Kicking off lunch this week with Sparks, recorded just yesterday during the Rock en Seine Festival in Paris by RTF International.
Sparks has been something of an institution, the past few decades certainly among fans here on the West Coast. You could call them West L.A.’s own, but they do belong to the world, and they are wildly loved in France – in fact, throughout all of Europe.
The Mael Brothers (Ron and Russell) have been at it for quite some time now – with no indication of slowing down and no letting up exploring the quirky nature of their music. First arriving as Half-Nelson before settling on Sparks. Initially as a four piece, finally arriving as a duo and staying that way pretty much since the 70s.
Over the years they’ve had successful collaborations with The Pet Shop boys, Franz Ferdinand.
A blurb from Wikipedia in case you weren’t already familiar . . .
Sparks has influenced a wide range of singers and bands, such as Björk, Duran Duran, Joy Division, Morrissey, and New Order. Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols said that he constantly listened to Kimono My House back in 1974 at Paul Cook‘s room. “We’d sit in his bedroom for hours listening to them”. Joy Division cited “The Number One Song in Heaven” as a primary influence during the recording of “Love Will Tear Us Apart“. Joy Division’s drummer Stephen Morris stated: “When we were doing ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, there were two records we were into: Frank Sinatra’s Greatest Hits and Sparks’ “The Number One Song in Heaven“. That was the beginning of getting interested in Giorgio Moroder”. Bassist Peter Hook of New Order cited Moroder’s production on “The Number One Song in Heaven” as a major influence when his band changed musical style to produce electro and dance-rock songs like “Temptation” in 1982. New Order also delivered an extended live version of “When I’m with You” that same year in Milan, Italy. When they started playing music, lead vocalist Dave Gahan and principle songwriter Martin Gore of Depeche Mode cited them as one of their favorite bands. Gore also later covered “Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth” on his first solo recording Counterfeit EP in 1989. Other early electronic acts like the Human League, and Erasure, also mentioned the duo. Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran stated about “This Town Ain’t …“: “There was something about them that was very different. I was immediately fascinated with that song.”
Sparks have also been name-checked by rock band the Smiths. Their lead vocalist Morrissey named Kimono My House as one of “his favourite LPs of all time”. The Smiths’ guitarist and co-songwriter Johnny Marr said: “There’s nothing better than commerciality crossed with an interesting mind” and named “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us” as an instance, qualifying it as one of these “Trojan singles”. Siouxsie and the Banshees recorded a version of the first Sparks’ success as the opening song of their covers album Through the Looking Glass. Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth also included the Sparks’ song “Equator” in his list of all-time favorite songs. Joey Ramone also mentioned his liking for their records, as did later the group They Might Be Giants. Devo‘s lead vocalist and keyboardist Mark Mothersbaugh described himself as a big “Ron Mael fan” and of his look: “it was so not rock n’ roll, in an unexpected way, that you just couldn’t help but think that there was something there”. He also listened to Kimono My House during his formative years.
Björk talked about Kimono my House as one of the records that changed her life. “[Sparks] were exotic … [they] were the most refreshing thing in my life” when she was eight. “I loved the way Russell Mael sung like a geisha, and that they were into wearing geisha clothes, as I was really into Japanese people”. Faith No More also mentioned the duo and their performances. Their keyboardist Roddy Bottum said: “I saw Sparks play on American Bandstand in 1975. My sister and I went out and immediately bought Indiscreet. In 2004, Franz Ferdinand‘s lead vocalist and lead guitarist Alex Kapranos published an article in the NME titled, “why I love the Sparks”. He said about their music: “It’s only after a few listens you really can get into it … Then you really fall in love and bands change your life. Now I can’t imagine life without them.” Guitarist John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers said that he used to listen to Kimono My House and Propaganda for Adrian Fisher‘s guitar playing adding, “I’m sure that it is Ron Mael who told him what to play”.
Other notable acts that have mentioned Sparks include Ween, Will Sheff of Okkervil River, Mark Burgess of the Chameleons, and Cait Brennan. French electronic music duo Justice hailed Sparks saying: “this is … something we like in music, this kind of epic feeling, … and we were really inspired by bands like Sparks … who have this really operatic sound”. In 2012, English synth-pop duo Spray released the song “Sparks Called and They Want Their Ideas Back”.
In 1980, Paul McCartney also gave a nod to the duo in the music video for “Coming Up“, in which he mimicked Ron Mael on keyboards.
Okay – over to you – press Play and dive in.
