Ron blown away by The Ronettes!
A Cute Candidate
The crack French animation team of Kuntzel + Deygas, frequent Sparks collaborators, enlisted Ron and Russell to write the music for their short film, 'A Cute Candidate'. The film tells the story of an animated character who becomes so popular that 'he' is persuaded to run for political office, to dark, dangerous, and possibly demonic, effect; and mixes live-action with the virtuoso animation Sparks fans have seen in the videos for 'The No. 1 Song In Heaven' and "The Calm Before The Storm".Olivier, Florence, and company literally applauded the end result when they ran the film in their workshop. All agreed that Sparks had managed the amazing task of clarifying and amplifying the nuances of the film's story through their music, all the more remarkable since its dialogue is in a language other than the guys' native one (although they are practically honorary French citizens by now.) The film has entered
|
At the Shephards Bush concert, this 5 track single was for sale.
Track list:
On the same CD, there is also a short animated movie in Quicktime format: Winney and Loosey cartoon (1920 uncensored version), written and directed by Kuntzel+Deygas, animated by Agnès Fauve. (p) 1999 Lift-Off Productions Inc. |
(info from the Official Fanclub Newsletter with additional info from (in fact: completely quoted) Francis Treadway)
Glam Rock All Stars
Alias for Bob Bradbury, former lead singer of "Hello", recorded a lot of "mega mix" CD's since 1997. On one of these CD's ("Glamtastic") you can hear his sad attempt of "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us", directly followed by "Amateur Hour", squeezed inbetween "Elected" and "Virginia Plain".(Info from Jan Artl)
Smith & Mighty
Dance/techno act, recorded a track "Too Late" in the early 90's which makes heavily use of the piano theme of "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us".(Info from Jan Artl)
Dean Menta
Guitar player of Faith No More, joined Sparks in "Lil Beethoven" and played with them on Sparks' 2002 London concert.Billie Ray Martin
German/English singer, former singer of Electribe 101, passed away a couple of years ago.Opened for Sparks at their 1994 London Shephards Bush concert. Did a studio session with Sparks for their 'Plagiarism'. album. During this session they recorded "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us" and "Hear No Evil, See No Evil". Both tracks are still unreleased.
More info about Billie Ray Martin at
http://personal.inet.fi/musiikki/brm/html/BRM-hello.html
(Info from J.P.)
Mark Burgess and Yves Altana
released their version of "Moon Over Kentucky" on their 1995 "Sin" CD and "Hollin High" single.The single and album were put out in 1995 on the Dead Dead Good label - Good32cd is the catalog number.
Sparks are one of Mark's major influences, and they even wrote a note at the bottom of the single: "The original version of 'Moon over Kentucky' can be found along with other bursts of brilliance on the album 'Sparks - a Woofer in Tweeters Clothing'".
(info from Rand)
Andreas Dorau
German underground pop hero, has used the middle instrumental part of "Slowboat" to extend his own song "Der Wasserflow". It was released on his early 90's CD "Ärger mit der Unsterblichkeit".(info from Gerald Wrede)
You can find Andreas' records on the Atatak label.
Picky Picnic
Japanese wave combo, released their version of "Do Re Mi" on a German sampler on the Atatak label.(Info from Gerald Wrede, and according him: Picky Picnic has recorded more Sparks covers than only this one)
Jacques Tati
Famous french movie director/producer/actor (1908-1982) planned in 1974 to make a movie titled "confusion" with the Mael brothers as the main actors; the project failed because of Jacques Tati's bankruptcy.(info from Christian Bouchard)
Bijou
French popgroup (initially labelled "punk"), made 6 LPs between 1977 and 1981, their third one "Pas Dormir" (1979) produced by Ron and Russell Mael.(info from Christian Bouchard)
More info about Bijou at http://www.trouserpress.com/bandpages/BIJOU.html
Sparks O'Rama
Gathering of large groups of Sparks fans.Read anything about previous Sparks-O-Rama's at Stephen Hendrie's website
Karl Kuenning
Former roadie of Sparks (& many others) at several occasions. Has written a (virtual) book about his life as a roadie: "ROADIE - A TRUE STORY (at least the parts I remember)" where (a.o.) he tells the true story about Ron Mael's Piano Stool Act.Karl was so kind to give us permission to use this particular excerpt from his book for this website, which you can find in our "High C" department.
More stories about his life as a roadie are available on his own (excellent!) website www.roadie.net
Page
A swedish band called Page with Eddie Bengtsson from S.P.O.C.K. has made a Swedish version of "Reinforcements", in Swedish called "Ge mej forstarkning". It was released as song number two on a CD-single in 1996.Page also recorded a song, as a B-side, called "Lyssna på din mamma" (Listen to your mother). This song is VERY influenced by "Talent is an asset" and has sampled the drums from that song.
(info from Sverker Haraldsson,
Bengt Nilsson and Hans Jonsson)
Chinese Detectives
Norwegian band, will release their version of "All You Ever Think About Is Sex" on their album "Are Kisses Out Of Fashion ?"On this album they pay tribute to a lot of great 80's acts, and Sparks are one of the bands featured!!
More info at
http://www.planetrecords.no
(info from Per @REMOVETHISPART2REDUCESPAMksel Lundgreen)
Serge Gainsbourg
Legendary French composer/poet/singer/actor/novelist/bon vivant (1928-1991).For the english translation of his one and only book "Evguenie Sokolov" (1980), Russell Mael was kind enough to write an afterword.
The book is published by TamTam Books, Los Angeles, California in 1998.
ISBN 0966234618 (also available from
amazon.com)
(info from Tosh Berman)
R. Stevie Moore
American artist, recorded several years ago his version of "Fletcher Honorama" which is also (recently) released on his CD "The Future Is Worse Than The Past" on the German Pink Lemon label, 1999.
Paradoxically, although RSM generally plays *all* instruments on many of his recordings, on this one, Andy Charneco played all instruments, & RSM sang.
He also released a hard rock version of
"Here Comes Bob" in 1994, with Krystyna Olsiewicz.
This track is released on cassette albums WHO CARES, rsmcc label NJ204 (1994),
vocal & instrumental versions; and UNPOPULAR SINGER, rsmcc NJ203.
Both tracks also appear on the Fan Mael Amateur Hour Sparks Tribute (Double)CD !
Recently Stevie also added
"The Decline And Fall Of Me"
to his live setlist, and a song called "Mael Intuition", a new original composition by Stevie himself.
A live acoustic version of "The Decline And Fall Of Me" recorded at the
Mercury Lounge in NYC is slated for inclusion on R. Stevie's upcoming 2CDR set,
"I'LL SAY IT'S MY FAULT", on his own CDRSM label.
Trivia: his 1983 tape NJ100(!) is a lo-lo-fi C60 called... amateur hour! and
Latest news: his first (very Sparkish) album "Phonography" (1976) has just been reissued on CD:
it can be obtained from: Wayside Music, P.O.Box 8427, Silver Spring MD 20907 USA, us$12 + $3.50 s&h
Mo(o)re trivia: Stevie's father Bob plays the fabulous bass intro of Roger Miller's #1 hit "King Of The Road".
And speaking of the king, his father was also Elvis' studio bassist from 1958-1968!!! And speakin' of the Maels,
Presley shouts "sock it to me one time!" to his dad (slapped upright solo) in the middle of "U.S. Male".
More info about R. Stevie on his website: http://www.rsteviemoore.com.
