The Visual Splendor of Sparks

“Ron, you’re stealing my look!”

8. “Singing in the Shower” with Les Rita Mitsouko (1988)
It’s a moustache-off! The orange turtleneck and mushroom haircut that Russell sports are more additions to his long list of fashion crimes. This is a fantastic song, though. Ron looks truly scary when he leers into the shower. I know that sounds worse than it is. Okay, maybe it is that bad.

“You mentioned Kant and I was shocked”

9 & 10. “Hasta Manana, Monsieur” & “Thank God It’s Not Christmas” on Don Kirschner’s Rock Concert (1974—part two of three)
In a time when Ringo Starr gets schooled for daring to perform a song longer than two-and-a-half-minutes on an insipid morning talk show, it’s unimaginable that Sparks were allowed to perform six of them back in the day. Perhaps unwittingly, both Russell and Ron seem to have been influenced by the 30s influence on 70s haute couture, with Russell as Katherine Hepburn and Ron as Ronald Colman.

[Sadly, this link was removed right before this issue’s publication date. And this wasn’t the first link removed before this article was completed.—Ed.]

A word on what should be number eleven:

Unfortunately, The Powers That Be have deleted one of my favorite videos ever: Sparks’ appearance on American Bandstand in 1982 to promote two songs from their Angst In My Pants album.

They perform “I Predict” first, and the camera shows Ron in the audience with Dick Clark, clapping like a giddy teenager before running up to the stage to take his place at the keyboards. Afterwards, Clark interviews Russell, who defines the word “angst” as “a German word meaning problems or stress, but in this case, “in the pants region.”

Clark, who shows amused dismay at Ron’s skulking presence, finally approaches him. He asks Ron who is older, referring to the Mael brothers, and Ron quietly responds with, “You are” followed by the most victorious smile I’ve ever seen. The crowd and Clark roar with laughter. The subsequent performance of “Eaten By The Monster of Love” is divine, Russell’s obnoxious sequined suit notwithstanding.

Additional Resources:

Sparks will be playing each of their 21 albums—one per night, in order—at the Carling Academy Islington (London, UK) from May 16 through June 11, 2008. Their latest album, Exotic Creatures of the Deep, will be released on May 19 and will be performed live at Shepherds Bush Empire in London on June 13. For more details, please visit the Official Sparks Website or Sparks on MySpace.

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