Sparks

The Mael brothers Ron and Russell originated Sparks, a cult outfit widely cherished and profoundly influential across pop history. Russell’s expansive vocal abilities combined with Ron’s keyboard prowess and their sharply observant songcraft shaped a sound that shifted repeatedly across decades. Emerging amid the early 1970s glam landscape, the duo’s theatrical approach aligned with the era through releases such as 1972’s A Woofer in Tweeter’s Clothing and 1974’s Kimono My House, both of which secured a devoted British audience. One year afterward they spearheaded the power-pop wave via 1975’s Indiscreet; by decade’s end they had become electronic-pop trailblazers, enlisting Giorgio Moroder for 1979’s No. 1 in Heaven. The synth-pop and new-wave tendencies of that set and 1983’s In Outer Space—which included the Go-Go’s Jane Wiedlin duet “Cool Places,” one of their largest successes—later informed the house and techno textures of 1994’s Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins, a record that felt both current and consistent with the band’s inventive lineage.

During the twenty-first century the Maels pursued grander projects, reshaping classical motifs on 2002’s Lil’ Beethoven, crafting their initial musical with 2009’s The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman, and supplying the screenplay plus score for the 2021 award-winning Annette. Returning to pop, their restless imagination produced the 2015 Franz Ferdinand collaboration FFS and timely observations on contemporary life via 2023’s The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte. Though frequently viewed as an insider favorite, Sparks registered regular chart entries; among their most recognized singles stand “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us” (1974), “The Number One Song in Heaven” (1979), and “When Do I Get to Sing ‘My Way’” (1994). Their broader legacy appears in the diverse roster of admirers—Pet Shop Boys, Nirvana, Björk, and the Smiths among them—who reinterpreted the Maels’ expansive creativity.

Ron and Russell Mael were raised in Los Angeles. In the late 1960s they studied at UCLA, where Russell focused on theater and filmmaking while Ron concentrated on cinema and graphic design. Self-described Anglophiles, they favored the Who, the Kinks, the Move, and Pink Floyd over the prevailing West Coast folk-rock sound. The brothers began recording as Urban Renewal Project in January 1967, cutting four tracks at Hollywood’s Fidelity Recording Studios alongside friends Fred and Ronna Frank; one song, “Computer Girl,” later surfaced on the 2019 anthology Past Tense: The Best of Sparks.

By 1968 they had assembled Halfnelson, with Ron on keyboards, Russell handling lead vocals, guitarist Earle Mankey, bassist Jim Mankey, and drummer Harley Feinstein completing the lineup. Todd Rundgren soon noticed the group, securing a Bearsville Records contract and producing their self-titled 1971 debut. The album’s eccentric, tongue-in-cheek art pop found little traction, prompting the manager to suggest a name change. After rebranding as Sparks and reissuing the debut in 1972, they nearly cracked the Hot 100 with “Wonder Girl.” For the following year’s A Woofer in Tweeter’s Clothing they collaborated with Rundgren’s engineer and former Electric Prunes vocalist Thaddeus Lames Lowe; the set’s single “Girl from Germany” again came close to a hit and solidified their cult reputation.

British tours generated fervent support, leading the Maels to relocate to London, sign with Island Records, and part ways with the remaining members. Earle Mankey later established himself as a producer, while Jim joined Concrete Blonde. Seeking fresh backing musicians, the brothers placed a Melody Maker advertisement. Guitarist Adrian Fisher, bassist Martin Gordon, and drummer Norman “Dinky” Diamond joined for May 1974’s Kimono My House, produced by Muff Winwood. The more approachable sound propelled the album to the U.K. Top Five and yielded the British hits “Amateur Hour” and “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us,” which reached number two on the U.K. Singles chart. Reuniting with Winwood and adding guitarist Trevor White and bassist Ian Hampton, Sparks delivered the power-pop-inflected Propaganda that November; it climbed to number nine on the U.K. Albums chart, scored Top 20 singles with “Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth” and “Something for the Girl with Everything,” and reached number 63 on the Billboard 200—their strongest U.S. showing at the time.

In 1975 Sparks toured America, aided by progressive-rock radio advocates such as Kid Leo at Cleveland’s WMMS. October brought Indiscreet, another Visconti-produced power-pop collection that achieved Top 20 U.K. status and spawned “Get in the Swing” and “Looks, Looks, Looks,” yet underperformed relative to prior releases. Seeking fresh direction, the Maels returned stateside and assembled Tuff Darts guitarist Jeff Salen, former Milk ’N’ Cookies bassist Sal Maida, drummer Hilly Michaels, and producers Rupert Holmes and Jeffrey Lesser for 1976’s Columbia debut Big Beat, a polished, heavier set that failed to chart.

By 1977’s Introducing Sparks, recorded with Los Angeles session players, the brothers pursued an entirely new path. After voicing admiration for Giorgio Moroder to a German journalist, they secured his production for March 1979’s synth-driven dance-pop album No. 1 in Heaven, which restored British success through the singles “The Number One Song in Heaven,” “Beat the Clock,” and “Tryouts for the Human Race.” Its successor, January 1980’s Terminal Jive, again featured Moroder and Harold Faltermeyer; both the album and the single “When I’m with You” became major hits in France, where the Maels promoted their work for a year.

