Alternative title: Sparks: The Greatest Fan That Never Was.
Another alternative title: Jesus Christ. You look away for ten bloody seconds and look what happens.
Let me relate my Sparks journey to you:
Like so many other people, I became aware of the band Sparks when I saw them on Top of The Pops on 9th May 1974. And, (like everyone else) I marvelled at both Ron’s moustache and Russell’s considerable good looks and of course, hair. Who the hell were these?! The skinny one on the keyboard who looked like Hitler and the even skinnier one (that looked reasonably normal) bouncing around the stage like Tigger on speed. What the hell is this?! More to the point: what the hell was this sound?!
This was Sparks and the song was of course “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us”. Nearly 48 years later (at time of writing), it’s still one of my all-time favourite Sparks tracks. And 48 years ago, I thought I was hooked.
I’d bought their charting follow-up singles during 1974-1975 (This Town, Amateur Hour, Something For The Girl With Everything etc.) on vinyl (also still favourite tracks today). Then in 1977 (and unbeknownst to me) the band migrated back to the US. Pre-internet days, this was tantamount to Sparks just disappearing off the face of the Earth.
That was it until 1979, when No.1 Song In Heaven and Beat The Clock charted in the UK. I of course, saw the videos on TOTP and still loved them. I played No.1 song so much it actually wore out. It wasn’t the first synthesizer music I’d heard (also being a huge Jean-Michel Jarre fan), but it was one of the first times I’d heard “pop” music out of them that wasn’t JMJ or Prog Rock. I can’t remember how many times it was shown on TOTP, but I can remember looked forward to Thursday night’s ToTP every week to see if Sparks was on. (In 1979 in the UK, there was no satellite TV or MTV, you only had three TV channels so TOTP was your only option to see bands perform, unless they guested on other TV shows.).
However, (and this is feeble excuse time) by that time I’d become employed, was learning a trade, earning money and like a lot of other people who had entered the world of employment, my focus had shifted; different interests became a priority (as they do when you are in your late teens\early twenties) and I lost focus on many things, not just Sparks.
The main attraction
I think the main attraction of Sparks for me was that back in the 70’s, Russell made me actually interested in listening to the lyrics of their songs. Up until 1974, I liked songs for their melodies, rather than their lyrics (with few exceptions) – and I must confess that I’m still in that mindset about most music – unless the lyrics tell me otherwise. But it was Russell’s unique singing voice that made me listen to lyrics. So unique is his voice and his accent, so absolutely individual was it, that I wanted to find out just what the hell he was singing about. And from that point on, I paid a lot more attention to what people were singing about – providing it holds my interest.
Sparks lyrics are just a little bit different to most other song lyrics. They aren’t Bolan-style lyrics (Ride A White Swan springs to mind), which never personally made too much sense, save the hippy-trippy glaminosity of them. No. Sparks lyrics – if you took the trouble to listen to them – were sometimes a mystery, but what you *could* decipher turned out to be a bit on the amusing side.
I’d learned the lyrics to This Town by about 1975, but they didn’t make too much sense. It wasn’t until I sat down and typed them out (yes, on a typewriter) that I took note of them. I got the general gist there and then, but it wasn’t until I listened to other Sparks tracks with a bit more attention that the penny began to drop that they were doing something very special with these lyrics that other bands just didn’t – with very few exceptions. I love a good lyric and that continues to this day.
I really like Sparks. I really do. I liked them in 1974 and I still like them; no…love them today. Their music just clicks with me, like very few other bands or artists do. It’s a rare thing – it’s mostly been my experience that a band will produce a few tracks that appeal to my musical taste, but then the rest of their work is not to my taste at all (you listening, Rhi-Rhi?)!
And herein lies a sorry tale of ineptitude and lassitude.
Lassitude (/ˈlasɪtjuːd/ – NOUN: a state of physical or mental weariness; lack of energy, or in my case: laziness).
As previously mentioned – in 1980 (ish) life kicked in and I basically forgot all about Sparks until 2017 (I am very ashamed to admit). Of course, by 2017 the world had technologically moved on a goodly deal, the internet, multi-channel TV and all the information you could want – as long as you wanted to look for it. And I looked for many things, but not for Sparks. And then one day on Twitter (unfortunately I can’t remember the circumstances of the tweet – probably a retweet from someone I followed), Sparks popped up with a new album! This was Hippopotamus (released in 2017).
I distinctly remember thinking “oh! Sparks!” and being pleasantly surprised that they were still around. And yet, I never even gave them a listen. I am so ashamed. Lazy.
Then Edgar Wright turned up. Not literally of course (although he would be most welcome to pop in for a cuppa and a digestive). I should say then the Edgar Wright documentary “The Sparks Brothers” turned up. I sat and watched it more out of curiosity about Ron and Russell more than anything else. When I finished it I was totally and utterly shocked to discover all of the Sparks goodness I’d missed over the last (at least) 30 or 40 years.
The documentary speaks for itself – it is abundantly clear that “the brothers” are adored by many – and have been throughout their long musical career. And as Edgar Wright points out – it’s about time someone told the world just how good, how weird, how wonderful these two people are. Endorsed and supported by many celebrity talking heads.
It did more than open my own eyes and re-focussed my attention to where it should be – firmly on Sparks.
What now?
Realising that I’ve missed a few albums (17 out of 25, to be exact), that was the first port of call for me. I dug out my old ones, promptly ignored them (vinyl) and replaced them with CD’s. Bought the missing CD’s and proceeded to listen to all of the albums from 1971’s Halfnelson to 2020’s A Steady Drip, Drip Drip. 25 Albums in total and in the meantime, the film Annette was released (another OST album to add to the collection).
So began the research to fill in the blanks, as it were. The fan club is a good source of info – the old club news letters are a hoot!
And there we are. In November 2022 – almost a year after I’d first seen The Sparks Brothers, I’m comfortably familiar with all the music – and I mean all 27 albums. I’ve seen (quite a few) video clips of tours and interviews (thanks to Sparks fans everywhere for uploading to YouTube) and watched that Edgar Wright documentary more times that you’ve had hot dinners.
And it still isn’t getting old.
With the prospect of a new album and a new musical in the pipeline (as of Nov 2022), it doesn’t look as if Ron and Russell are slowing down either!
So a hugely massive thank you to Edgar Wright for giving me the kick up the arse that I so badly needed.
(And if you’re ever in the area, you’re welcome to a cuppa and a digestive. Or two.)