Sparks in Germany:
Doing it their way.
If we
associate France with Sparks' biggest European success in the 1980s, it was
Germany in the 1990s that produced a whole new audience for the Maels. Their
single 'When Do I Get To Sing My Way' (from the album Gratuitous Sax and
Senseless Violins, 1994, released by BMG through the German company Logic)
was the top airplay record in 1994, sold over 650,000 copies and topped the
charts in Germany. There were also a number of interviews made for German TV
during the decade that can still be viewed on YouTube and reveal fascinating
glimpses of their thinking and self-presentation during that period. Although
Sparks had spent time recording in Germany at the Musicland Studios in Munich
(for Whomp That Sucker (1981) and Angst In My Pants (1982)) and
there had been some gigs in the country before 1990, there were relatively few
live performances compared with this significant decade.
So, may we start?
As a brief
aside, a rare piece of footage of Sparks' appearance on Hits-A-Gogo on
Swiss/German TV in 1972 has to be compulsory viewing for fans. With their
original band line up of Earle Mankey (guitar), Jim Mankey (bass guitar) and
Harley Feinstein (drums), and the audience sitting on scaffold structures
around them, they perform 'Wonder Girl', the opening track on their first
album, released by Bearsville in the U.S. in 1971 under the name Halfnelson,
and re-released in '72 as Sparks. This clip reveals much about the
group's early self-presentation in terms of appearance and performance style:
their smart suits contrast with their long flowing locks, and Ron's afro perm
together with a moustache and heavy eyeliner creates a stirringly bizarre note
well before 'This Town' astonished (some say traumatised) the British viewing
public on Top Of The Pops in 1974. There is much prancing and posing in
the manner of British bands of the time: Russell, one hand on hip, looking
endearingly like a startled fawn practising moves like Jagger, while Earle
Mankey sidles suggestively around him. Observant fans will also note the early
appearance of Russell's pointing and waving finger, a performance mannerism
still in evidence today!
The
next live appearances were on 2 December 1974 in Hamburg and on 12 December
in Munich with a whole new British band: Trevor White on guitar, Ian Hampton on
bass and Dinky Diamond on drums. On the latter occasion there was also an
after-gig phone interview with fans, organized by Bravo magazine. They
performed songs from Kimono My House and Propaganda, both of
which had been released in Germany that year. There were also appearances on
German TV programmes that reveal how the band’s look and performance was
developing: on Germany's popular Musikladen show (5 February 1975), they
performed five songs; 'This Town', 'Amateur Hour', 'Something For The Girl With
Everything', 'Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth' and 'B.C.' Russell's performance is hyper-energetic:
dressed in a red and white patterned winter sweater, red woollen gloves and a
floor length red scarf, he cavorts around the stage, brandishing the microphone
in all directions and taunting an impassive Ron, who is now sporting a short
sweptback haircut. An early
example of Sparks’ flair for a humorous and dramatic presentation can be seen
in an entertaining video of 'A Big Surprise' (from Introducing Sparks
(1977)) on German TV in 1977: Ron is
seated at a white grand piano, with a Liberace-style candelabra, a wine glass
and a reclining blonde woman, while Russell appears to be standing on rocks
behind them. At the end of the song, Ron goes ‘berserk’, smashes the glass and
proceeds to smash up the piano stool too, in a parody (or homage?) of Pete Townshend
of The Who. A big surprise indeed!
Amongst the
singles released in Germany at this time was, perhaps surprisingly, 'Girl From
Germany' (1974), from A Woofer In Tweeter's Clothing released in Germany
the previous year. This song recounts the singer's anticipation of the
horrified reaction of his parents, still in the grips of post-war paranoia,
when he tentatively introduces his new girlfriend from Germany, knowing that
they will be imagining stormtroopers on the lawn but hoping that things might
work out. As far as I have been unable
to ascertain, this song has not however featured in the German live shows,
presumably because it might be viewed as culturally insensitive.
Into the ‘80s
A
rare live appearance in Germany in the 1980s was a four-song set at the Circus
Krone, Munich, for the Rock and Pop Festival, broadcast on the radio station
Bayerischen Rundfunk on 9 December 1981.
The Circus Krone was the first permanent circus building in Germany
and, at this time, was a concert venue that had hosted The Who and the Beatles.