(info from Colin Gordon Black,
Irwin Chusid and
R. Stevie Moore himself.)
(info from
Dario Western)
French singer, recorded an album
'Suite Sixtine'
with 6 tracks with lyrics by Ron & Russell.
Had international hits with "Le Banana Split" (later called "Marie Antoinette" on the "Suite Sixtine" album) and "Amoureux Solitair" (both 1980).
Her first album was produced by the guys from
Telex, who also worked with the Maels.
More info can be found at
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/5963/liindexj.htm
Thanks to Steve Boyce for some additional info
Former member of "Inner City Unit" (Vox + Guitar), and a friend of
Tony Visconti.
After Tony couldn't find any website related to Sparks, Steve decided to create the first and original Sparks website.
He recently (Jan. 03, 1999) decided to discontinue this website, mainly due to a lack of interest from the Sparks HQ.
We still want to thank Steve for all his effort he has put into this website, which was a good starting point
for all Sparks fans all over the world (most members of the
mael-list
have gotten there because of Steve's site !).
We may also mention that Steve's site was our lightning example !
Steve is still alive and kicking,
check his website !
She has written a very impressive Sparks description in the sleeve inlay of
'Plagiarism'.
Amongst many other interesting facts, this story (in fact it's literature) contains the truth w.r.t.
"Heather".
The story is supposed to come "From the forthcoming Sparks biography, 'A Song That Sings Itself'".
Official release date for this authorized biography is now set for early 2000, so put already some money apart in order to buy this book - it must become a bestseller !
The book will be published by TamTam Books, Los Angeles California.
Amelia can also be heard: she does the narration on
"Scheherazade".
She has written a very impressive Sparks description (under the nom de plume Amelia Keaton-Welles) in the sleeve inlay of
'Plagiarism'.
Amongst many other interesting facts, this story (in fact it's literature) contains the truth w.r.t.
"Heather".
The story is supposed to come "From the forthcoming Sparks biography, 'A Song That Sings Itself'".
Official release date for this authorized biography is now set for early 2000, so put already some money apart in order to buy this book - it must become a bestseller !
The book will be published by TamTam Books, Los Angeles California.
Amelia can also be heard: she does the narration on
"Scheherazade".
Was married to
Tony Visconti
and in those days she contributed to two demo recordings Sparks made in the
'Indiscreet' period:
'Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth' and
'Quote Unquote'.
On their mid-1980's bootleg-LP "Blue Monday", bootlegged by an employee of Chicago's Wax Trax!
records (store) they performed
"When I'm With You".
Lots of links, pick
your own.
(info from
Harry Young)
Thanks to Sven Gusevik
More info here.
Did pre-production work for
"Big Beat".
During this sessions at least 3 demos were recorded:
"Big Boy",
"Everybody's Stupid",
and
"I Want To Be Like Everybody Else".
Ronson met
Hilly Michaels
when he was with Sparks
and later employed him for the Hunter-Ronson band in 1979 - 80. Ronson was
also asked to join Sparks at the time - but declined.
Thanks to Sven Gusevik
More info here.
Played drums and percussion on Sparks
1997 UK concerts and Sparks most recent
Hollywood Key Club concert.
As mentioned in a recent interview,
she still seems to be part of the Sparks unit (also to be heard on Sparks next album).
Apart from being Sparks drummer, she plays the (double) drums in Chewy Marble, having released an album with the same name in 1997.
Other members of Chewy Marble are Brian Kassan, Stu Forman, and Derrick Anderson.
More info about Chewy Marble at their official website.
Founding father (well... brother), composer and singer of Sparks.
Born October 5, 1953 (public records say 1948) in Santa Monica, California.
Attended seminars for budding film directors, with as result a Bachelor degree in filmmaking from UCLA.
Not so wellknown, but he also played bass on the
Halfnelson demo LP.
Famous quote about his brother
Ron: "I'm not a genius, but my brother is"
Only known fact about his private life (except his family ties): he has a (very!) special relationship with
"Heather".
Was one of the very early 1970's New York based crowd of Sparks fans and a friend of
Joseph Fleury.
thanks Chris Devonshire-Ellis
for the additional trivia
Founding father (well... brother), main composer and keyboard player of Sparks, also known as the 'Genius'.
Born August 12, 1948 (public records say 1945) in Culver City, California.
Studied graphic designs at UCLA, had exhibitions with his photographic artwork.
Apart from his artwork for most of Sparks records, Ron is also mentioned on
Todd Rundgren's
LP "Runt - The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren"; he is mentioned for his "inside photographs and design".
Famous quote from his brother
Russell: "I'm not a genius, but my brother is"
Don't know if it is the same Larry, but a Larry Wilson seems now to be married to
Christi Haydon.
"Beetlejuice" info from Chris Devonshire-Ellis
More info here.
Thanks to Thomas Carlsson
Former bass player of Halfnelson/Sparks. Before Halfnelson he played in "Three Day Blues".
Later member of 'Concrete Blonde'. Still in the business.
Earle Mankey (guitars and vocals) met the Maels presumably in 1967, after either of them responded to an ad (we are still puzzled who actually did place the ad). Apart from being a guitarist, Mankey was a wizard of sound effects.
He has a degree in engineering from UCLA.
Together with the Maels, Mankey must have made dozens of home recordings during the late 60's. At least one of them, the
"A Woofer In Tweeter's Clothing" demo
turned up recently, with Earle singing on
"Big Rock Candy Mountain".
After the Maels went to England in 1973, Earle Mankey stayed in Los Angeles and became second engineer at the Beach Boys Studios. From there on, he made a career as a producer and recorded some songs by himself.
These songs have recently been re-released on CD by
Frigidisk.
The last time he worked together with the Maels was during the recording of
"England", a song that appeared on the B-side of the singles
"I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and
"I Like Girls", both released in 1976.
He co-produced this song with the Maels.
Earle Mankey is still out there producing albums, for bands like The Pop, The Runaways,
Concrete Blonde (with brother
Jim Mankey)
and more recently, Kristian Hoffman's solo album, "Earthquake Weather", on which he is playing guitar as well.
Thanks to David Anderson for most trivia.
(So Important) USA TV-host, best known for 'American Bandstand'. Got Sparks several times in his show, and welcomed them back after their UK period.
Dick also hosted a TV-show in the 80's called "PUTTIN ON THE HITS", it featured imposters dressed and performing "ANGST IN MY PANTS", absolutely THE BEST SPARKS IMPERSONATION AROUND!!!
Feinstein is still living in Los Angeles where he is working as an attorney. He still plays some now and then in a band with other attorneys: The Associates.
We had a Fan Mael Exclusive interview with Harley which can be found
here.
Michaels was the drummer of Sparks during the recording of
"Big Beat".
He was also part of the band that backed up the Maels during their American tour at the end of 1976.
After Sparks he played in the Hunter-Ronson band in 1979-80 (see also:
Mick Ronson).
Michaels also released at least two albums himself,
of which "Calling All Girls" was the most successful.
Another Sparks connection: he was married at one time to
Marianne Faithfull.
thanks Chris Devonshire-Ellis
for the additional trivia
Played in Sparks on occasional live gigs during the
"Big Beat"
period.
Played in Sparks on occasional live gigs during the
"Big Beat"
period.
Played in Sparks on occasional live gigs during the
"Big Beat"
period.
Former bass-player of Sparks in the British
"Propaganda" /
"Indiscreet" era.
Prior to Sparks, he did sessions with various folks in various places, and was a member of
Jook, along with
Trevor White.
Later on, he ran a guesthouse in Wales, now run by his wife.
