliant wordplay.
posted by non canadian guy at 7:58 PM on May 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
It's sort of the inverse of the Rutles, where solid-but-(mostly) workmanlike musicianship is married to Neil Innes' brilliant wordplay.
posted by non canadian guy at 7:58 PM on May 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
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