Sparks in
Europe 2023 – the ‘Latte’ tour
‘It’s impossible not to be swept up in their manic delight’
(The Guardian)
‘Sparks are arguably making the best music of their
career’. (Louder Than War)
Sparks’ eagerly awaited 2023 tour of
Europe, the USA and Japan was timed to coincide with the release of their acclaimed
26th studio album The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte on 26 May, the first
on Island Records since 1976. In fact, fans at the first two gigs in the
UK, in Oxford and Glasgow, on May 23 and 24, were privileged to have a preview
of the album, as up to seven of the songs were included in the set list for the
tour. It was announced by Ron and
Russell in a video during the tour, that the album had reached number 7 in the
UK charts (as did Hippopotamus) and number 1 in the UK physical charts.
The latter is what really matters, Ron informed us, and the video concluded with
a gracious heartfelt message from Russell to other bands: ‘Suck it up!’.
Unlike the 2022 tour, which
started in the U.S., this one began with 18 dates in Europe, including several
open-air festival events (most notably Glastonbury), followed by 12 in the US and
3 in Japan. Fans and reviewers alike have commented on the extraordinary feat
of maintaining the same high standard of energy and excellence in performance
with such a gruelling schedule, but Ron and Russell and the band showed that
they thrived on the excitement. They played to packed houses everywhere they
went and, of course, reached particularly emotional heights by achieving two sold
out nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London and a gig at the Hollywood Bowl
in their home town. It has recently been announced that they will go to
Australia for four shows at the end of October, including the Sydney Opera
House, so this year will go down in Sparks history as the year they played in
three of the most iconic venues in the world. In Europe, there were new city
venues too – the gigs in Oxford, Wolverhampton, Nîmes and Marseille were new
additions to the schedule. Fans who were
unable to attend any of the shows were still able to share some of the
experience thanks to the many photos and video clips posted on fan sites by
those who were there. A big thank you to everyone who did that.
‘Here we come…’
As usual, we were treated to
photographs on the official website and Instagram announcing Sparks’ arrival in
each place on the tour. A big shout out to the Sparks social media team for these
daily updates satisfying our desire to follow the band’s progress across
Europe. The photos always featured an entertaining location or background which
fans enjoyed trying to identify, sometimes lamenting that they had been in the
same place ten minutes earlier, thus just missing the opportunity of a lifetime
to greet their heroes. Ron and Russell were seen outside the castle and jail in
Oxford, and Le Grand Rex in Paris, in front of the Roman arena in Nîmes
and standing on the stage in an empty Royal Albert Hall. In Marseille,
Ron is shown standing in front of the appropriately named Monsieur Chouette (meaning
‘brilliant’ in colloquial French). Especially
memorable were the impromptu performances on pianos at railway stations (‘Nothing
Is As Good As They Say It Is’ at St Pancras station on the way to Wolverhampton
and a snatch of ‘Gee, That Was Fun’ at the Gare du Nord in Paris with Russ
saying ‘Au revoir Paris! A la prochaine fois’), with travellers passing by, seemingly
unaware that they were so close to greatness. Many of the photos demonstrated
that Ron was honing his selfie skills, as he was often in the forefront of the
picture. Of course, there were also the
end of concert ‘thank you selfies’ with the band and the audience ‘making like
they were at a Sparks’ concert’. Apart from allowing fans to eagerly scrutinise
the photos to identify themselves, these pictures gave us really good images of
the concert halls themselves.
The Band
This year’s line-up was
substantially the same as in 2022, though without extra keyboards. The
combination of Evan Weiss and Eli Pearl on guitars, Max Whipple on bass and
Steven Nistor on drums produced a fantastically accomplished and exciting sound
that has been widely praised by reviewers and fans alike. The energy was
palpable and the tightness and precision faultless. The buzzing techno
background of some of the songs from the new album translated really well to
the band format and, if anything, some fans felt that the songs were even more
striking in live performance. This was particularly the case with ‘Escalator’, which
came to replace ‘Veronica Lake’ as the tour progressed. The band also seemed to
be enjoying themselves immensely! Eli
won a lot of fans (and hearts) with his dance moves, especially during ‘Music That
You Can Dance To’.