The new Sparks band now consisted of members of the group Bates Motel: Bob Haag
(guitar), Leslie Bohem (bass), David Kendrick (drums), and Jim Goodwin
(keyboard). An informal video of the soundcheck on this occasion provides an
insight into the pre-show preparation necessary to ensure a slick and
trouble-free performance: it shows Ron with a yellow guitar and the setting up
of a set of gold-coloured drums. Russell, in a grey jacket and red pants,
repeats parts of 'Wacky Women' and 'This Town'.
The set list for the show also featured 'Upstairs' and 'Tips for Teens'
(like 'Wacky Women', from 1981's Whomp That Sucker). Video footage of
the gig itself has several interesting features: the band members are
hyper-energetic, Russell, looking uber-handsome in a sparkling gold suit and
shoes and a wing-collared shirt, his hair a curly mullet, slings his arm around
Ron's neck as he sings ‘Tips For Teens’ (shades of David Bowie and Mick Ronson)
and later introduces 'My big brother Ron Mael', as he still does today, as the
one who does almost everything in the band. We see how interaction between the
brothers was becoming part of the image: Ron’s facial expressions as Russell
claps in his face or shakes his microphone at him are hilarious, especially the
wince as Russell hits a high note in ‘This Town’ and a sad shaking of the head
with puzzled glances. We are also treated to the sight of Ron leaving his
keyboard during ‘Tips For Teens’ to stand and conduct the band to a flourishing
finish. At the end of this show, all the participants apparently joined together
to play 'Give Peace A Chance' in tribute to John Lennon, who had been gunned
down in New York the previous day. Also
in this decade, in 1986, Ron and Russell had done a promo tour in the U.K,
France and Germany for the album Music That You Can Dance To, and
performed the title song on the TV show Na Sowas with a totally different,
casual modern look. They are dressed casually, Ron in a short-sleeved tee-shirt
and Russell in a blue denim jacket and white pants, and they are surrounded in
an exotic green and gold set by apparently naked painted women decked in
metallic masks, necklaces and belts. Is the fact that the women don't move, let
alone dance, at all a wry comment on the song and on disco fever itself?
Fame explosion in the ‘90s
The next
live show was not until December 12, 1994, at the elegant Schmidts
Tivoli in Hamburg to promote the very recent Gratuitous Sax and Senseless
Violins, released in November on the Germany-based Logic label, after a
period of self-imposed exile from the pop world while they were working on the
projected movie project Mai the Psychic Girl. Ron and Russell were now touring with just
Christi Haydon on percussion and backing vocals. (Much of this concert can be
seen on YouTube.) It begins dramatically
with raking spotlights and footlights against a plain backdrop. Their attire is
strikingly contrasting: Russell swings in wearing a baggy multi-coloured
sweater and check pants, while Ron sits at his trademark Ronald keyboard in
formal white shirt and tie and Christi bounces sensually in her early Hollywood
style black dress and long black gloves. The generous set list of 21 numbers
included seven from Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins ('I Thought I
Told You To Wait In The Car', 'Frankly Scarlet, I Don't Give A Damn', When I
Kiss You (I Hear Charlie Parker Playing)', 'Now That I Own The BBC', 'The Ghost
of Liberace', 'Let's Go Surfing', ‘When Do I Get To Sing My Way?’) and the
songs that had been big hits in France, 'When I'm With You' and 'Singing In The
Shower'. Apart from the fact that the Gratuitous Sax songs would have
been new to many in the audience, this show was particularly noteworthy for two
new departures: there were two brief interludes entitled 'Ron's piece', during
which he stands centre stage while, in the first, a disembodied female voice
lectures him on positive thinking and, in the second, assails him with a
chat-up line; the concert also introduced Christi doing a surprise turn as main
vocalist, singing the delightful 'What Would Katherine Hepburn Say?', while
Russell strenuously plays percussion.
