By Madeline

PART 1
My first sighting of Sparks was on Don Kirschner's Rock Concert in 1974. They performed songs from Kimono My House, and introduced B.C. as a brand new song from Propaganda. My friend Lisa and I (both age 15) were enamored with them right away. We were struck by Russell's beautiful high voice, long curly hair, big eyes and great looks, and thrown into hysterics by Ron's goofy facial expressions - he was obviously deranged! Although the show was on at 1:00 am, I called Lisa, not caring if I'd wake her parents...this was urgent! We screamed and marveled at these freaks of nature and fell in love. When went to the store the next day to buy Kimono My House, they were loading copies of the new album, Propaganda onto the shelves! Two Sparks albums at once was too much to handle!

I played Kimono and Propaganda repeatedly for an entire summer in my music room, where I'd blast all kinds of Glam rock. But when I first played Sparks, mom came down to ask what that strange music was. It was so obviously and completely different from anything else - even to mom’s ears! I relentlessly played Sparks songs on the living room piano, torturing my entire family until they couldn't get the catchy tunes out of their heads!

There were very few American music magazines in 1974...so it was some time before we found articles about Sparks (who were then based in the UK). Lisa and I were shocked to find that Ron & Russell were brothers! Is there any resemblance at all? Luckily, we saw an ad for their concert at the Academy of Music (now the Palladium) on 14th Street in New York city. We had spent a year writing our own silly autobiographical lyrics to Sparks songs, lampooning our own lives in school and with friends. We'd pick a song and would each re- write the lyrics and trade them off during class. That's why I didn't learn a thing in school. We spent the next few weeks plotting and scheming how to get backstage and meet our idols. We vowed to all of our hippie friends (who couldn't care less) that we would meet Sparks and bring back pictures to prove it - and we did!

My mom and aunt escorted us to the theater. They saw a movie while we went to the concert. Left to our own devices, we had no doubt that we would get backstage to meet our idols Ron & Russell. We had fifth row center seats. The crowd was quite receptive, though not as manic as we were. Russell's voice was as beautiful as it is on record, and the songs were done quickly and flawlessly. Russell wore a light blue jumpsuit and Ron wore brown pants and a white shirt with a tie that said "Ron".

After the show, we went to the backstage area. There was a young man guarding the stairway leading to the dressing room. He was slowly letting people upstairs with passes when suddenly Lisa recognized the guard...he was her summer camp counselor! He immediately led us up the stairway to heaven to meet the Maels! Was this pure luck, or is there a God?!

There was a party of about 20 people with food and drinks, and Linda Blair of The Exorcist was there. Ron and Russell sat alone in a corner while everyone was crowded around the food table, too nervous to approach the diminutive "superstars". We casually began talking to the Maels and they were so nice and very humourous (and emaciated)! They thought we were "cute" ( I looked about 12 when I was 15) which thwarted any plans of a marriage proposal. We took photos together and Russell poured me a drink. We told them our favourite Sparks songs, and Ron said he liked "Roger" from the 1st LP, which is strange because it’s a rare Russell composition! Ron was acting very deadpan and silly and we couldn't tell when he was kidding us or not. Ron gave us a nice sampling of his range of ridiculous facial expressions and cracked us up! His display should have won an award.

We brought Ron & Russell a plate of cookies and sat with them, talking some more. Suddenly, a janitor yells, "Are Madeline and Lisa up there?! Your mother is downstairs!!!" We were stunned with embarrassment. Ron & Russ thought it was hilarious. They were laughing and joking about how they've corrupted us! They comforted us by saying they had to leave anyway, so we all walked downstairs together, past my mom who was arguing with the janitor. He asked her how she could let her young daughter hang out with rock stars, and she was defending herself yelling, "Why do you think I'm here!!!" Ron and Russell walked out to their limo where they were instantly engulfed in a sea of manic fans. Mom and aunt Elaine ran across the stage to catch a glimpse of the boys amongst instruments and equipment being loaded into trucks - a very funny sight! We screamed with excitement all the way home, and knew that this was the beginning of something big in our lives.

PART 2
Lisa and I got our backstage photos developed and gleefully showed them to everyone at school. We presented them triumphantly, as though we were Dorothy presenting the wicked witch's broomstick to the Wizard of Oz! Our deadhead friends thought we were nuts, and our teachers were highly concerned for our well being. We couldn't have been in better spirits...in fact, we were ecstatic!