A special mention must be made of
the support act, Mr B, the Gentleman Rhymer, who has opened for Sparks in the
past. He told us that he felt that he shared a sensibility with ‘the chaps’, in
that they were all extroverts on stage and introverts off stage, and paid a
surprise homage to that affinity by opening with his version of ‘Here Comes
Bob’, and, after a couple of his own witty and catchy pieces, performing a medley
of Sparks songs in his own inimitable style. An EP of this is now available to
download, which is certainly a little bit like fun.
The Venues
The venues, like last year, were
hugely contrasting in size and architecture, from the nineteenth-century
splendour of the New Theatre, Oxford with its dramatic red and gold proscenium
arch and the sumptuous 1930s Art Deco décor of the Paris Grand Rex, to the very
contemporary Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht with its industrial style metal and
glass exterior, the elegantly modern Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, the SEC
Armadillo in Glasgow, which has the appearance of a mini Sydney Opera House,
the Tempodrom in Berlin , with its extraordinary roof echoing the shape
of the circus tents of its original location, and the Cirque Royal in Brussels,
with its semi-circular auditorium. Sparks
had previously appeared at the latter way back in 1975. There was a notable difference this year in
that the venues were all seated in traditional theatre style. This caused some
dismay amongst fans who like to spend the entire evening dancing in the mosh
pit, but in many places the Security were audience-friendly, and allowed fans
to dance in front of the stage. For the
most part, the audiences were soon on their feet in any case, because it is
almost impossible not to want to dance at a Sparks’ show, especially when they
play ‘Music that you can dance to’!
The UK dates culminated in the
two sold-out dates at the magnificent and historic Royal Albert Hall in London.
Opened in 1871, and known world-wide for its circular shape and Italianate
style architecture, the Hall has hosted many of the world’s top artists. The capacity is over five thousand, which is
a lot of Sparks fans in one place. (If
you want to know how many holes it takes to fill it, ask the Beatles). The
‘arrival’ picture of Ron and Russell in the empty theatre, emphasised the
dimensions and grandeur of this extraordinary place. Looking round at the vast auditorium with its
multiple galleries during the show, Russell told us how, when they lived in
London in the ‘70s, they used to pass the Royal Albert Hall and say ‘that is
where the big bands play’, adding that with two sold-out shows there, they
‘must be one of the big bands now’. The
huge ovation and cheering confirmed that this is indeed the case. As with the Hollywood Bowl show later, both
Ron and Russell spoke of this being a dream come true for them and were visibly
very moved.
Between the UK and European dates
were shows at the Primavera Sound festivals in Barcelona in Spain and Porto in
Portugal (June 2 and 10), where Sparks attracted a lot of positive attention,
huge crowds and excellent reviews. The proposed Primavera Sound festival show
in Madrid on 8 June was, unfortunately, cancelled because of the weather
conditions – an electrical storm made the open-air event too dangerous. The
organizers clearly feared attracting more sparks on stage than expected!
In Barcelona, the boys did an interview with Miranda Sawyer, who asked some
interestingly different questions, and elicited a description of how their song
writing method had changed when they acquired their own home studio. Ron also
spoke of how it is less constraining to write the music first, rather than the
lyrics, and how he and Russell play around with the sounds created with their
state-of-the-art equipment.
On 23 June, Sparks appeared on
the Park Stage at the Glastonbury Festival. This was the first time that they
played Glastonbury as Sparks, although they had appeared there in their FFS
guise in 2015. The set list for the festivals was reduced to 13 songs including
three from the new album: ‘The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte’, ‘Nothing Is As Good
As They Say It Is’ and ‘We Go Dancing’. One of the highlights of the set this
time, to the surprise and delight of the crowd, was the appearance of Cate
Blanchett in her bright yellow suit, replicating the role she plays in the
video for ‘The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte’, a PR master stroke that wowed both
audience and reviewers. Inevitably, many press pictures featured Cate, and both
these and informal images posted on social media showed how much she was
enjoying herself. The reviews of the set speak for themselves: The Times
described it as ‘a delight from start to finish’ and Mojo as ‘a unique
and glorious experience’.
The Outfits
The outfits of the band, who remained
on a slightly raised platform at the back of the stage, were dark and casual.
Ron surprised in a pair of wide grey jogger-type trousers with a light stripe
down the sides, paired with a white shirt under a dark jacket, and a tie that
varied in the course of the tour (but included my personal favourite, the
‘balls’ tie). The most colour on stage was Russell’s striking two-tone red and
black jacket worn with dark trousers and shirt. The jackets alternated each
night between one with red on the top half and sleeves and black on the lower
half, and vice versa, with a rosette in the contrasting colour on the lapel. His shoes, which aways attract a lot of fan
attention, were also red while Ron‘s were white and black.
