Byford. "The guy he based his character on was our old bass player Steve Dawson – the moustache, the pointing to the audience." In the film, Smalls can be seen wearing both a Shrewsbury Town football shirt and a West Ham baseball cap. Jethro Tull singer Ian Anderson has claimed that the name was derived from "Derek Small", which appears in the liner notes of the band's albums Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play. Asked by Anderson about the origin of the name, Shearer responded "I don't know—it just came out of my head." Anderson recalls then asking, "I don't suppose, Harry, you happen to have a copy of Thick as a Brick in your record collection at home?" to which he concluded (from Shearer's reaction): "And he knew I'd got him then." Another inspiration for the name may have been the infamous police informer Derek "Bertie" Smalls (1935-2008). Smalls was an English career criminal who in the mid 1970s sensationally betrayed dozens of his former associates in exchange for immunity from prosecution, leading to him being dubbed in the British media ‘the Supergrass’. Notes References Karl French et al. (2001). This Is Spinal Tap – The Official Companion, Bloomsbury . External links Fictional English people Fictional rock musicians Spinal Tap (band) members Film characters introduced in 1984 Fictional bassists Male characters in film Comedy film characters