At the moment he is a technical support manager with a major I.T. oursourcing
company in London.
Dinky Diamond (real name: Norman Diamond) was recruited as part of Sparks' British band in 1973, after the Maels had arrived in England. He played drums on three albums and was fired with the rest of the band
(Trevor White and
Ian Hampton) in 1976, when
the Maels returned to Los Angeles to form a new band to record
"Big Beat".
Out of the three original members recruited by Sparks in 1973, Diamond was the only one who was not fired preliminary.
It was said that, apart from being one of the world's greatest rock 'n roll drummers, Diamond was also a very good dancer and in
1975, there were rumours of him releasing an instruction book on dancing, titled: "Dinky Diamond's Dance Diagrams". We, however have never come across this book.
(Note CvB: this was definitely only a rumour, just for PR reasons, definitely not true)
With
John Hewlett,
Trevor White
and (then ex-Dickie) Chuck Wagon he took part in the 1981
Four Squares project.
We just heard that Dinky passed away on 10th September 2004.
Dinky is sadly missed by his loving partner Jane, sisters Maureen, Daphne, Margaret and brother David, their families and all friends.
Has also played with Devo.
First British Punk/Garage-band, founded by Ray & Dave Davies.
Rumour was that Russell Mael added his falsetto to their single 'Waterloo Sunset' (1967) - not true: debunked by Russell, Nov. 1999.
At least Ray is still active, now especially as a talking writer - check his latest album, you'll like it !
For a free subscription, simply surf to:
http://kuci.org/mailman/listinfo/mael-list
For specific info, please contact the owner of the list:
Ned Raggett.
There is even an Official Fanclub:
Send a self addressed (stamped) envelope with 15 US dollars to
Covergirl on the single and 12" of
'All You Ever Think About Is Sex',
also member of Wilson Phillips.
More info and pics at the
Wilson Phillips homepage.
Also a 12" exists with Dancing Is Dangerous /
The Night They Invented Love.
Born : Lafayette,Louisiana.
The last thing heard from her was the album "Peer Pressure" from 1982. Has nothing to do with the dance-hit "Silent Morning", that was a Cuban man with the same name.
She's now a mom, and lives in Southern California
(Additional info from Stephen Lennon)
He is also somehow connected to
John's Children
and did the management of 'Milk n Cookies'.
Was also a friend of
Sal Maida.
Died of Aids in 1990.
Got special thanks from Ron & Russell in the inlay of the 'Profile' CD-set for being there from the beginning.
thanks Chris Devonshire-Ellis
for the additional trivia
Hey Ho, Let's Go (let me sniff some glue) !
One of the first American 'Punk'-bands, while they only played Rock and Roll !
A big hit in the 80's (Rock'n'Roll Highschool - produced by Phil Spector !), split up in 1995, came back in 1996 for Lollapalooza - but that was it... (pity, was one of my alltime favourites, especially the first albums, was live sensational - CvB)
Russell sings in the background on their "Pleasant Dreams" album (1981).
There is also a video of the Ramones song "Something To Believe In" where Sparks appeared.
The song was a spoof on all th aid records at the time, this was for "Ramones Aid", looking for people
to join it. Ron & Russ appeared, with Russ saying "Hi, We're Sparks, and (nodding at Ron with a leer) HE's in it".
Joey Ramone tried to convince the other members to do a version of Sparks'
"Nothing To Do",
but alas...
Lots of links, pick
your own.
thanks Chris Devonshire-Ellis
for the trivia
Cook (now dead) was recording the followup to the infamous (and very rude & funny) "Derek & Clive Live" LP
with Dudley Moore, which was something of a comedy classic, at Virgin.
Probably Ron and Russell were fans, met them at Virgin and these two pieces of nonsense resulted.
info from Chris Devonshire-Ellis
Finitribe also did the "National Crime Awareness Week" remixes.
info from Chris Devonshire-Ellis
Last info: this movie has become available on DVD
(info from Sparks58)
The french title of the movie is "Piege a Hong Kong"
More info about the tracks at the
"unreleased" section
of this website.
Original name Xu Wen Guang, born in Vietnam, 1951.
Ron & Russell composed one (or two) track(s) for his
'Knock Off'
movie (1998), not credited as Sparks but under their own names.
also composed (and recorded !) for the never finished production
"'Mai, The Psychic Girl".
They also made a song
(Tsui Hark)
about him on
"Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins".
More info about Tsui Hark
here and (even more)
there.
British singer, former girlfriend of Mick Jagger (the rolling one). Best known for 'As Tears Go By' (1967), the songs the
Rolling Stones wrote about her (most famously "Wild Horses" and "Sister Morphine") and the "Mars Bar" incident.
Made some nice albums (recommend 'Broken English' - CvB) since then.
Recently released some albums with Bertold Brecht compositions.
Story goes that 'I wanna hold your hand' was supposed to be recorded as a duet with Marianne.
There is also a known demo-recording she made with Sparks:
"Room For Two".
Another Sparks connection: she was married at one time to
Hilly Boy Michaels.
thanks Chris Devonshire-Ellis
for the additional trivia
Never released musical by Ron & Russell, based on Kazuya Kudo & Ryoichi Ikegami's manga comics, supposed to be directed by
Tsui Hark.
Rumour was that Francis Ford Coppola and Tim Burton were trying to get a movie done, with Winona Ryder tipped to play the heroine (no idea if this also included Ron & Russell - CvB).
The comic series are available through Virgin Books in London. Presumed tracks for the aborted
project have been showing up as b-sides:
"The Great Leap Forward",
"Pink Panda", and even
"The Big Brass Ring" (Plagiarism version)
cribs from the score outtakes.
Recently more titles have been discovered, check the unreleased section in "Pulling Rabbits" on this site.
Lots of info about Mai,
make your own choice.
Thanks for additional info to Chris Devonshire-Ellis
Member of
Depeche Mode, recorded
'Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth'
on his solo album "Counterfeit" (1989). Another full Depeche Mode version of the same song has been released amongst their fans on flexidisk.
(According Gerald Wrede/Max Goldt: Martin Gore has recorded more Sparks covers than only this one)
Called "Whomp That Sucker" the best album of 1982,
and he called Russell "The most fanciable human being"...
From the book "Depeche Mode - a biography by Steve Malins" ISBN 0-233-99425-4
More info about Martin on the
Depeche Mode official website.
British band, co-founded by Vince Clark
(now Erasure).
The band occasionally plays/played
'Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth'
live. A recording of this song has been distributed amongst their fans on flexidisk.
Martin Gore,
member of the band, recorded the song for his solo album "Counterfeit" (1989).
From the book "Depeche Mode - a biography by Steve Malins" ISBN 0-233-99425-4
More info on the
Depeche Mode official website.
Band of Vince Clark (who also co-founded
Depeche Mode)
and Andy Bell, played with Sparks on
'Amateur Hour' on the
'Plagiarism' album.
Vince Clark also did a remix of
'When Do I Get To Sing My Way'.
The band is especially succesful in the U.K.
Lots of additional info,
make your own choice.
British band, 1976-1996.
Has recorded their own version of
"This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us"
for their album "Through The Looking Glass" (1987).
Lots of additional info,
make your own choice.
Adrian Fisher played guitars on Sparks' first Island albums
"Kimono My House" and
"Propaganda".
He was chosen after an audition that Sparks had arranged through advertisements in the "Melody Maker". Long-time Sparks fan
Derek Paice
happened to be at that audition and saw
him being hired as the last member of the British band. Prior to this,
Dinky Diamond
(drums) and
Martin Gordon
(bass guitar) had already been selected by the Maels.