They
returned the following year, 1995, for a series of gigs throughout May in
Hamburg, Berlin, Mannheim, Stuttgart, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne and Linz, and
further concerts in Munich (6 July) and Hanover (22 July) interspersed with
visits to the U.K. and Holland. Some of
the July Munich concert at the Alabama Halle has been preserved in a six-part
video: Ron, in a white shirt and pink and black striped tie, Russell in an
oversize yellow jacket (jettisoned after a few numbers), baggy black sweater
and loose black and white striped pants and Christi in her now trademark black
dress and gloves and swinging bob perform in front of a crowded stage set of
classical pillars, ivy-clad broken columns and an ornate fountain with running
water, inspired by a scene in the video of 'When Do I Get To Sing My Way'. This elaborate background, which appears in
Sparks' other televised appearances at this time, is, of course, before bands
routinely used projections of complex graphics and films to accompany their
music, such as Sparks were to deploy some years later for the Lil' Beethoven
show. The set lists seemed to have varied somewhat during this year's tour, but
the Munich programme consisted of numbers from Gratuitous Sax and Senseless
Violins interspersed with some favourites including 'Number One Song in
Heaven', 'Angst In My Pants', 'Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth', and 'This
Town'. The audience appear to stand quietly for most of the set, but become
more animated for 'When Do I Get To Sing My Way' and cheer when the
unmistakeable introduction to 'This Town' begins. The filming of this gig is
professional and original, with repeated close-ups of each of the three
performers, including some great shots of Ron's hands on the keyboard, shown
from above and beneath. It is a hugely energetic performance: Russell bounces
and twirls between verses (contrast his 1970s moves), while Christi plays the
drums and tubular bells with gusto and Ron tap dances before the band launches
into 'When I Kiss You...’, a new dancing skill he was keen to show off in
another context (see below).
Some (crazy) interviews
The
mid-1990s also saw a flurry of reviews, press articles and numerous interviews
and appearances on German television shows like Damals und Heute, Hallo
Halberg, Musikladen, Fernsehn Garten ZDF and Loloroso WDR, capitalising on
their new-found success there. This
discussion can only attempt to consider a few of the most noteworthy or unusual
examples, but there are many interesting insights into this period of Sparks’
career. In December 1994, the TV show Rock Archiv dedicated a full hour
to Sparks, with interviews, vintage footage, and live performances of several
songs from Gratuitous Sax. At an appearance on Stars 95, they are
presented with a gold disk for 'When Do I Get To Sing My Way', which Russell
announces will be donated for auction to the cause to fight Aids. The upcoming
major tour of Germany ('our first ever') in May 1995 (discussed above) is also
announced here. The dates and venues appear on the highly imaginative brief
video commercial for the Gratuitous Sax album, in which the cover images
'come alive' and Russell casts eye-flutteringly quizzical looks at the changing
images of his brother's accusing pointed finger. On March 31, Logic Records had
celebrated the success of 'When Do I Get To Sing My Way' with a 'Gold Party' at
Frankfurt’s Europaturm, a giant telecommunications tower with revolving bars.
Sparks were now definitely big stars in Germany.
Some of the
interviews are characteristically both informative and humorous (and
occasionally surreal). Apart from the usual comments about their past career,
Ron and Russell talk about issues central to their thinking at this time,
particularly the discovery of a new young audience. Warning: as often in
Sparks' interviews, a liberal sprinkling of salt has to be taken with some of
their answers! In fact, a sense of fun and irreverence pervades all the
interviews: the following description of a full-length Sparks special for Jam
Viva Germany, broadcast in early 1995, for example, fully conveys the
flavour of many such occasions. In several scenes, Ron unaccountably tap-dances
on a bar counter while Russell addresses the camera. Conversely, while Ron comments in deadpan
manner, the occasional twitch of Russell's lips suggests that perhaps the
remarks should not be taken at face value. This same programme, which contains
clips from videos and live shows, actually begins by featuring the wrong birth
dates and names for the boys, perpetuating the myth that they were the sons of
Doris Day. This false trail, laid at an early stage in their career, was
intended as a publicity hook to intrigue the public, but had clearly still not
been put to rest at this stage. However, Ron and Russell have serious things to
say on subjects ranging from their inspirations and influences, their writing
process, their uncompromising determination to avoid pop clichés and their
shared vision and goals for Sparks, to their personal image, the role of music
videos in enhancing the mood of a song, and the advantages of having their own
home studio. Russell, introducing here his own technical role in their work,
describes the studio as a 'playground' in which they can explore the potential
of working with innovative electronics like drum machines. Their discussion of
other bands they have admired (or who admire them), particularly British bands,
includes clips of performances from the Rolling Stones, The Who and The Kinks,
and more recent bands like Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, Depeche Mode, Soft Cell,
Human League and, of course, Morrissey. They also describe how their love of film
has informed their work, in that they regard each of their songs as a miniature
scenario telling a story, and they cite the number of films and artists
name-checked on Gratuitous Sax.
