(CelebrityAccess) – Ric Parnell, perhaps best known for playing Mick Shrimpton, the drummer for Spinal Tap in the mockumentary, This Is Spinal Tap, passed away Sunday (May 1). He was 70. No cause of death was revealed. His This Is Spinal Tap co-star, Harry Shearer, announced his death.
Ric Parnell, our drummer in This is Spinal Tap, passed away today. No one ever rocked harder.
— Harry Shearer (@theharryshearer) May 2, 2022
Parnell starred in the 1984 movie mockumentary alongside Shearer (Derek Smalls), Christopher Guest (Nigel Tufnel), and Michael McKean (David St. Hubbins). In the mockumentary, all of the Spinal Tap drummers were dead, and Parnell died at the end of the film due to spontaneous combustion in the long-running joke.
The band toured in the early Nineties and again in 2001 in a reunion of sorts. Since Parnell had “died” in the film, he performed on tour as Mick Shrimpton’s “brother” – Ric Shrimpton.
Parnell, born in London, also played in the bands Atomic Rooster and Horse in the Seventies. There have been reports he turned down offers to join Journey and Whitesnake, though never confirmed.
At the time of his death, he co-hosted a weekly radio show titled, Spontaneous Combustion and resided in Montana. A GoFundMe page has been created to help cover the funeral costs. As of press time, $8,566 has been raised towards a goal of $3,500.
