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Derek Albion Smalls is a fictional character played by Harry Shearer in the spoof rockumentary This Is Spinal Tap. He is the bass guitar for mock British heavy metal group Spinal Tap, playing alongside guitarists Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), as well as with a plethora of and keyboardists.
Derek has described bandmates David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel as "distinct types of visionaries ... like fire and ice", saying that he considered his role in the band to be "in the middle of that, kind of like lukewarm water".French, This Is Spinal Tap, p. 52 A pipe-smoker, he has been known to enhance his appearance by placing a foil-wrapped zucchini in his trousers, which resulted in an embarrassing incident passing through a metal detector at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport during 1982's "Tap Into America" tour.French, This Is Spinal Tap, pp. 293-295
Smalls played killer #1 in Marco Zamboni's Roma '79,French, This Is Spinal Tap, p. 239 and is the star of a series of comical Belgian television commercials for the snack food Floop. He is also a prize-winning gardener, having developed and patented a totally black rose, the Death by Midnight. He released a solo album, It's a Smalls World, in the mid 1970s, and also played in the Christian rock band Lambsblood in the late 1980s before rejoining Spinal Tap for their reunion tour in 1992.French, This Is Spinal Tap, p. 199 During this period, he also worked briefly for his father's business. After the band broke up in 1992, Derek became employed as a "floater" in an elementary school, with such duties as a crossing guard and straightening library books. According to the 2007 short film Spinal Tap, it is revealed that Derek checked into rehab to be treated for an addiction to the internet.
A solo album, Smalls Change (Meditations Upon Ageing), was announced in early 2018, including collaborations from many prominent rock musicians.
Smalls has expressed a desire to collaborate with Mozart. He said: "I think we'd have a lot to share. I know chords he's never used."
In the film, Smalls can be seen wearing both a Shrewsbury Town football shirt and a West Ham baseball cap. "How many football references are there in Spinal Tap?" The Guardian, 10 April 2003
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."
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