While
emphasising their delight at the inspiring response of young audiences to their
work, they stress that they make no compromises for a mixed audience. They also
joke about other consequences: Russell tells of being mobbed by young screaming
females at gigs, while Ron follows up by commenting on the different types of
fan letters they get: serious ones on artistic matters from intelligent girls
for him, and marriage (and other less formal) proposals for Russell. On their
unusual image, a perennial topic in interviews, Russell clarifies that in
reality they also like normal things like shopping in the supermarket for
cookies, and that the perceived eccentricity is not an artifice, but 'just the
way we are'. He is keen to stress that
they have no need of drugs because they get their high from performing, but
admit to loving food and fashion. This programme certainly attests to the
latter, as each section presents a different sartorial image: Russell's silvery
grey silk waistcoat is particularly striking and his long-lasting love affair
with stripes is amply apparent here. Lastly, they depict their pet likes and
dislikes about Germany: German girls and coffee (likes), and traffic on the
autobahns and smoking (dislikes): 'Das ist nicht gut', Russell earnestly
informs us. Above all, they express their affection for Germany, their 'new
home', and Ron makes the point that their current manager, Eric Harle, is of
German origin. Unfortunately for non-German speakers, the discussion in this
fascinating, wide-ranging and lively programme is overlaid with a simultaneous
translation into German so that much of the dialogue is obscured, but viewing
is still immensely worthwhile.
Many of the
issues raised here are repeated and developed in other interviews of the
period. In another 1995 interview for VH-1, the sensitive question of
similarities to other contemporary bands (notably The Pet Shop Boys) is raised
again, and Russell's diplomatic answers are couched so that nevertheless, the
'public can see the chronology of events' as he puts it. When the same issue
arose in a 1994 VH-1 interview in respect of Roxy Music, Russell had reminded
the interviewer that Sparks had already released two albums before Brian
Ferry's band hit the scene and in 2000, in a Sparks Special Kuno's programme,
he asserts that Sparks were creating effects like stacking up vocals before
Queen's monster hit 'Bohemian Rhapsody' appeared. The comparative lack of
massive commercial success and formal recognition for their constant innovation
and their status as forerunners of so many musical trends must have been a
constant irritation to them, as indeed it is incomprehensible to fans. On the
same Kuno’s show, they comment on their musical career album by album leading
up to a discussion of Balls, and present the different colour covers,
inviting the viewer to collect them all. The orange one, designed
for promotion only, is apparently the most rare (and hence most desirable), any
lucky owners please note. At the end of this programme, they are asked how long
they think they will go on. The answer; ‘well, hopefully, a long time....’!
In
the 1995 VH1 interview, the subject of fashion comes to the fore: Russell
sports a rainbow sweater of thirteen different colours, bought from an upmarket
Hamburg shop, the uniqueness of which is commented upon at length, until Ron's
deadpan contribution that he wears a shirt from C & A. The contrast in
stage clothing and general appearance between the flamboyant (and sometimes
bizarre) and the soberly classical has, of course, long been an iconic feature
of Sparks self-presentation, and is nicely encapsulated in this exchange. Ron is also at his most modest: when after a
clip of 'When I Kiss You (I Hear Charlie Parker Playing'), he is asked if he is
a fan of Charlie Parker, he tells us that he likes music that he himself can't
do (notably jazz and classical). However, the huge variety of styles, motifs
and arrangements of his later compositions testify, on the contrary, to his
musical versatility and brilliance. It is noticeable in several of these
interviews that Russell talks a lot more in answer to questions while Ron is
comparatively silent. Occasionally he even looks a little put out (although
this is probably an act), and in this interview, he writes ‘Next Question’ on a
piece of paper and ‘Overlong Answer’ while Russell holds forth.
In a 1996
interview with Tobi Schlegl for Viva, Russell highlights how the discovery of
an enthusiastic young audience had led to the idea of presenting their earlier
songs in a new way to introduce them to their past catalogue. Thus, Plagiarism
(1997) was born. Again, for non-German speakers, this interview is slightly
disorientating because of the simultaneous translation. One moment needs no
translation however: a picture from a book called Pop Stars in Underpants is
displayed, and Russell obligingly gets up to show off his blue and white
checked underpants to the camera. Other jokes abound: after a clip of 'Now that
I own the BBC', they describe their fantasy of a station that plays nothing but
Sparks’ music. They also take phone-in questions, where they touch once more on
the topic of influences on their work: Ron, channelling a French café musician
in a black beret and blue-tinted glasses, mentions their early love of the The
Kinks and The Who, while Russell chips in with the enlightening offering that
Ron writes their songs, while he only poses in his underpants! He repeatedly
characterises their professional relationship in similarly humorous and
self-deprecating terms, more recently in the interview for Radio London in
August 2017, were he claims that Ron writes the songs while he watches. Ron remarks that 'it's called collaboration'!
One that, of course, certainly does work!