Fisher was axed by the Maels shortly after the recordings of
"Propaganda"
due to the fact that he was too prominent in his opinion and wanted to have a saying in the direction of music that Sparks should go into.
He played live with Sparks during the "Kimono My House" tour.
Before Sparks, Adrian played in a band called Toby (1971 - with Andy Fraser - from Free - and Stan SPeake),
and was also involved in Skid Row - Gary Moore's group.
Toby recorded an (unreleased!) album, tracks were:
According reliable sources, it was Adrian Fisher who learned Eric Clapton how to play the blues(!)
After Sparks, Adrian joined a band called "Boxer" (with Mike Patto), which made one album "Absolutely" - a must for people who enjoy Adrian's guitar work!
Also in this "after Sparks" period, he joined Andy Fraser again in a band called "Sharks"... (on Island Records...)
Later, Adrian Fisher was living in Thailand were he was playing music at local venues.
Just in case you haven't heard. His niece phoned a UK
talk show last week - sounded quite emotional. He hinted
that lifestyle/drugs may have contributed to death.
Martin Gordon:
Chris Townson:
Ian Hampton:
Adrian .... The best axeman I've ever had the privilege to work with.
May I relate this short story to Sparks fans??
After a wonderful Sparks concert in Paris in 1974, we all retired back
to the Hotel George V, which at the time, was the most opulent hotel
in France. If not in the world.
ADE, The sun has a much smaller hat now.
We wish Adrian's family and friends all the strength they need to bear this loss.
info about "Boxer" from Chris Devonshire-Ellis
More info at
http://www.grooveaddicts.com.
Lots of additional info,
make your own choice.
His wife Sally was/is a long time friend of Bob Dylans ex-wife Sara.
We have no information on the present whereabouts of Mr. Grossman.
Bob Haag was an original member of
Bates Motel
before he was recruited by the Maels to join them in Sparks. Haag appears on not less than five albums. Apart from playing the guitar, he also did some background vocals on some of
During live concerts he often lent his vocals to support Russell. An excellent example of this was the acapella live version of
Propaganda"
from the early 80's, which came very close to the original album version. Haag later formed
Gleaming Spires
with Les Bohem
and David Kendrick.
More info and links: now active in 'Speed Limit'.
They have released 2 albums ("Songs Of The Spires" and "Walk on Well Lighted Streets") and a few singles.
They can also be found at the
"Bad Manners"
soundtrack performing the Ron & Russell song
"It's Kinda Like The Movies".
A little more info at http://www.nucast.com/artists/gleamingspires.htm
Also produced New Edition and Kim Wilde.
Catherine Ringer and Fred Chichin are the founding members of 'Les Rita Mitsouko'.
They recorded three songs (co-)written with Ron & Russell for their
'Marc & Robert' album:
'Hip Kit',
'Singing In The Shower' and
'Live In Las Vegas'.
This album was produced by
Tony Visconti.
There is also a remix-album with
'Hip Kit' and
'Singing In The Shower' called
'Les Rita (Re) Mitsouko'.
There is also a CD called "taratata - the duos" with a live version of "Singing In The Shower".
Try to see the video-clip of
'Singing In The Shower': a completely other mix.
Also a live performance for French TV is known with Russell as guest.
More info at http://france.lang.uiuc.edu/CCV/MNFF/mnff/mnff2/ritam.html,
http://perso.cybercable.fr/systemed/
and the official site
http://www.ritamitsouko.org
For anyone more interested in the glorious past of Catherine Ringer, check
this
for her movies
or
this
for her appearances in the magazines.
(Lots of thanks to Christophe Horlin and Benoit de Fleurac)
American Band - Rick Nielsen, Tom Petersson, Bun E. Carlos, Robin Zander. Most famous album 'Live At The Budokan'.
Rumour was that Rick Nielsen
(the first one), was supposed to produce
'Whomp That Sucker'
but didn't do it because of cash problems..
Known fact: Russell sings in the background on the song "You Drive I'll Steer" from their "Busted" album (1990).
Lots of additional info,
make your own choice.
The first time Christi Haydon is mentioned in connection with Sparks, is on the sleeve of
"Interior Design".
She was the photographer then. During the live concerts in Europe in 1994 and 1995, she was a prominent part of Sparks as a percussionist and backing vocalist.
The Maels wrote at least one song for her;
"Katherine Hepburn"
in which she sang, which was often part of the set list as well (also 'Holiday', the old Bee Gees gem).
It is a fact that "Katherine Hepburn" has been recorded as it was broadcasted once on the English television at a breakfast show called "It's Bizarre". For the same TV show, another song
was announced in the TV guide: "Titanic". The official Sparks newsletter also mentions the recording of "Boris The Spider" (an original Who song) done in a very urgent 1997 electronica fashion.
Rumours are that the Maels wrote and recorded a complete album for her but until now,
nothing has been released.
According to Christi herself, she was discovered by the Maels while she was working at a perfume shop in Los Angeles. The Maels were immediately impressed by her personality and looks.
During the last concerts (1997) in England, Christi was replaced by another young female percussionist;
Tamera Glover.
There has been made no official announcement as to the reason of Christi's replacement.
Also known fact: Christi played a Klingon in the 'Star Trek Next Generation' TV-series !
Latest news: At the Sparks "Live in London 1999" video/DVD there is a special thanks to
Christi Haydon-Wilson and a guy named
Larry Wilson.
And that's all we know..
("Titanic" info from Stephen Lennon, Simon Majury and Jan Artl, "1999 video" info from Viitala Antero.)
Douglas Benford is the founder of the "Suburbs Of Hell" label, and makes music as well.
To keep this Sparks related:
Si-{cut}.db - "February Sleeper", "Back In The Same"
Trivia: answering machine sample on "Back In The Same" is Russell Mael of Sparks.
More info about Douglas Benford here.
More info about Eater here.
The latter also on single, the wellknown title, CANS003 UK.
Supplied by SUFCLOWN@REMOVETHISPART2REDUCESPAMaol.com
Supplied by Bart van den Hoogen
Peter Oxendale is a keyboard player who was intended to play with Sparks during their live tours in Britain but never actually made it to the stage.
In 1975, he formed
Jet
with ex-Sparks member
Martin Gordon.
Other members were Andy Ellison (vocals,
ex-John's Children),
Ian McLeod (guitar, ex-The Nice) and Chris Townson (guitar, ex-The Nice/The Who).
Jet made one album on which the influence of the Maels are remarkably present.
After disappointing sales, the band was dismantled and Ellison, McLeod and Gordon reformed a band called
Radio Stars,
which had some moderate success in the UK. The current whereabouts of Peter Oxendale are not known to us.
After Jet, Oxendale joined the Glitter Band and a band called Overnight Angels in the late 70's.
He released an album in 1979 with Gerry Shephard of the Glitter Band titled "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is".
There is a Peter Oxendale mentioned as Alison Moyet co-producer on "The Conventry Carol" but we are not certain whether this is the same person. The same accounts for a Mr. Peter Oxendale who played keyboards during a 1990 album and tour with "Dead or
Alive" and a 1997 concert of Chris De Burgh in
Bristol, but we have no confirmation of it being him. Finally, there is a Mr. Peter Oxendale registered as being a Forensic Musicologist in London and we have contacted this gentleman to find out whether it is the same person. If so, there will be an
update.
