Toymaker Lego has poured cold water on the flames of Spinal Tap, the mock rock band from the film Spinal Tap, who wanted to use a YouTube video featuring Lego versions of them playing their hit ‘Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight’.
The video was created by a 14 year old in 2007, Coleman Hickey. It was uploaded to YouTube and has become a viral success. The video also caught the attention of the band Spinal Tap, who used the video in their recent tour ‘Unwigged and Unplugged’.
The mock band are made up of Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean. Harry Shearer is probably best known for his work on the Simpsons, where he voices many different characters, including barkeeper Mo.
Now the band want to release a DVD of their tour, but permission to use the Lego video footage has been refused by Lego. The Danish company stated:
We love that our fans are so passionate and so creative with our products.
But it had some inappropriate language and the tone wasn’t appropriate for our target audience of kids 6 to 12.
Despite this, there are numerous Lego music videos on YouTube which Lego haven’t tried to get removed, and Lego characters were famously used in the Monty Python movie, The Holy Grail, to similar effect. Lego didn’t have a problem with that.
Coleman Hickey, the creator of the Lego video, from Ohio, is disappointed about Lego’s decision:
In a way I’m disappointed that it won’t be forever memorialised in a DVD.
It’s not like I was going to get any money for it, but it’s too bad.
Lego has the right to do that, but it’s unfortunate that they don’t have a little more of a sense of humour.
This shows the power that a YouTube video can have, creating news coverage, blogs and even legal battles over its content… and it’s just about Lego.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTxzvsELdDM]
View the Lego Spinal Tap Video
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