Nigel Tufnel

Nigel Tufnel is a fictional character in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap. In the film, he is the lead guitarist of the rock band Spinal Tap. He was played by actor Christopher Guest.

Character Biography

Nigel Tufnel was born in Squatney, East London on February 5, 1948. He was given his first guitar, a Sunburst "Rhythm King", by his father at age six. His life changed when he met David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) who lived next door. They began jamming together in a toolshed in David's garden, influenced by (fictional) early blues artists like Honkin' Bubba Fulton, Little Sassy Francis and particularly Big Little Daddy Coleman, a deaf guitar player, and wrote their first song, "(Cry) All the Way Home." Before long they had formed their first band, The Thamesmen.