We soon learned of another upcoming Sparks concert in November of 1975, and laid more strategic plans to meet them again by consulting the book of Lucy and Ethel. Our favourite TV show was I Love Lucy. The conniving schemes devised by Lucy and Ethel were ingenious, and we could only aspire to achieve such standards.

We decided that we wanted front row tickets, needed to meet Sparks' manager John Hewlett and get some Sparks promotional items. I called Island Records' New York office and told the receptionist that I was a friend of Hewlett's and had misplaced his phone number, so she kindly gave it to me. We called John and had a nice chat with him. I chatted up to the receptionist (Brenda) since she seemed nice, and asked her for some promotional items. She bestowed lots of cool stuff upon me; photos, posters, etc. We kept in touch with Brenda and later visited her Island Records office where we spotted a huge promotional cardboard stand-up for Indiscreet. Brenda promised we could have it. I later went back to the city with my dad to help me carry the monstrosity home, where it graced my music room for years ( I still have it)!

On the day of the concert at Avery Fisher (Philharmonic) Hall, we cut out of school to pay Brenda another visit, and found John Hewlett sitting in her office! This worked out well since Brenda thought we were friends of John's and John thought we were friends of Brenda's...we were all so suddenly friendly! Lisa and I already had tickets to the concert, but Brenda asked us if we'd like to sit in the front row, and gave us a pair of tickets! She also gave us promotional Indiscreet T-shirts, and we were on our way.

PART 3
Lisa and I went to the concert hall early to press our ears against the walls and hear Sparks rehearse. Outside, we met two other Sparks fans (Lori & Lelia) with whom we kept in touch for over 20 years. Ron and Russell eventually emerged and granted us an autograph and photo session on the sidewalk. Russell obviously remembered Lisa and I from the last gig since he jokingly asked, "Where's your mother?!" After Russell kissed me on the cheek and left, a bunch of screaming fans ran toward me grabbed me, and yelled, "You TOUCHED him!!!!"

At the concert we met up with two nerds from our school who liked Sparks and were going to sit with us (they also wanted to date us, but we wanted no part of this...besides, we were already betrothed to Ron and Russell)! We flaunted our front row tickets under their noses and sauntered down the aisle to our privileged and rightful seats.

The concert consisted mainly of Indiscreet songs, and Russell wore his horseback riding outfit, resplendent with tweed jacket, jodhpurs and whip. Ron was simply Ron. He wore a sleeveless undershirt which showcased his skin and bones physique. It's amazing he could even stand up in such an emaciated state. There was too much of a crowd to get backstage. Brenda later told us that she would have brought us back. Oh well. At least we'd seen R & R before the concert.

PART 4
After the concert, we continued our relentless barrage of Sparks propaganda upon anyone we came in contact with. We'd put up a hundred Indiscreet promo stickers all over school. Still, nobody cared. We took off the Grateful Dead records and played "Kimono" in the cafeteria, but the deadheads threw us out, along with our records. We would draw Sparks cartoons and exchange them between classes. When we heard the name of their new single was "Get In The Swing" I drew what I thought would be the cover picture...Ron in a Tarzan outfit, swinging on a rope past an astounded Russell. Lisa would draw cartoons of Ron's goof-ball face, make paper planes out of them and throw them into my classroom, disrupting the class. The same teacher who unfolded our planes to reveal Ron's picture found herself sitting next to Ron and Russell at the Farmer's Market in California while on vacation!

In the winter of 1976, we had another opportunity to see our farcical idols in concert at The Bottom Line on their Big Beat tour...2 nights, 4 shows!!! Now we were seventeen. Lisa had started dating an older guy, and I lost my partner in crime. I talked my friend Cindy into going with me in the midst of a blizzard, called the club after business hours with a last minute addition to Columbia Records' guest list (our names, of course) and we were admitted free! There was a bit of crowd hysteria at these shows (it was about time)! The Big Beat songs were fantastic live, and the band was rockin! During "White Women", Russell pulled a black girl up on-stage to dance with him...and what a surprise - it was my friend Lelia from the Philharmonic show!!! I handed Russell flowers and he pulled me on-stage, sang "Equator" to me, took my hand and walked me over to Ron. He sat me down next to him on the piano bench. It was during "Throw Her Away and Get a New One", and Ron kept pushing me as though he was "throwing me away".