The Set List
The set list was, as always, generous,
with around 22 songs from 14 of their 26 albums including six or seven from the
new album and very few changes throughout the tour. After entering to the twinkling notes of
‘Take Me For A Ride’, they opened, of course, with ‘So May We Start’, followed
by a storming rendition of ‘The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte’. Fans were
surprised, and for the most part highly delighted, that there were songs
scarcely ever performed live, or at least not since the 2008 Sparks
Spectacular, like ‘Beaver O’Lindy’ (from A Woofer in Tweeter’s Clothing,
1972), ‘Bon Voyage’ (Propaganda 1975) and the title track of Music
That You Can Dance To (1986). It was a revelation to hear these numbers performed
with this current band as the excited reception clearly demonstrated.
The inclusion of ‘The Shopping
Mall of Love’ was a big hit once again, with Ron charming the audience with his
spoken lines, particularly the ‘laughter’ on ‘she makes me laugh’ and the straight-faced
fist-pumping ‘Yeahs’. At most shows, the
auditorium erupted when the opening notes of ‘Number One Song In Heaven’, and
‘This Town Aint Big Enough For Both Of Us’ rang out. A huge hit at the UK dates
was ‘Eaten By The Monster of Love’, but for some reason this was later dropped.
In Paris, ‘Bon Voyage’ was dedicated to Leos Carax, the director of Annette.
The new songs, especially the bouncy ‘Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is’
and the more reflective ‘It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way’ were greeted with huge
cheers by audiences everywhere.
The encore featured either the
new ‘A Love Story’ or ‘My Baby’s taking Me Home and finished with ‘All That’,
thus creating the perfect bookending for the show. In many places, during the latter, fans waved
their phone lights in the air, creating a stunning starry environment for the
end of the show. The short version of ‘Gee that was fun’ (The
Girl Is Crying In Her Latte) at the end of the show caused some
consternation amongst those fans always looking for signals that Sparks are
going to announce their retirement. However, this was quickly dissolved by the statement
everywhere that they would be back real soon.
Russell’s energy throughout was
astonishing, his leaps, twirls and skipping covering the whole width of the
stages, causing many reviewers to remark that he moved like a man half, even a
third, his age. He appears to have lost none of his vocal range, and still
attacked the highest notes with confidence. No lip-synching here, nor
teleprompter needed for the lyrics.
The audience was rivetted
It is clear from the many fan
sites that Sparks have gained a lot of new fans after the widespread popularity
of Edgar Wright’s The Sparks Brothers documentary, and this was very
apparent at the shows. In the audiences were people of all ages, often
including children with parents or grandparents, and many clearly knew all the
words of most of the songs, even those from the new album, joining in
enthusiastically. The delight was palpable and euphoric. It did not take long
for people to get to their feet, and even those remaining seated waved their
arms in the air and bounced up and down. Extensive applause and cheering erupted
after many numbers and a lengthy standing ovation at the end of the show was almost
routine.
Reviewers commented repeatedly
that you could feel the love in the room – hopefully, Ron and Russell and the
band were able to feel this too. Sometimes gifts and letters were tossed onto
the stage, and a large ‘Merci Sparks’ banner was unfurled in Brussels. In some
places, Russell walked along the front of their stage, briefly touching the imploring
hands of fans, an experience which some appeared to find overwhelming. (Who
wouldn’t?) Ron meanwhile remained aloof,
explaining that Russell is ‘more of a people person than I am’.
Lighting
The lighting for the shows was
sophisticated and stunning, featuring a background grid of rectangles filled
with lights which constantly changed to form different patterns, spelling
Sparks during ‘So May We Start’ and ‘Beaver O’Lindy’ letter by letter, as
Russell spelled it out. The arrangement was particularly effective during
‘Escalator’ as horizontal rows of lights ran up and down behind the band. There
were also the obligatory flashing lights, different colour washes over the
whole stage and, of course, spotlights, including the highly dramatic blue
spotlight on Ron at his keyboard in ‘Number One Song in Heaven.
