The official Sparks thread

[FretBuzz]

Wow, I hadn't thought of the Sparks in a looooong time until I saw the picture of the brothers in your posts, Ladyislingering. An old roommate of mine had one of their albums in the early 80s, which we used to listen to it a lot. Thanks for bringing back some fun memories.

 

[ladyislingering]

They're a fun band.

They never stop being interesting, and they'll probably outlive us all. ;D

 

[Flower]

LIL:

I knew nothing of "Sparks" until you mentioned them (many times .. ) but I was doing some research for something else and ran across this on Starpulse.com and thought that you might find it interesting ...

**** Winwood

The older brother of Steve, **** Winwood has been a success as a musician, a producer and as an A&R man, yet he has always been overshadowed by the phenomonal talent of his younger sibling.

As a bass player for the Spencer Davis Group, whose classic "Gimme Some Lovin'" is still regarded as one of the finest examples of white soul music ever put to wax, **** tasted success as a musician, but soon realized that he lacked the natural gifts of his brother.

After the Davis Group's demise in 1967, **** then accepted a job as an A&R man for Chris Blackwell's newly formed Island Records. The first signing was brother Steve's new group, Traffic, but **** had a penchant for bringing his boss offbeat, commercially questionable groups like Patto and Sparks..

After Winwood convinced Blackwell to sign the latter, **** enlisted himself as producer for the successful Kimono My House album which contained the hit "This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us." Winwood spent the rest of the '70s producing such fine groups as Dire Straits before moving into A&R full time. He has since joined CBS where he's signed Terence Trent D'Arby, Sade and the Psychadelic Furs, among others. Steve Kurutz, All Music Guide

 

[ladyislingering]

Ah yes, I knew of this.

The bros Mael have been able to work with some of the finest in the music business.

 

[MusicMistress]

The brothers Mael are America's best kept secret.

Yes, they are! They are a trip to listen to.

Everyone has posted some great videos.


I just wonder has there ever been any proof that these two were not the sons of Doris Day? If I remember correctly, way back in the 70's there was tons of rumors that they were her sons. Knowing these two and their humor, it is probably nothing more than just trippy nonsense.







If you notice these early Halfnelson demo's sound very British Invasion. Innovative for this time period from two boys from Cali.

 

[ladyislingering]

Oh yes, the Doris Day thing. Nah, it was just a silly lie Russell told the press. Because of this, many people believe the D. in Ron's name (Ronald D. Mael) stands for "Day" - however, it's "David".

I love the Halfnelson demos, by the way. Ron and Russ really hit the nail on the head in trying to recreate the "British invasion" sound - however, they were (and are) quite the anglophiles, having actually sold most of their possessions in order to be able to relocate to England in 1973-74. That, and they've just been known to create some interesting sounds that will, and have never been, familiar to America. ;D

 

[MusicMistress]

I was always under the impression that is why they moved to England, because they got a better reception abroad. Didn't they go to England on a mini-tour before moving?

 

[ladyislingering]

I think they might have, but I don't know for sure.

What I do know is that their mother, and stepfather were living in England during this time. I think they had a business, but I can't remember if it was a headshop or some other kind of novelty/sweets outlet (and Mrs. Mael was born abroad, if I remember properly).

 

[LOU/REALM]

Great to hear those Halfnelson tracks I guess these recordings are rare.
I heard "this town aint big enough " the other day on the radio and it stood out from the others played....even my work mates commented it still sounded good after all those years,......have you ever heard SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES version? Of course with my gothic background I love it.....I think they do it quite well......and do we know of any other bands who have covered the mighty SPARKS songs??

 

[ladyislingering]

Justin Hawkins of The Darkness covered "This Town" and even invited Ron and Russ to be in his video!



(I actually have the 7" single on transparent vinyl.)

And here's mighty Moz covering "Moon over Kentucky".



And Martin Gore (Depeche Mode) covering "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth" (this is a demo recording by the way).