They did an unforgettable bluesy version of "Equator" in which Russell used his vocal skills to the highest and fullest screaming, "Where the fuck is she???!!!" During the last song, "Big Boy", Ron smashed his piano bench to bits, as audience members clamored for souvenirs. I got one of the legs and almost got killed by a girl who tried to take it from me!

PART 5
The nerds Hal and Scott were my only available escorts to the Capitol Theater show (New Jersey) where Sparks opened for Nektar. I hadn't been able to work any magic in the backstage pass department, but some kids sitting near us had passes because they were friends of Nektar. When they saw how excited we were about Sparks, they let us borrow their passes. Lucky again! Backstage, Russell was being interviewed by a journalist. Every time the guy got facts or dates wrong I would correct him. I even had to correct Russell a couple of times! Ron was just quietly nibbling away on a roll.

Later in 1976, I interviewed the Maels at the Gramercy Park hotel for my college newspaper. I'd brought them some of mom's home made Christmas deserts, and we three sat on a king size bed talking and laughing. I asked where Russell got the skin tight jeans he wore at the Bottom Line shows. He said they were Fioruccis and from then on, I wore them too. (Shopping at Fiorucci also lead to my association with Klaus Nomi, Joey Arias and the whole Fiorucci scene in the early 1980's). I'd read an article which said that Ron & Russell were also I Love Lucy fans, so I brought along my Lucy scrapbook which they pawed through in excitement. We showed each other photographs of ourselves taken with Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) who actually showed up at a Sparks gig in CA! Since Russell begged me, I later sent him more Lucy paraphernalia, and he sent me a really nice thank-you letter.

PART 6
It was ages until Sparks would return to New York. In 1979 my friend who liked disco brought home a Sparks album, No. 1 in Heaven. I despised disco and was very depressed to find that my beloved rockers had gone in that direction. However, the LP won me over. This wasn't really disco - it was Sparks' version of disco. And Russell still hit some high notes, so it was OK. I once heard "#1 Song In Heaven" in a club - and the dance floor cleared off instantaneously. It was a shock even to disco ears!

The only way to get Sparks news was through the outdated fan club newsletter, and whenever things would happen for them in Europe, I felt neglected here in the states. I wasn't thrilled by Music That You Can Dance To or Terminal Jive, but Whomp That Sucker was a winner!

Still...no U.S. tour until 1982 with Angst In My Pants when Sparks did a couple more shows at a Long Island club called My Father's Place and at the Ritz in NYC (where I collected some sequins from Russell's shiny purple suit)! They also made TV appearances on Saturday Night Live (I went to the live taping) and Live At Five news on which Ron recited the lyrics to "I Wish I Looked A Little Better" and Russell recited "All You Ever Think About Is Sex". Sparks opened for Rick Springfield’s tour. I sat among hoards of young children and their parents (there to see Springfield). My friend Jackie and I sat in the front row and we left after Sparks played. As a tribute to my past as a young fan, we brought our pair of front row tickets up to the furthest balcony seats and gave them to two young Springfield fans. They were overjoyed. In 1984 there was also a Pulling Rabbits...show at the Ritz at which Russell sang a beautiful version of "With All My Might".

My memories of those earlier shows are precious...probably because I was so young and impressionable. I'd hoped to attend Spark's Forum gig in London in 1994, but my mom was very ill with cancer...she died on November 30th 1994. Only Russell & Ron could have cheered me up. I received a sympathy card from my old Sparks pal Lisa. In it she wrote, "I'll never forget the man yelling, 'Madeline and Lisa, your mother's down here!!!' 20 years ago. That memory is immortal!" I hope the future holds more Sparks adventures for me! It's long overdue.

AN UPDATE:
This story appeared on Steve Pond’s Sparks Home Page in 1996. Since then, I’ve met many great Sparks friends on the Mael List, attended 2 Sparks O’Ramas and have seen Sparks twice in the UK (1997) and L.A. in ’98. I’ve met Ron & Russ on several more occasions. It looks like this is a lifetime love affair, and it’s true mom, I’ll never grow up as long as Sparks keep me young and carefree.