Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's Derek and Clive characters - supposedly two lavatory attendants - first surfaced on a series of bootleg tapes in which the duo discuss taboo subjects with much foul language, in-jokes and unscripted bickering. The tapes acquired such a large cult following that three Derek and Clive albums were issued in the UK - Derek and Clive Live (1976), Derek and Clive Come Again (1977) and Ad Nauseam (1978), whose recording sessions form the bulk of this film.