On Plagiarism
The concept
behind the new album Plagiarism is developed in an interview on VH1 in
1997. The same excellent bilingual interviewer as in 1995 both chats with Ron
and Russell and communicates their responses directly to the German
viewers. Using 'This Town' as an
example, they explain their feeling that their songs are not easily dated since
they were always felt to be ahead, or on the side of, the times. Their hope was
that Plagiarism, which presents many of their best-loved numbers in new
and sometimes surprising guises with innovative orchestration and
collaborations, would be seen as contemporary, while at the same time
initiating new listeners into their past work. This album, which features the
sensational version of 'This Town' with a heart-stopping sweeping orchestral
accompaniment and the memorable collaboration of Russell with Jimmy Somerville
on 'The No. 1 Song in Heaven’, was certainly a bold and exciting venture to
delight fans both old and new. This same interview reveals Ron's love of Nike
Air Jordan shoes because of his admiration for Michael Jordan of the basketball
team the Chicago Bulls, and, even more exciting, perhaps, for voyeuristic fans
are the shots of Russell’s collection of models of Elvis, superheroes, monsters
and other figurines and the discussion of their liking for souvenirs acquired
on their many overseas visits. Unforeseen humour is caused when the interviewer
is momentarily confused by the discussion of Ron's collection of snow domes,
which he mishears as 'snowballs'. As he
queries the problem of the climate in their home town, Russell hastens to
clarify that a more typical dome for Los Angeles would contain black, swirling
fog. In further L.A. shots, the pair show off their cars: Ron's boxy black
German car and Russell's beloved 1956 Ford Thunderbird (in 'willow green', he
explains proudly).
Also in
1997, Ron and Russell presented a programme on Hogh 5 VH1 of their choice of
five favourite music videos, with a brief commentary. Their selection is
interesting, compared with their choice of tracks for the more recent BBC Music
Radio 6 programmes (Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Service) in 2015 and 2017. For
German TV, they chose 'Wuthering Heights' by Kate Bush, because they too like
to include literary and cinematic references in their work, Public Enemy's
'Fight the Power', Faith No More's 'Easy', Kraftwerks 'Trans Euro Express' and
one of their own, the video for 'Number One Song In Heaven'. This video, with
its stunning ferris wheel sequence, they say, is specially for people in
Vienna, who will immediately grasp its significance: the giant wheel in
Riesenradplatz was featured in the iconic movie The Third Man, and was
placed on the list of Treasures of European Film Culture by the European Film
Academy in 2016. By way of sign-off, Ron, in typically laconic fashion, tells
viewers that if they didn't like their choices, they can 'piss off'. (Could
viewers have imagined then that he would one day write a song called that?)
Sparks move into the new century
The next
flurry of activity in Germany came at the end of 2000, with a substantial tour
in December to promote the new album Balls, taking in Bielefeld, Berlin,
Hamburg, Cologne, Heidelberg, Mainz, Marburg, and Munich and finishing with a
spot at the stunning New Year's Eve concert at the Brandenburg Gate in
Berlin. If the German shows followed the
same pattern as the September London gig at which the live video, Sparks in
London, was filmed, the set lists were a mixture of numbers from Balls
('Aeroflot', 'Scheherazade', 'More Than A Sex Machine', 'How To Get Your
Ass Kicked', 'Bullet Train', 'The Calm Before The Storm', 'The Angels') and
favourites including 'When Do I Get To Sing My Way', especially to please
German fans. Ron and Russell shared the stage with their new drummer Tammy
Glover, who debuted as a member of Sparks in 1997, surrounded by helium
balloons that change colour with the lights. Russell now has a shorter
hairstyle and is wearing a baggy top and matching pants in horizontal stripes
(no, it is not a prison outfit!) Later he changes to an equally baggy white
sweater, while Ron coordinates with a striped tie. For this show, Ron
also performs two brief 'dramatic pieces', to roars of approval: 'Waiting for
Godot, with Rex the Wonder Dog' and 'Ron levitates Baby Leroy' in which a
plastic doll, introduced as his illegitimate son, rises from his hands on a
clearly perceptible string. Maybe not as dynamic as some of the interactive
performances that were to come later with Lil' Beethoven, but, like his
eagerly awaited solo 'dance', they are evidence of Ron's enthusiasm for
performing centre stage, as well as behind a keyboard. Footage of the New Year's Eve Silvester Party
show Ron, Russell and Tammy performing on a huge open-air stage before
banks of lights to an enormous audience (500,000 were estimated to be at the
event, with a further 6 million watching the broadcast on television). Dressed
for the cold, Russell wears a thick white polo neck sweater and striped pants
and Ron a beige suit, but Tammy is the sartorial star of the show in red
leather trousers, a fake leopard skin coat and high-heeled boots. To close the
show, they play 'The Calm Before The Storm', and their new single, 'The Angels'
(minus the profanity), for which the three of them stand front of stage and
wave sparklers to wish the crowd a Happy New Year. It must have been quite an
occasion.
