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The Inside Story of Wayne’s World’s Most Unintentionally Complicated Gag

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, Jun 30, 2020.

  1. Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    Scott Meslow, writing at GQ:

    It’s one of many throwaways, when Wayne pops into a music shop to try out a guitar. He starts to jam, but barely get off a few notes before the clerk grabs the neck of the guitar and points to a sign hanging nearby: NO STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN. “No ‘Stairway’! Denied” says Wayne as he turns to the camera. […]

    It was only later that I discovered the movie originally included a much more recognizable version of the song—but only in the original cut. At some point after the U.S. release, Warner Music Group and Led Zeppelin refused the rights to even the first few notes of “Stairway” for broadcast, video, or foreign release, resulting in the hasty, patchy edit. “With ‘Stairway to Heaven’ we were told that we could only use two notes before we’d have to pay $100,000, so to sell that he’s gonna play ‘Stairway to Heaven’ in two notes is pretty difficult,” said director Penelope Spheeris.

    This article is from 2007, but I had never heard this story before.

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  2. tyler2tall

    Trusted Supporter

    I've always wondered if there is a clip of the original version of this.
     
    Raku likes this.
  3. DerekIsAGooner

    So assuming that this weekend...

    I always thought part of the joke was that Wayne is a terrible guitar player. This was cool to find out though.
     
    Orla likes this.
  4. AlwaysEvolving21

    Trusted Supporter

    Had no idea about this haha. Gotta watch the movies now.