Finding the necessary electronic gear cumbersome for live performance, Sparks abandoned disco for the rock-oriented July 1981 album Whomp That Sucker. Recorded in Munich with guitarist Bob Haag, bassist Leslie Bohem, and drummer David Kendrick—also of the Gleaming Spires, known for that year’s “Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?”—the set fared well in France and reached number 182 on the Billboard 200, their first chart appearance since Indiscreet. March 1982’s Angst in My Pants reunited them with the same trio; the power-pop record again charted stateside and included “I Predict,” their first Billboard Hot 100 entry since “Wonder Girl.”

The 1983 duet “Cool Places” with Jane Wiedlin became an even larger success, nearly reaching the U.S. Top 40. Appearing on April’s In Outer Space, which the Maels produced themselves, the album returned to synth-pop and new-wave textures and peaked at number 88 on the Billboard 200. After contributing songs to the teen comedy Bad Manners, Sparks maintained the synth-pop direction on 1984’s Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat, though commercial results diminished. For 1986’s Music That You Can Dance To—their final outing with Haag, Bohem, and Kendrick—they embraced a dance-friendly approach. Returning to the core duo on 1988’s Interior Design, they delivered a leaner record whose singles “Just Got Back from Heaven” and “So Important” appeared on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. That same year the Maels joined Les Rita Mitsouko for the Visconti-produced European hit “Singing in the Shower.”

Following Interior Design, the brothers paused musical activity to pursue film projects. They spent years attempting to adapt the Japanese manga Mai, the Psychic Girl into a musical, with Tim Burton, Francis Ford Coppola, and Kirk Wong attached at various stages. Sparks resurfaced in 1993 with “National Crime Awareness Week,” a Fini Tribe collaboration that previewed the dance direction of November 1994’s Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins. Lauded for its timely house and techno inflections, the album generated the hits “When I Kiss You (I Hear Charlie Parker Playing)” and “When Do I Get to Sing ‘My Way’.” They followed with 1997’s Plagiarism, featuring self-covers aided by Erasure and Jimmy Somerville; Faith No More’s version of “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us” reached number 40 on the U.K. Singles chart. In 1998 Sparks supplied music to Tsui Hark’s Knock Off; the track “It’s a Knockoff” later appeared on 2000’s Balls.

Entering the new century, the Maels remained ambitious. German sports commentator Günther Koch’s “Wunderbar” inspired their turn toward orchestral textures on October 2002’s Lil’ Beethoven. February 2006’s Hello Young Lovers blended rock instrumentation with similar orchestral elements, reaching number 66 on the U.K. Albums chart while “Perfume” hit number 80 on the U.K. Singles chart; “Dick Around” was briefly banned by the BBC yet eventually charted at number 139. May 2008’s Exotic Creatures of the Deep nodded to the Beach Boys’ psychedelic pop and critiqued President George W. Bush, peaking at number 54 on the U.K. Albums Chart. The Maels supported it with the “Sparks Spectacular,” a 20-date London residency that presented every prior album before closing with the new material at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. The following year brought the radio musical The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman, commissioned by Swedish National Radio and featuring Elin Klinga and Jonas Malmsjö; the story of the director’s post-Smiles of a Summer Night Hollywood sojourn received critical acclaim and arrived as Sparks’ twenty-second album in December 2009. Its live premiere occurred in 2011 at the Los Angeles Film Festival under Canadian director Guy Maddin, with Peter Franzen and Ann Magnuson joining the Maels.

The 2010s opened with remixes and commissions, including a version of Yoko Ono’s “Give Me Something” and music for NPR’s Bookworm. In 2012 the duo issued the limited-edition covers single Gemma Ray Sings Sparks (with Sparks) and embarked on their first tour as a two-piece, documented on the live album Two Hands One Mouth: Live in Europe. The 2014 fortieth-anniversary performances of Kimono My House in London and Los Angeles included a duet between Russell and Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos on “When Do I Get to Sing ‘My Way’.” The following year the partnership continued as FFS, yielding a self-titled John Congleton-produced album in June that reached number 17 on the U.K. Albums chart and number 15 on Billboard’s Alternative Albums chart. After touring, the Maels began work on their next record in late 2016; drawing from their entire sonic history yet favoring concise pop songwriting, Hippopotamus arrived in September 2017 to widespread praise and peaked at number seven on the U.K. Albums chart—their highest placement since Propaganda.

Following a 2019 collaboration with SebastiAn on Thirst, Sparks released their twenty-fourth album, the darkly humorous A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip, in May 2020; it reached the U.K. Top Ten, topped the U.K. Independent Albums chart, and climbed to number 75 on the U.S. Top Album Sales chart. The year 2021 proved busy: Edgar Wright’s documentary The Sparks Brothers appeared in June, while Leos Carax’s musical Annette, starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard with screenplay and music by the Maels, premiered in August. Its soundtrack charted across Europe, earned the Cannes Soundtrack Award plus Lumières and César Awards, and Annette itself secured additional 2022 Lumières and César honors for direction, cinematography, editing, sound, and visual effects. At the César ceremony the Maels met Cate Blanchett, who later appeared in the video for the title track of their May 2023 album The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte—their first Island release since Indiscreet. The record’s witty takes on isolation and anxiety spanned driving electronics and satirical orchestral pop. Sparks promoted it with an extensive tour featuring sold-out shows at the Royal Albert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.