Enter new technology
While guests on the NBC Giga TV
show in 2000, to promote Balls, Russell demonstrated their new website,
which included a brief history of Sparks in 18 albums, an 'Ideosyncracies'
section featuring a moustache game, and a glimpse of the animated video for
'The Calm Before The Storm', thought by many to be the best song on the album.
This video, made in Paris by animators Olivier Kuntzel and Florence Deygas, won
the German Internet 'Best Video of the Summer' accolade. Clearly Sparks were keen early on to exploit
the potential value of this technology in promoting their new ventures and
communicating with their growing, world-wide fan base.
Where did the groove go?
Despite the
German-linked conceit of the career of Lil' Beethoven, a fictional Sparks'
invention that was to become the name of their own label, there appears to have
been no live presentation of the album that bears his name in Germany in the
first decade of the new century. However, the Hello Young Lovers show
did reach Hamburg in February 2006 and, as everywhere, was very warmly
received. On this tour, the new band consisted of Dean Menta (guitar), Josh
Klinghofffer (guitar, alternating with Jim Wilson), Steve McDonald (bass) and
Tammy Glover (alternating with Steve Nistor) on drums. The set list comprised
the songs from Hello Young Lovers in the first half, and a Sparks Show
of earlier material in the second half.
As the DVD of the live show (called, unsurprisingly, Dee Vee Dee),
filmed at the Forum, London, reveals, Sparks’ investment in stunning projected
video images, including cat-headed figures ('Here Kitty'), guitars and
umbrellas raining down for 'Waterproof' and a thousand marching Rons and
Russells in uniform for 'Baby, Baby, Can I Invade Your Country', adds an
hilarious and uniquely Sparks-like element to the performance. Ron
displays his talent for drama, already seen in 2004 for Lil' Beethoven,
by interacting dynamically with the videos, fighting with a projected image of
himself for 'The Very Next Fight', and playing a gigantic cartoon organ for
'When I Sit Down To Play The Organ (In The Notre Dame Cathedral)'. Russell is more formally dressed than usual
in a natty red and black striped jacket over a white sweater, but in the second
half, the jacket is jettisoned and his sleeves rolled up as he gets down to the
business of delighting the audience with old favourites.
The live
shows for Exotic creatures of the Deep (2008), also gave Germany and
many other European destinations a miss, perhaps because of festival
commitments in the summer following the epic and doubtless exhausting 21 x 21
Spectacular in London in May-June, and the start of work in 2009 on The
Seduction of Ingmar Bergman, commissioned by Swedish radio. However, the
Sparks website announced on 1 October 2008 a 'German Renaissance', listing a
huge number of press accolades and media plays of Exotic Creatures,
which was released in Germany on 4 October 2008, and became record of the month
on WDR2, the biggest radio station in West Germany. The same announcement also
alerts fans to interviews in German publications and on radio stations
WDR2 and 3, so the German fans were certainly not being ignored.
Stripped back Sparks
The
extensive 2012 tour that took Two Hands, One Mouth across Europe saw
gigs in mid-October in Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Bochum. As
elsewhere, the stunning experience of being able to appreciate Ron’s piano
interpretation of his music and focus closely on Russell's interpretation of
the lyrics, was ecstatically received by the German audiences, many members of
which would not have seen Sparks perform live for some time. The set list for
this tour featured a range of material from their back catalogue, including
'Suburban Homeboy', 'Something For The Girl With Everything' and excerpts from The
Seduction of Ingmar Bergman (with Ron playing Bergman) and concluding with
the specially composed 'Two Hands One Mouth' song. The Overture, a seamless
mixture of well-known hooks played by Ron alone at the keyboard, delighted
audiences everywhere on this tour, as did Russell's stylish plus four style
pants and striped socks and Ron's famous dance to 'Beat the Clock'.