Rumoured to have played the keyboards on
'Kimono My House'
and
'Propaganda',
for the parts that were too tricky for Ron -
but that rumour has been heavily 'debunked' by
"Heather".
("Dead or Alive" info from
David Gibson)
("Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is" info from
Andy Chamberlain)
Russell: "I was up for the role of the lead character in the film, but after seeing the movie, I was quite happy that they gave the part to Malcolm McDowell.
It was no 'Clockwork Orange'."
More info about the movie here.
Another flick where Ron & Russ made a song for
("Armies Of The Night").
Russell: "Originally recorded for the film 'Fright night', another one of those horror films that makes Francis Ford Coppola's 'Dracula' look better and better by the minute."
More info about the movie here.
More info about the movie here.
More info about the movie here.
Alias used by a not-to-be-named-person for a subscription on the
mael-list.
Almost kicked out due to "her" behaving.
Strange fact: the emailaddress used for Heather's subscription is still in use - there's a lurker...)
Known songs: More info about the movie here.
They made at least two albums, "Christopher Milk" and "Some People Will Drink Anything", the last one produced by Chris Thomas (Roxy Music fame) and released by Warner Brothers.
Morrissey is one of the current (sub)mega stars that have mentioned the influence of the Maels on a number of occasions. In the early part of the 90's, Ron and Russell wrote some
songs for him to record with Sparks which were sent to him on a tape.
Morrissey never reacted to that other than the remark that Russell's voice sounded better than ever. Most probably, Morrissey was more impressed by the impact Sparks created during
the first half of the 70's (Morrissey's teenage years) and was he not
all that charmed by the kind of music that Sparks produced at a later stage.
In the biography "Morrissey & Marr - The Severed Alliance", author Johnny Rogan finds evidence of Morrissey's first fascination for the Maels, as is indicated on page 74: The letters' editor, Charles Shaar Murray, could not resist gently mocking Morrissey's enthusiasm with a reply of equal length. He concluded sarcastically:
The eyes of Mr. Morrissey gleam with a missionary zeal that shames into submission the cringing
doubts of those yet unconvinced."
It was said, that Morrissey was one of the celebrity guests upstairs during Sparks' come back concert at the Shepherds Bush Empire in 1994.
Sure he was at the Nov. 14, 1998 Hollywood Key Club concert !
More info here.
British musician/singer, lots of hits from the late 60's until the early 90's, made a remarkable comeback
as a singer at funerals, rewriting his own material for these special occasions.
Once lost a bet with
Muff Winwood
about the possibilities that
"This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us"
would ever reach the UK Top 5.
We're now wondering: who could sing on his funeral ?
Too many links to chose from, pick one here.
Impersonated Ron Mael in his videoclip of 'Coming Up'
(thanks denver@REMOVETHISPART2REDUCESPAMcableinet.co.uk).
For the rest: the man did some stuff with George Martin, and was (still is) pretty 'Fab' in those days. Still active in the business.
Lots of links here.
Recently split-up, worked with Sparks for
"Plagiarism",
being long time Sparks' fans, they cooperated on
"This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us" and
"Something For The Girl With Everything".
Mike Bordin - drums
Lots of links here.
From a Q-magazine interview: "Harold could play better than me or
Giorgio
but - and he has a big butt - the songs were more heavily
screened," snarls Ron. "For Terminal Jive we submitted, if you will, 20
songs. Only one passed muster and even then the middle eight was
changed..."
More about The Call at http://users.erols.com/kdrew/call.html. (Thanks to
Robert Barackman)
He's now an award winning directory of industrial films and TV commercials.
More info here.
Jane Wiedlin was running her own Sparks L.A. fanclub, later became singer of
The Go Go's
(also known for the video they made during one of their tours).
Jane can be heard on
"In Outer Space" in
"Cool Places" and
"Lucky Me, Lucky You".
Trivia: it's not really a "cover" as Sparks never recorded it
(as far as we know) but there is a song called
"Yes or No" on the
Go-Gos LP "Talk Show" credited to Wiedlin/Mael/Mael. This was issued in 1984.
Jane also plays on the silver screen.
More info about Jane here, More links about The Go Go's here. Tracks:
More info at Johan's selfsupporting site.
Played later on in "Tuff Darts".
More info here.
Band of
Martin Gordon,
Andy Ellison, Ian McLeod, Chris Townson,
Trevor White,
Peter Oxendale and Andy Ellison, formed after Martin left (got fired) Sparks.
Made an album and some singles for CBS records:
Album:
45s:
The Jet album (with 20(!) bonus tracks can be obtained from our own
Fan Mael Records!!!
In 2000, (on ..my.. request - and expenses...) Jet reformed as "(The legendary) John's Children / Jet / Radio Stars" to do a short tour (London, Berlin and Amsterdam). The result of this tour has been put on a live CD: "Music For The Herd Of Herring" (follow the link below to obtain it!)
More info about Jet (and much more) here.
Before Sparks, he played bass in
John's Children,
and was manager of 'Milk n Cookies', later managed by
Joseph Fleury.
He also managed
Jook
and 'The Dickies'.
With
Trevor White,
Dinky Diamond
and (then ex-Dickie) Chuck Wagon he took part in the 1981
Four Squares project.
Member of the original Halfnelson, later in
Christopher Milk, later a rock-critic, especialized in
The Kinks.
Played with lots of other (also famous) artists.
Thanks Steve Boyce and Christophe Horlin)
The band also featured Marc Bolan for a while.
The band made lots of records, and even reunited (without Bolan I presume - CvB) in 1997 for a one-off gig in London - followed by gigs in San Diego, London, Berlin and Amsterdam.
Lots of info at their official site:here.
Also produced (a.o.) Nina Hagen and Simple Minds.
info about the drumming from Chris Devonshire-Ellis
Did some coverwork for the first 2 Halfnelson/Sparks albums, later also for a Roger McGuinn/Chris Hillman/Gene Clark record ("City", 1980) and The Beatles 20 Hits, 1982.
No clue what he's doing now.
Nice, but shy guy
Active now as a professional screenwriter (a.o. Dante's Peak, Twenty Bucks, Nightmare On Elm Street 5).
He has also written a 10 part Sci-Fi TV series called 'Taken' which airs in
America in December 2002 and will be shown on the BBC early 2003. The
producer is Steven Spielberg.
An interview with Les Bohem can be found at
http://www.wga.org/craft/interview/bohem.html.
Thanks to (Squirrel!) Joey Kline and Neil.
Did also produce Freddie Mercury (with Moroder) for the soundtrack for "Metropolis".
Still pretty active in the business.
Former bass player of Sparks on the Kimono My House album, later member of
'Jet' (in 1975 and in 2000),
'Radio Stars' and "Blue Meanies".
Still playing the odd
John's Children
gig once in a while with Andy Ellison, drummer Chris Townson and
Boz Boorer,
Morissey's
guitarist.
Funny piece of trivia: in John's Children, Martin replaces
John Hewlett, the one who fired him from Sparks...
Martin also runs his own website (see for yourself: very witty, lots of Sparks and Hair...):
http://www.martingordon.de.
Michael Berns
Original manager and fill-in drummer for Halfnelson.
Attended the Nov. 14, 1998 L.A. "Key Club" concert, and had some interesting stories
(will follow soon).
Christian Fry
Christian Fry has been promoted as a teen idol in Australia, and in 1998
he supported vocal soul rock quartet Human Nature on their national
tour (their main hit was "Tellin' Everybody").
In 1997 he released his cover of Sparks'
"When I'm With You"
Aside from that, we don't know all that much about him. He has released a follow-up single but
this time it's not a Sparks cover!
