Bill Nighy (Ray Simms) and Jimmy Nail (Les Wickes) performed the vocals for their respective characters.
The songs in this movie were written by notable musicians including Mick Jones (Foreigner) and Jeff Lynne (Electric Light Orchestra).
The "Druid Circle" they visit is actually a real-life stone circle in the village of Avebury. The circle is known as "Avebury Circle" and the pub they visit in this movie is still there and operating.
Some events in the band's history were inspired by actual events involving real-life bands: Brian Lovell's (Bruce Robinson's) absence from the band resembled Syd Barrett's departure from Pink Floyd due to a drug-induced nervous breakdown; David "Beano" Baggot's (Timothy Spall's) tardiness for a gig echoes that of Keith Moon, the notoriously erratic drummer for The Who. The character of Ray Simms (Bill Nighy) appears to have been inspired in some part by David Lee Roth, famed front-man for Van Halen. Other bands, such as Deep Purple, have undergone line-up changes with various degrees of infighting and success.