Fun in Berlin
Recently,
Berlin seems to be a favoured venue in Germany. Sparks’ collaboration with the
members of Franz Ferdinand (Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy and Paul
Thomson) in the super-group FFS, produced a superb album and an extensive and
hugely successful tour. As well as their hugely successful show at the Gloria
Theatre in Cologne, a former 1950’s cinema, on 1 July 2015, they played at the
Lollapalooza Festival held in the park of the old Berlin-Tempelhof airport, now
a venue for fairs, festivals and other events, on 12 September. The set lists
for these shows included three of Franz Ferdinand’s songs (‘Do You Want To’,
‘Michael’, ‘Take Me Out’) and three Sparks’ hits (‘When Do I Get To Sing My
Way’, Number One Song In Heaven’, ‘This Town..’) and songs from the FFS album,
concluding, hilariously, with ‘Piss Off’.
Two years on, on the same date,
12 September, Hippopotamus arrived at the Columbia Theatre, the
Modernist concert hall in Berlin, for what, according to reports on social
media, was another joyous occasion. Sparks' new and dynamic band consisted of
Evan Weiss and Taylor Locke (guitars), Zach Dawes (bass), Tyler Parkford
(keyboard) and experienced Sparks' drummer Steve Nistor. The band was kitted
out in Breton-look navy blue and white striped tee-shirts, while Russell wore a
striped sweater (replicated by a number of the audience), and a rather
eccentric combination of cut-off pedal-pusher pants and formal black shoes with
red laces and no socks. On this occasion, Ron shone in a striped jacket and
matching tie, which combined his usual sartorial style with the overall look of
the band. They performed six numbers from Hippopotamus ('What The Hell
Is It This Time', 'Edith Piaf Said It Better Than Me', 'I Wish You Were Fun',
'Missionary Position, 'Scandinavian Design', and, of course, 'Hippopotamus')
and nine other songs, including the perennial crowd-pleaser 'When Do I Get To
Sing My Way'. The band made a surprise
return to Berlin on 6 October at the Schwuz club for a gig in the Arte Concert
series, which was streamed live. A slightly overawed Russell began the event
with the words, 'Good Evening Berlin, Good Evening the World!' before the full
set as elsewhere was performed. Sparks
and the Hippo returned in June 2018 for gigs in Munich, Cologne and Hamburg
with a new line-up and a new look. The equally strong and enthusiastic backing
band were Evan Weiss and Eli Pearl (guitars), Patrick Kelly (bass), Steve
Nistor (drums) and Alex Casnoff (additional keyboards). The fashion theme this time was pink, with
the band in pink denim jackets, Russell in an elegant pink military-style
jacket and Ron in a pink tie which was thrown into the audience at the start of
his dance. (Perhaps you have one??) The 18-song set list differed slightly this
time, with six songs from Hippopotamus and older songs including
‘Tryouts For The Human Race’ and ‘B.C.’
Before the (almost obligatory) rendering of ‘When Do I Get To Sing My
Way’, Russell sang a verse of the classic ‘My Way’ (‘and now the end is
near..’), an unusual departure that may have sparked fears for a brief moment,
of an imminent retirement announcement. No Way!
The reception of the Hippopotamus
shows in Germany demonstrated once again the faithful following that Ron
and Russell enjoy there, and the continuing appeal of their blend of pop and
high culture to audiences of various ages. It is no wonder that Germany can be
added to the list of places they feel to be a home from home. Moreover, in 2019, sites in Germany were
chosen to film scenes for the movie musical Annette, written by Sparks
and directed by French director (and Sparks’ fan) Leos Carax. Any fortunate
sharp-eyed fans may have glimpsed Ron and Russell, as well as Adam Driver,
Marion Cotillard and Simon Helberg filming in Münster, Cologne and Bonn.
After the pandemic, new acclaim and sell-out shows
Of course, the planned 2020 tour
for the next album A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip had to be postponed because
of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, as were the revised dates for 2021.
However, Sparks decided to go ahead with the tours of the US and Europe in
April/May 2022. This was obviously a
brave decision and a source of anxiety for many, as the Covid 19 pandemic was
far from over in Europe. The issue of the safety and well-being of the band and
the audience was foregrounded, with a plea from Sparks HQ on the official
website for the wearing of masks and repeated in venue information and
announcements before each show. Some
concert pictures showed a sea of masks in the audience, but at some venues, the
response was, frankly, disappointing to say the least.
On 24 April 2022, Sparks were at
the Metropol in Belin, and on the 25th, at the Mojo Club in Hamburg,
along with a partly new band line-up: Evan Weiss and Eli Pearl (guitar), Max
Whipple (bass), Steve Nistor (drums) and Tyler Parkford (additional keyboards).
