Conference marvin::uk_music

   re prev:   thats 'heard' of sparks in the previous. i kant spel wel.

    sorri about that!  ;-)
    
    

         I have a couple of their albums at home.  They're two brothers,
    Mark and ???? Mahl (sp?).  I like their music, the tunes are catchy
    and the lyrics are a riot.  They're a fun group.
    
    ASP

    
    Well it's a while since I heard anyone mention these guys....
    
    I seem to remember they made a bit of a comeback (into the charts
    anyways) in the eraly 80s with "No. 1 song in heaven"? No idea if they
    are still together.....
    
    Real gimmicky, but always worth a listen....
    
    R|tch^d

    They had quite a few hits in their heyday, and their image was
    certainly a bit different.  I've heard that they didn't always aquit
    themselves very well live.
    
    Todd Rundgren produced one of their early albums too.
    
    David.
    

    RE: .2
    
    It was Ron and Russell Mael, as I recall.... Goodness knows what's
    happened to them (I'm surprised anyone cares...(^8)
    
    Nick

    All I remember about them is that man with the glasses and eyes
    on keyboards!
    
    Guess the gimmicks work.

    Richard

    .....and the Charlie Chaplin moustache!
    
    
    Local (to me, anyway) boy Martin Gordon played bass for them for
    a while.
    
    They were one of those post-glam mid-70's bands that I really didn't
    care for at the time - I was into *seeeeerious* sounds, right? But
    now I look back at theie hits like This Town Aint Big Enough (very
    quirky) with some affection.
    
    Bob

I believe Sparks is still recording albums, so they're not just a band
"of the 70's". In the U.S, they had a small hit with a song called 
"Cool Places", which was a duet with one of the members of the Go-Gos
(not sure which one - maybe Jane Wiedlen?).

I have a couple of their albums - although nothing special, they have
a good sense of humor that I really liked...

Alan S.

        They put out a record last year sometime.  I remember hearing
    them being interviewed on the radio last year sometime.  I think
    that they also played in a couple of the clubs in the area (San
    Francisco and San Jose).
    
    ASP

    good info. i wasnt aware they did anything since 'cool places'.,
    they have an interesting history. from what i heard, all the backup
    people HATE the two brothers! if they ever wrote a book called "how
    to get record contracts", i would buy it! and pay full retail price!
    their songs 'at home and play' and 'girl from germany' and 'hospitality
    on parade' make me laugh every time i hear them.

	My favorite SPARKS tune is "I Predict". I sold the album though ...

	That was early '80s...

	Ed

    Didn't they make (or appear in) a film a few years ago ??

    I saw them live in the early Eighties at Leeds University - they were
    very good then. At the end of the concert Russ Mael got too close to
    the front of the stage and had his trousers ripped off by a gang of
    screaming teenyboppers !

    Wonder if that was part of the act ?

    Derek

    Hi,
    
    This is a Frenchie writting. Gee ! I've heard about the two brothers
    lately. Do you know they recorded a song with a french band called
    "Rita Mitsouko" ? Nothing special to say about it, except that I
    saw them on french TV, they look pretty old and "damaged" those
    days. 
    
    "Too young to die, to old to live" They certainly lived on the fast
    lane !
    
    Frenchy
    
    

    Yup - I believe they have a single out over here with the
    aforementioned woman, called "Dancing in the shower".

    RE: .13
    
    Ca'nt remember the name of the film but seem to recall seeing them
    in some disaster movie (bomb in a fairground or some such rubbish).
    They were playing *live*, maybe.
    
    - Paul -

    RE: -1
    
    Yes, I've seen this film too - done at one of the theme parks in
    California I think.  Can't recall who was in the film, but they
    did show a fair bit of Sparks playin' outdoors, in front of a roller
    coaster!! I think it was a film made for T.V. too.
    
    David.
    

    Could it have been a film called "Rad"?

    When i was younger i bought BEAT THE CLOCK
    Have you ever heard the extended version on the
    B side of the 12" single.
    Well one day when i was bored(a long time ago)
    I counted the number of times they said You gotta beat the clock
    You gotta beat the clock and it come to something like 250 times
    in a 4.5 minutes.
    
     Bet that took some doing I wonder if its a record???????
    
                               ..........jon
    

    re: movie

    The movie they appeared in was "Rollercoaster", and was about
    a terrorist type person who was going to bomb a rollercoaster. It
    was one of those "Sensurround" movies, which meant that when the 
    rollercoaster went by on the screen the sound was loud enough to
    vibrate your seat. I actually paid to see this movie in a theatre.

    Sparks was the band playing at the grand opening of the amusement park
    which contained the target coaster. The stuff they were playing was from
    the "Big Beat" LP.

    re: 19,
    
    I agree, Ron's lyrics are really clever. i like also how they mix
    the sound of the RMI piano with the guitars ect. especially on
    "Thank god it's not Christmas". i really like the keyboard work
    on that one. i also enjoy the cliche guitars and bass on Komono
    My House. Its sorta like a blend of Queen, A polka band and Marlena
    Deitric ( i cant spell it), and Opera.
    
    j

    Probably no one reads notes this old.....but I just found this file..
    
    I really liked Sparks, particularly the album "Just A Couple of Guys
    From Outer Space." I saw them live at the Greek Theater here in L.A.
    in about '84.The highlight of the concert was Russel Mael doing
    a striptease down to a G-string, and then putting on a Hawaiian
    grass skirt. The show had sort of a tropical theme...
    
    I really thought Sparks had the potential to become another B-52's,
    because they have the ability to write hilarious songs that also
    had very catchy melodies.     
    
    "I have a real ugly Mom, and a real ugly Dad,
    When I was in high school, I majored in looking real bad."
    
    "I went to Balboa Island, to lay in the sand,
    I may be ugly as sin, but at least now I'm tan.
    
                                                              
    from "I Wished I Looked A Little Better." 
    
    -roger