The Visual Splendor of Sparks
Published on March 30th, 2008 in: Issues, Music, New Old Stock, Video | 
“Gabriel plays it, God how he plays it”
4. “Number One Song In Heaven” on Top of the Pops (1979)
Here Ron shows all the haters that his moustache was an homage to Chaplin and not Hitler. Russell’s dancing is outrageously bad but that’s okay because this is one of Sparks greatest tunes (and there are a lot of them).
“Do me right at this ungodly hour”
5 & 6.“Wonder Girl” & “Do Re Mi” on German TV (1972)
Although Russell predates Robin Zander’s three-piece-suit look by at least two years here, the real treat is seeing Ron with afro and eyeliner. Nope, I’m not kidding.
“Maybe it’s those Dacron ties. . . ”
7. “Tips For Teens” on Generation 80 (1980)
Ron looks like he’s about to have an episode and why is Russell wearing white cotton gloves with a tux? The funniest things about this—besides bad lip syncing and Ron’s faces—are Russell’s Tae-Bo moves.
9 Responses to “The Visual Splendor of Sparks”
March 31st, 2008 at 11:22 am
Who likes short shorts?
RUSSELL LIKES SHORT SHORTS! \o/
Bizarrely compelling is right.
March 31st, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Hehe, I’ve tried very hard to think of someone else who could’ve gotten away with (or even tried to get away with) that look, and I’ve consistently been unable to do so.
LLM
April 1st, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Russell looks oddly hot in the first pic from 1976. Hmmmm.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:00 pm
There ain’t nothing odd about it! Though I must say, Ron’s not looking shabby either.
I have a great old issue of Trouser Press with a long interview where Russell and Ron go through all their albums and discuss them. Russell is very wistful about the Big Beat cover. I will get it out of storage and scan it for everyone to enjoy!
LLM
April 1st, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Russell’s dancing = best thing ever
April 14th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I feel so close to the mael brothers. The sense of humour, the fantaisy, the melancholy of some songs really make me feel not alone. They ‘re the best for me. I’m working on a website dedicated to them. To thank them, their songs, their look! I’m just 23 years old, hihi
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:50 pm
[…] warns us to “stop surfing YouTube” (although I have personally found YouTube to be a fantastic source of inspiration), while typographer Erik Speikermann thinks we should “avoid […]
May 28th, 2012 at 2:11 pm
The AB performance mentioned is back up! I think you must search for it just under the song titles…
May 28th, 2012 at 7:08 pm
Thanks Douglas! I did find it again recently and I have it posted here.
https://popshifter.com/2012-04-20/assemblog-less-lee-moore-april-20-2012/
LLM
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