While the band wore dark outfits, Russell stood out in bright yellow trousers,
prompting remarks that he had borrowed a ‘high-vis’ suit. Ron wore dark
wide-legged trousers with a stylish long jacket and a dark polo neck top. The
lengthy set list included two songs from Annette (‘So May We Start’ and
‘We Love Each Other So Much’) and three from A Steady Drip, Drip,Drip: :
Stravinsky’s Only Hit’, ‘Lawnmower’,
and, as a final song, the anthemic ‘All That’.
The latter, like ‘May We Start’, has now become an iconic part of a
Sparks’ show, and forms a very emotional closure, with the auditorium spangled
with phone lights as fans sway to the music.
Also in the set list were songs from various earlier albums, with some
welcome surprises like ‘Tips For Teens’, ‘Get in the Swing’, ‘Under the Table
With Her’ and ‘The shopping Mall of Love’.
There are always many endearing moments in a Sparks’ performance, and
amongst them on this tour were Russell sitting on a stool, Sinatra-style, for
‘Rhythm Thief’ and ‘I Married Myself’. During the latter, he produced a hand
mirror and said ‘Hi Baby. How you doin’?’ and sang the rest of the song gazing
lovingly at his reflection. Ron’s
dance is always a showstopper, with its slowly built anticipation as he
carefully removes and folds his jacket, but his monologue in ‘The Shopping Mall
of Love’ also caught the imagination of fans this time. His facial expressions,
and the repeated dead-pan ‘Yeah’, accompanied by a small fist pump were a great
hit as the number of social media shares showed. The good-natured rivalry between the brothers
was apparent in Hamburg, when Russell sang an impromptu verse of ‘Gone With The
Wind’ at the end, after mentioning the songs he personally had written, while
Ron stood behind him waving just three fingers in the air. Russell’s closing
speech spoke enticingly of their current work on a new album and another movie
musical. A small incident in Hamburg during ‘So May We Start’ captured
attention on social media: there was a brief altercation between Russell and a
photographer standing too close at the front of the stage. After a few warning
kicks in his direction, Russell appeared to either slip or jump off the edge of
the stage, still singing, of course, while Ron appeared to be grinning in glee.
After the grimness of the previous couple of years, it was clearly exhilerating
and emotional to be seeing Sparks live in concert again, a delight enhanced by
the wide acclaim of Edgar Wright’s film The Sparks Brothers and the
Sparks’ own movie musical, Annette.
Making up for lost time, Sparks
were on the road again in 2023 on a tour that culminated in the ‘dream come
true’ performances at the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Hollywood Bowl in
Los Angeles. Promoting the new
critically acclaimed album, The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte (released on
26 May 2023 and the first on Island Records since 1976), the tour featured 18
dates in Europe, and, on 18 June, arrived at the Tempodrom in Berlin, an
exciting venue shaped like a circus tent, paying homage to the original use of
this site. They entered, appropriately, to the twinkling notes of ‘Take Me For
A Ride’, and the set list consisted of songs from a number of albums, including
several from the new album: ‘The Girl is Crying In Her Latte’, Nothing Is As
Good As They Say It Is’, ‘It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way’, ‘We Go Dancing’
‘Escalator’ (which replaced ‘Veronica Lake’) and a short version of ‘Gee That
Was Fun’. The audience was surprised and delighted by the unusual choices, some
of which, like ‘Beaver O’Lindy’ and ‘Bon Voyage’ and ‘Music That You Can Dance
To’, have rarely featured in concerts. The combination of Evan Weiss and Eli
Pearl on guitars, Max Whipple on bass and Steven Nistor on drums produced a
fantastically 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
well to the band format and, if anything, some fans felt that the songs were even
more striking in live performance. The band also seemed to be enjoying
themselves immensely: at one point, Russell shouted ‘I told you it was gonna be
fun in Berlin!’! Eli won a lot of fans
(and hearts) with his dance moves, especially during ‘Music That You Can Dance
To’.
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. Once again, the most colour on stage was Russell’s striking two-tone red
and black jacket worn with dark trousers and shirt. Russell’s energy throughout
was astonishing, his leaps, twirls and skipping covering the whole width of the
stage. 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, as were the
spotlights, including the highly dramatic blue spotlight on Ron at his keyboard
in ‘Number One Song in Heaven.
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.
In the future
The dates for the 2025 tour,
celebrating Mad, the appropriately named album for the current state of
the world, have been announced and are to include a return to Cologne. As
Sparks’ triumphant success continues to ride high, it is sure to be
sensational.
Penny Brown
March 2025