Lio
Steve Pond
Amelia Keaton-Welles
Amelia Keaton-Welles is a nom de plume for Amelia Cone, an L.A. writer who has written for Strobe and huh! magazines in L.A.
Amelia Cone
Amelia Cone is an L.A. writer who has written for Strobe and huh! magazines in L.A.
Mary Hopkin
British singer, had smash hits in the end sixties / early seventies with "Those were the days", "Goodbye" and several others.
New Order
Arosen from the ashes of Joy Division, this English band was one of the founders of modern Dance Music.
Had a big hit with "Blue Monday", still the best selling 12" ever.
They have recently reformed, and have plans for a new album in 1999.
Tom Bahler
Sang background vocals on 'Introducing'.
Brian May
Was asked to join Sparks' band in 1974, just while he started to breakthrough with his own band at that time.
Suppose the rest of the story is known.
Luther Grosvenor a.k.a. Ariel Bender
Was asked to join Sparks' band in 1975, just after he left Mott The Hoople (see also:
Mick Ronson)
Mick Ronson
One of the founding members of Mott The Hoople (see also:
Luther Grosvenor).
Tamera Glover
Spencer Sircombe
Studio musician, guitar on 'Interior Design'
Stan Farber
Sang background vocals on 'Introducing'.
Russell Craig Mael
Sal Maida
Played bass on 'Big Beat'.
Rex the wonder dog
In principle, this is one you should check for yourself at a Sparks concert... but because our beloved MaelBros don't come near you every month: here a sneak preview:
(Picture taken by Rob Morgan from
Poplust Magazine,
at the Hollywood Key Club Concert 1998)
Robert Mache
Studio musician, plays guitar on
'Fingertips' on
'Music That You Can Dance To'
Ron Hicklin
Sang background vocals on 'Introducing'.
Ron David Mael
Reinie Press
Studio musician on 'Introducing'.
Nick Uhrig
Sang background vocals on 'Introducing'.
Mike Porcaro
Studio musician at 'Introducing'.
Moonbaker Abbey
Predecessor of Sparks before Halfnelson
Mark Piscitelli
Sang background vocals on 'Introducing'.
Thom Rotella
Studio musician on 'Introducing'.
Larry Wilson
Screenwriter for USA TV, came with the idea for 'Modesty Blaise', a kind of 'Jane Bond'.
Ron & Russell wrote 'Modesty Plays'
to be the opening song of the TV-series that never became a reality.
Was also involved in the "Beetlejuice" movie.
Mary Jo Kopech(n)e
Russell's been referring to this lady a couple of times. We at FanMael did not know who she was
but
Les Birchal
informed us that it was very likely a
Ms. Kopechne who never returned after a party with the Kennedies.
Lill Lindfors
Released a Swedish version of
'Talent Is An Asset'.
The song 'Albert aer begaavad' is included in an album called
'Fritt Fram' by the swedish singer Lill Lindfors. It was released
1975 and is available on CD at least in Sweden. The music on the
album is 'not' related to any kind of Sparks music. It's only that
particular song.
Jim Mankey
Rumour is he almost wanted to leave Halfnelson/Sparks because of the Troggs song
'Give It To Me'
on their playlist at live performances.
He obviously didn't like that song.
Jimmy Haas
Sang background vocals on 'Introducing'.
Graham Whiffler
Produced some Sparks video's, also known for his video's for 'The Residents'.
Earle Mankey
Ed Greene
Studio musician on 'Introducing'.
David Foster
Studio musician on 'Introducing'.
David Paich
Studio musician on 'Introducing'.
Dick Clark
Info from Rebecca
Harley Feinstein
Harley Feinstein was a member of the original Halfnelson/Sparks band, formed in Los Angeles at the end of the Sixties. He came into contact with the Maels after Russell Mael responded to an ad that Harley had placed, looking for people to jam with.
Rumour is that Feinstein had never played drums before when he joined Halfnelson but according to the Maels, he had. The drumming on the first two Sparks albums is so weird because "the songs were difficult for any drummer to play on." This in fact is not
true.
Hilly Boy Michaels
Luke Zamperini
David Swanson
Jim McAllister
Ian Hampton
Dinky Diamond
David Kendrick
David Kendrick (drums) was an original member of
Bates Motel
before he was recruited by the Maels to join them in Sparks. He played on five studio albums and was last seen with
the Maels as the only member of the original Bates Motel during a
German television show, performing
"Music That You Can Dance To".
He was also the last of the Bates Motel member to join the Maels on a short American tour in 1986. Kendrick later formed
Gleaming Spires
with
Leslie Bohem
and
Bob Haag.
Bohem once described David Kendrick as "the most intellectual drummer in the world".
Gummo Mael
Wrote the liner notes for the compilation
'Mael Intuition'.
Was this "Heather"
again (the sleeve note mentions "no relation") ?
The Kinks
Farmer's Market
Predecessor of Sparks as we know them as Halfnelson
Urban Renewal Project
Predecessor of Sparks before Halfnelson - at least one song recorded:
"Computer Girl" with friends Fred and Ronna Frank.
The MaelList : The Sparks Mailinglist
There is also a Sparks mailinglist on the Internet, called the 'mael-list'. Here you can contact zillions of other Sparks fans,
and get the latest news and gossip about our beloved MaelBros.
The Official Fanclub
Mary Martin (secretary)
P.O. Box 25038
Los Angeles
California
CA 90025
USA
Chynna Phillips
Noel
L.A. based singer, had a single (Dancing Is Dangerous /
I Want A Man)
+ album (Is There More To Life Than Dancing)
written and produced by Ron & Russell in 1979.
First musical experience : In Canada as part of a folk duo.
Was discovered by Sparks while in the band Mick Smiley.
A schoolfriend of Russell's saw them and told him about her.
When the album was released in the UK Virgin sent her on a week long tour of discos begining in Sheffield.
Also worked as a model.
Favourite nightspot ; Studio 1 in LA,a mainly gay venue.
Parents were in the services so she lived in many places while growing up inc.3 yrs. in Europe.
Had no friends in school because she was so tall.
Dressed so strangely her mother was embarrassed to be seen with her!.
Adrian Munsey
British singer, had a single
(C'est Sheep)
written and produced by Ron & Russell in 1979.
Joseph Fleury
One of the oldest Sparks fans, founded the first English fanclub, later Sparks' manager.
Ramones
Some critics called it 'Black And Decker Punk'...
Peter Cook
Buried deep in the run-off groove of the B-sides of the pictures disc 12" singles to
"The No. 1 Song In Heaven" and
"Tryouts For The Human Race"
(Virgin, 1979) are two, separate
"comedy" sketches narrated by Peter Cook, about Sparks use of the Syndrum and it's place in world politics
or some simular rubbish.
Finitribe
Rumoured is that it's Russell's spoken L.A. accent on the track "Forevergreen" from their CD "An Unexpected Treat" (1992).
Rollercoaster
Sparks appeared in this disaster-movie (1977) playing
'Big Boy' and
'Fill Er Up' during their
'Big Beat' period.
RAD
Sparks contributed to the soundtrack of this movie
Valley Girl
Sparks contributed to the soundtrack of this movie (1983), no new tracks.
Knock Off
Ron & Russell Mael composed a couple of track(s) for this 'Jean Claude van Damme' flick (1998, directed by Tsui Hark),
one of them being It's a Knock Off.