Reviews were overwhelmingly
positive from the beginning and often highlighted the uniqueness of Sparks as
this remark in the Oxford Mail illustrates: ‘ [Sparks]
put the unimaginative crop of top 40 chart botherers in the shade’. The Guardian
reviewed the Liverpool show as ‘timed to perfection like all great double
acts, the surreal moments also intensify the power of the more earnest moments
by contrast’. In France, Les Inrockuptibles enthused that in this
‘magnifique concert’, ‘Sparks nous a emporté vers la joie,’ (Sparks carried
us away to joy). Most reviews commented on the astonishingly youthful physical
and vocal performance by Russell, the moment in Ron’s dance where his usual
stoic demeanour was transformed by a manic grin and the clear reciprocal
affection between the Maels and their fans. The band was also universally
praised, as was the inspired choice of Mr B as support act.
The Speeches
The end of show speeches seemed even
more emotional than on previous tours. Both Ron and Russell said repeatedly
that the reactions of fans were ‘very precious’ to them, and they were clearly
deeply moved and thrilled by their reception, seeming almost reluctant to leave
the stage at times. In Paris, Ron made a heart shape to express his gratitude
for ‘the best gig ever’. Each member of the band was warmly cheered when
Russell introduced them, commenting on the lengthy membership of Sparks of Steven
Nistor in particular, and also Evan Weiss. There were humorous moments too: in
Wolverhampton, Russell introduced Ron by sitting on the stool next to him and
saying: ‘I have a big brother who plays keyboards and writes some of the songs-
big ego trip’. Ron, of course, retained his usual impassive face.
There was the occasional inevitable
hiccup: at Manchester, there was a problem with microphones during ‘Number One
Song in Heaven’, which caused an exasperated Russell to throw down two faulty
microphones and proceed to conduct the audience in singing ’Oooo, la la , la la
la, la la’ before drawing the song to a close.
In Brussels, a catastrophe nearly struck, as Russell tripped at the
front of the stage and fell forward. Fortunately, and according to which
version you read, he managed to right himself, or, was saved by the willing
outstretched arms of fans in the front row. Either way, he managed to carry on
singing. Of course he did, he has experienced worse! At Wolverhampton, there
was a funny moment when Russell, having described the story of ‘Nothing Is As
Good As They Say It Is’, could not remember the title of the song and had to
ask Ron!
As always, there were many
especially memorable moments. Everyone will have their favourites: these are
just some of them.
The gasps and cheers of surprise and delight
when the more unusual numbers from their past catalogue were announced made the
occasion feel extra special. Russell’s skill in acting the songs with movement
and gestures was mesmerising. There was a nice moment in ‘Eaten By The Monster
Of Love’ when he mooched across the stage, shoulders hunched and head down as
though the monster had really got him in its grip. Ron’s facial expressions and
gestures in ‘The Shopping Mall of Love’ were greeted with reactions of (bawdy) laughter
and not a little yearning in some quarters. You can guess which lines elicited
these emotions! Posts on social media commented on how well the rapport and
change in performance dynamics worked here, with Ron centre stage and Russell ceding
vocal prominence to him. Ron’s dance elicited huge cheers of approval
everywhere and extended chants of ‘Ron, Ron, Ron’.
As always, positive efforts were
made to engage the audience in each place. The Oxford Mail commented
that despite being a ‘musical rock god’, Russell was ‘endearingly humble in his
address to the audience’. French
reviewers appreciated that Russell spoke in French, while the Berlin audience
reacted loudly to Russell’s ‘I told you it’s gonna be fun in Berlin!’. In
Copenhagen, loud cheers greeted Russell’s leaps at the beginning of ‘So May We
Start’. To the delight of the audience in Liverpool, Russell treated them to a
brief snatch of ‘Ferry ‘cross the Mersey’, the Gerry and the Pacemakers song
associated with the city. (They resisted the temptation to include a Beatles
song though.)
Director Edgar Wright and some of the team who were involved in the making of The Sparks Brothers documentary were in the audience on the first night at the Royal Albert Hall, and Edgar put in a surprise appearance to take the end of concert photo (as he also did at the Hollywood Bowl). Copies of this were later sent to fans who had purchased the Latte vinyl record on the official website, a doubly treasured memento.
Fun, joy and love
After they delivered shows that
excelled in captivating energy, a wide range of brilliantly executed numbers
and sometimes delirious audience participation, Sparks sent us off with the
promise ‘We’ll be back real soon’ ringing in our ears. What more could a
Sparks’ fan want? A heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in creating such a
glorious experience.
Penny Brown
September 2023.