(Thanks Ian Beach)
Tsui Hark
Marianne Faithfull
Mai, The Psychic Girl
Martin Gore
(Thanks Jan Artl for the info)
Depeche Mode
(Thanks Jan Artl for the info)
Erasure
Siouxsie And The Banshees
Heaven's Gate
German heavy metal/progressive rock band, recorded their own version of
"This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us"
for their album "Planet E." (1996).
Adrian Fisher
Travelin Man
Now I'm waiting
I dont know
Over and Over
Lorraines cable
Jacobs well
I ain't done yet
john Lesley sweet
209
Goodbye
yes or no
We just (8 May 2000) received the following sad news from Steve Woods:
"In the couple of years that I knew Adrian Fisher, I found him a likeable,
earthy character who called a spade a spade and who stuck his fag on the top
of his guitar regardless of whether it was official policy or otherwise.
Plus he was a GREAT player, as Paul Rodgers knew when he grabbed him for his
solo project. Some of his best recorded moments may well have been replaced
by sneezing, as a certain Mr T. W. mentioned to me recently, but there was
enough of his playing that made it through the rigorous process of selection
for people to appreciate his skill. I had a few emails from him over the
last months - I got in touch when he appeared with an email address - and
they included some reminiscences about the band, both from the time we were
there together and also subsequent days (including a mildly hysterical story
about a cupboard containing a hapless vocalist locked inside it). It was
great to hear from him again and it's ironic that only last week I and other
musicians from our small touring party were talking about Adrian and how fab
it would have been to hook up with him again.".
"Although I didn't know Adrian really well, we did do a couple of projects together before and after Sparks. A great guitarist, a great shame he never really got the recognition he deserved."
"Please publish this as Adrian was a really good friend..
He was the best guitar player I ever knew ..He taught Eric Clapton!!
Not many people know that, but it's true!!
Cheers,
Ian
However, the bar prices were absurd, so we Brits would seek out cheap
places to sup the occasional ale after dark.
On this particular evening, Adrian and I found our Nirvana - Beer - Cheap!
We ended up somewhere on the Isle de la Cite, arms around each other -
from friendship, you understand, not at all for physical support - singing,
among other popular ditties, " The Sun has got His Hat On, Hip Hip Hooray".
It was at this point that we were joined by two young Floridian ladies who
had been at the concert and recognis(z)ed us. Of course, they joined in the
singing. Somewhere close to Notre Dame, the Gendarmerie appeared. They
were not impressed and arrested us. (The girls were sent on their way).
After the police finally believed where we were staying, they released us
both, to a riposte of "vos soleiel nes pa un chapaux" or whatever the French
is for Your Sun doesn't have a hat at all!
See You Soon
Ian
info about Adrian's dead from Steve Woods
additional info about Boxer/Skid Row from Neil Murray
info about the Toby recordings from Richard Costin
Al Capps
Sang background vocals on
'Introducing'.
At the moment active for 'Groove Addicts' productions.
Alan Broadbent
Studio musician on 'Introducing'.
Pretty active now in jazz, has his own trio.
Albert Grossman
Albert Grossman was the owner and president of Bearsville Records (with its own studio in Woodstock), a Warner Brothers company. He was responsible for the change in name from Halfnelson to Sparks in 1972. Halfnelson consisted of two pairs of brothers
(Ron and
Russell Mael,
Earle and
Jim Mankey) and
Harley Feinstein,
and Grossman said that they reminded them of the Marx Brothers. He actually wanted to rename Halfnelson into Sparks Brothers but in the end it was decided only to use the first part of that name.
Bates Motel
Bates Motel (named after the motel in "Psycho"), was a Los Angeles-based band consisting of
Les Bohem (bass guitar/vocals),
David Kendrick (drums),
Bob Haag (guitars/vocals),
Dare Draves (guitars/vocals) and
James Goodwin (keyboards). For the recording
of
"Whomp That Sucker",
Bohem, Kendrick and Haag were hired by the Maels as official members of Sparks.
With these members, Sparks had quite a successful period in their home country during the early part of the 80's. Goodwin later joined in during concerts as a second keyboard player.
Bohem, Kendrick and Haag actually played longer with the Maels than any other backing band. They later formed their own band, named
Gleaming Spires
and released two albums and a few singles. On the first
Gleaming Spires
album, Ron and Russell wrote the
notes on the back sleeve. Don't know if they're still active (I've found a link to a 'Bates Motel' but that surely is another band - CvB).
Ben Benay
Studio musician on 'Introducing'.
Also appeared on records of the Beach Boys (Hey: another
Earle Mankey connection !) and Chicago.
Bob Haag
Gleaming Spires
Band with
Bob Haag,
Les Bohem and
David Kendrick, formed after they stopped working with Sparks.
Bruce Swedien
Producer/technician for Michael Jackson. Had some problems with Ron & Russ' new rhythmbox - proved to be wrong.
Les Rita Mitsouko
Cheap Trick
Christi Haydon
Douglas Benford a.k.a. Si-{cut}.db
(1990 - 1991) Sidecut>>db
(1992 - 1993) Si'cut.db
(1994 - 1998) Si-{cut}.db
(tracks on Just In Time For Too Late compilation)
(c) 1994 Suburbs of Hell - SOH 016
Andy Blade
There is a version of "Without Using Hands" by Andy Blade on his 1994
CD album "From Planet Pop to the Mental Shop", released in the UK on
Creative Man Records (CMCD 007). (Blade is the former lead singer of the late
seventies band Eater.)
Canned Rock
Swedish band, produced an album with a couple of Swedish covers and
a version of "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us".
My Mother's Dream
There is also a version of
"B.C."
done by "My Mother's Dream". Ron and Russell actually loved this version.
The Edit
One that's not known by many is
"This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us"
in a dance version by The Edit. I've been told that it's a dutch band, but I'm not sure. The
b-side (instrumental, without the horrible vocals) is best.
Sir Peter Oxendale
Get Crazy
Another flick (also known as "Flip Out", 1983) where Ron & Russ made a song for
("Get Crazy").
Fright Night
Heavenly Bodies
Another flick (1984) where Ron & Russ made a song for
("Breaking Out Of Prison").
Splashdance
Another flick (Disney) where Ron & Russ made a song for
("Minnie Mouse").
Where The Boys Are
Another flick (1984) where Ron & Russ made a song for
("Mini Skirted").
"Heather"
Some of "her" posts:
To: mael-list@REMOVETHISPART2REDUCESPAMfalco.kuci.uci.edu
To set the record straight from where I stand, bands of the caliber,
quality, and long-standing career of Sparks don't base decisions for their live
presentation on economics as one idiotic letter to the list recently
stated.
GET REAL PAL!!
To hint that Sparks are touring now as a three-piece outfit is being
dictated
by the limits of their budget is a strictly assinine, ill-informed
opinion.
Do you mean to say that if the good ship comes in, then Sparks may have
the
means to add a bass guitar to the show??? GET REAL AGAIN. In case you
hadn't noticed, the band enjoys working with synthesizers, computers,
dance
rhythms---and the band enjoys presenting themselves in a
'non-traditional'
manner such as they are currently doing. If that non-traditional
approach
involves 3 people on stage, 33 people on stage or 3300, Sparks will
probably
do it because for them it would be the most fun and interesting
presentation
they could make at that particular time.
And speaking of assinine comments, the same guy also stated that Sparks, as
'they tend to copy trends' etc. etc. in reference to the fact that he
hopes
that they'll use guitars or whatever the next time he sees them: Tell
me,
tell me precisely when Sparks have EVER copied trends in what they are
doing
musically. If you will recall, it was in 1979 that they started
experimenting with synths and danceable rhythms. At the time this was
an
extremely bold move to make, one which later foreshadowed and influenced
an
entire movement in Pop Music.
This is not following some trend, my dear friend.
The writer of those questionable accusations sounds as though he is some
disgruntled older fan hoping to return to 1972---well wake-up guy, it's
1996--things are changing--Sparks will do what's best for Sparks.
Guitars, no guitars, synths, no synths, 3 people on stage, 5000 people on stage.
Give me a break.
Heather
And I'm under 21
To: mael-list@REMOVETHISPART2REDUCESPAMkuci.uci.edu
To clarify a comment regarding Peter Oxendale.
Peter Oxendale has NEVER played on any, repeat, any Sparks record. So
that
comment regarding him playing the tricky parts on Sparks early Island
recordings is totally incorrect. Ron Mael played ALL of the keyboard
parts
on all of the so-called tricky parts and (non-tricky parts for that
matter,)
on the first two Island albums.
After Kimono was recorded, Peter auditioned for the live touring band
and was
being considered as a 2nd keyboard player for the live band. Yet,
Sparks
decided against a 2nd keyboard player and instead, incorporated Trevor
White
and Ian Hampton on guitar and bass respectively, to replace Adrian
Fisher and
Martin Gordon.
Heather
(And see, I was on my very best behaviour. )
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 19:34:19 -0400
To: mael-list@REMOVETHISPART2REDUCESPAMfalco.kuci.uci.edu
Subject: You Are Wrong
My dear friends.
Ron Mael played EVERYTHING on Kimono My House and Propaganda. Trust me, I
know. Let this be the end to the 'did he or didn't he play' issue. Shame on
you for believing some very uninformed fan's rumor!
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 1996 13:34:09 -0400
To: mael-list@REMOVETHISPART2REDUCESPAMfalco.kuci.uci.edu""
Subject: Trust Me
Muff Winwood is my source for confirmation of the fact that Ron Mael is the
only keyboard player on both 'Kimono' and 'Propaganda.' Muff produced the
albums, for the those of you who don't know. So give this uninformed opinion
a rest, please.
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 1997 15:24:41 -0500 (EST)
To: mael-list@REMOVETHISPART2REDUCESPAMkuci.org
Subject: [mael-list]: No, no , no
Sender: owner-mael-list@REMOVETHISPART2REDUCESPAMav204021-02.reshsg.uci.edu
Reply-To: mael-list@REMOVETHISPART2REDUCESPAMkuci.org
The Maels and Butler didn't fall out. You guys and your rumors. Shame.
They've even recorded a track together, so let's end this one before it
starts.
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Bad Manners (a.k.a. Growing Pains)
Another flick (1984) where Ron & Russ made music for. Never released on LP or CD, however the video can be obtained.
Growing Pains /
Motorcycle Midget /
What You're Wearing (duet with Laurie Bell) /
Screaming a.k.a. Scared (Runnings) /
Riot With Me (performed by Laurie Bell) /
Descended From The Apes (Charlie Sexton) /
Things Can Change Overnight (performed by Adele Bertei) /
It's Kinda Like The Movies (performed by
"Gleaming Spires)" /
Growing Pains (reprise)
Christopher Milk
Christopher Milk was a band from the early 70's by ex-Halfnelson members
John Mendelsohn (drums) and
Surly Ralph Oswald (bass guitar).
Morrissey
"Within months of the Dolls' spectacle, there was another memorable musical event on British television when Sparks
made their debut on Top Of The Pops. The initial sight of Ron Mael's demented eyes, Hitler moustache and slicked-back hair was the most
authentically disturbing yet novel anti-pop image seen in years. Morrissey was intrigued by the visuals and equally impressed by
brother Russ Mael's falsetto vocal on the sparkingly-produced
"This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us".
Young Steven
immediately snapped up the single and seven weeks later purchased the attendant album,
"Kimono My House".
During the first week
of June 1974, he rushed off a letter to the New Musical Express and the following week was astonished to see himself
immortalised in print. He took a copy of the NME to school that week and it was duly passed around the class. The letter
captured Morrissey at his pernickety best, carefully cataloguing tracks with the precision of an egg-timer. He wrote,
"Today I bought the album of the year. I feel I an say this without expecting several letters saying I'm talking rubbish. The album is Kimono My House by Sparks. I bought it on the strength of the single.
Every track is brilliant - although I must name
"Equator",
"Complaints",
"Amateur Hour" and
"Here In Heaven"
as the best tracks, and in that order. Steve Morrissey"
Elton John
Paul McCartney
Faith No More
Roddy Bottum - keyboards
Billy Gould - bass
Jon Hudson - guitar
Mike Patton - vocals
Harold Faltermeyer
German artist/writer/producer, had several hits on his own (a.o. 'Axel F' - Beverly Hills Cop), dictated the production of
'Terminal Jive'.
Has made some other soundtracks as well (a.o. "Thief Of Hearts").
Ian Little
Producer of
'Pulling Rabbits Out Of A Hat'.
Also produced (a.o.) Duran Duran and many others.
James Goodwin
Ex-member of The Call, keyboard player during the Sparks
'Angst In My Pants' period.
Thaddeus James Lowe
Engineer of the
'Halfnelson / Sparks' album, producer of
'A Woofer In Tweeter's Clothing'.
Was also singer of the "Electric Prunes" (hit: "I Had Too Much To Drink Last Night")
Jane Wiedlin / The Go Go's
Johan Johansson
Old swedish punk rocker. Released a CD single with four Sparks covers.
The lyrics are not just translated to swedish. They're completely
changed into some leftist political stuff. I was more than a bit
surprised Ron & Russ allowed such changes.
Det Land Vi Har Aer Stort Nog At Alla Oss (This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us
Ja, Jag Tror Jag Drunknar I Kaerleken Till Mig Sjaelv (Falling In Love With Myself Again
Bygg En Mur Runt Oss Som Har Allting (Something For The Girl With Everything
Kaerlek & Respekt Till Moder Jord (Never Turn Your Back On Mother EarthComments supplied by Anders Wikholm
Jeffrey Salen
Studio musician, guitar player on
'Big Beat'.
Jet
JET (CBS 80699) 1975
My River/Quandary (CBS 3143) 1975
Nothing To Do With Us/Brian Damage (CBS 3317) 1975
John Hewlett
Former Sparks' manager during the Island years. Is introduced to the audience right before 'Hasta Manana Monsieur' on the 'One And A Halfnelson' bootleg.
John Mendelsohn
Lee Ritenour
Studio musician at 'Introducing'.
Played the
'Goofing Off'
riff.
Lenny Roberts
Engineer for 'Introducing'.
John Thomas
Keyboard player of Sparks during the
'Pulling Rabbits' and
'Music That You Can Dance To' period.
Also contributed to
'Interior Design',
'Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins' and
'A Cute Candidate' (honky tonk)
John's Children
Band of
John Hewlett,
Chris Townson and Andy Ellison
before John became Sparks manager during the Island years.
Keith Forsey
Technician / co-producer (and drummer) of
'Number One In Heaven'.
Larry Dupont
First Halfnelson/Sparks manager.
Leslie Bohem
One of the original members of
Bates Motel,
former Sparks member, later in
Gleaming Spires.
Mack
Former engineer working for
Giorgio Moroder,
later active as producer for most of Sparks EuroDisco work.
Martin Gordon
1974
1999
Bernard with Sparks at Shephards Bush 1994