This section is reserved for anyone's Sparks-related sound files.
For copyright reasons we can't place Sparks recordings here, but if you can contribute your own work, please email us.
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Be aware: these files are huge!
Sent in by Jerry Murphy of the The Candyguns
Message from Jerry Murphy: More about The Candyguns (love that opening pic and the Kim Fowley quote.. - CvB) at http://www.candyguns.com
My band The Candyguns would like to donate a track to your wonderful
website. I've got a " live at the sound check version of us performing Angst In My Pants which I think you'd enjoy.
This is a live to four track recording with no overdubs but it was played by three guys who really like sparks.
They're actually my favorite band of all time. Got to meet them back in about 1983-84
on the cool places tour. Very nice guys.
Jerry Murphy
Yukon, Oklahoma-USA
More about Brainslur (the project of Scott Coker, bassist for The Candyguns) at http://www.brainslur.com
| Track | Bytes |
| Angst In My Pants | 3.041.115 |
|
Thank God It's Not Christmas
We had so much fun recording this one. I think I hit most of the notes as well ! | 5.166.565 |
Sent in by David Alston - recorded for a project when he was at university
I'm a singer/songwriter who lists Sparks as one of my main influences. I never really had time to do cover versions at the expense of writing my own material, so it was a bit of a treat to have an excuse to do some Sparks material when I was at university. Actually, only one song was necessary for the assessment, but once I started it was hard to stop! There's so much Sparks material to choose from. I recorded eight songs during a five week period, and at the moment I can only lay my hands on four of them, which I've burned onto the CD for you. The songs are all one-man productions, using keyboards and sequencers, and the vocals are mine. They all hail from 1995, which was just before I went "digital". Consequently they have only survived on cassette tape. The sound quality isn't that bad, though, so they should be OK as mp3s.
The songs:
I wanted to do "Katherine Hepburn" because, at that time, it was new to me, and a really strong song.
I'd just been to the first Shepherds Bush concert, and managed to bootleg it, so I had a recording of the song to work with.
"National Crime&" was then quite recent, and suited the sort of electronic arrangements I was doing.
I wanted to do one of the Arista demos, simply to have a version of it that I could actually hear properly. I was going to do "Trying Day" but "I Wish I Could&" was requested by a friend of mine, so I went for that one. I remember trying to make the vocals as "Russell"-like as possible, to keep him happy.
"This Town" was the one I intended to use for the university project, as it was known by everyone there. I wouldn't have done it otherwise, as I don't think the 1974 recording can be improved upon, even by Sparks. A couple of years later, when "Plagiarism" came out, I did a new vocal in order to add the extra verse.
The two songs I did which I liked the most were a Goa Techno version of "Angus Desire" and a rather dramatic New Romantic take on "Fletcher Honorama". I don't have those at the moment, but I'm told they're on DAT in the Brighton University archives, so I may get them at some point.
The only other time I've used a Sparks song was during a live gig in Brighton, in which I did a version of "Angst In My Pants". It was a folk-music club, and I don't think the audience knew what had hit them!
Right now I'm in the final stages of recording an album with a fellow singer/songwriter/guitarist, which should be finished by the summer.
I'm also writing and producing some dance music for a young guy in Brighton.
And, of course, I'm always on the look-out for new people to collaborate and work with on new projects.
I hope you like the songs. It was fun digging them up again, so if you want to use any of them, feel free.
| Track | Bytes |
| I Wish I Could Dance Like Black People Do | 1.484.928 |
| National Crime Awareness Week | 2.712.422 |
| This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us | 2.177.173 |
| What Would Katherine Hepburn Say | 2.415.671 |
Sent in by Stephane Cadieux
HI! EXCUSE MY POOR ENGLISH! I'M A FAN OF SPARKS SINCE 1974! I'M WORKING IN A RADIO STATION (writer & producer) AND FOR MYSELF(producer)...I'VE RECORDED A FRENCH VERSION OF WONDER GIRL!(just for fun!)...HERE'S THE FINAL MIX. IT CAN FIGURE ON THE NEXT AMATEUR HOUR ALBUM!
A LA PROCHAINE FROM QUEBEC!
| Track | Bytes |
| Wonder Girl (French version) | 1.424.063 |
| Le Future - Asteoridomix (French version of "In The Future") | 2.387.801 |
| Notre Mere La Terre (French version of "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth") | 2.531.161 |
| Adieu (French version of "Hasta Manana Monsieur") | 3.510.439 |
| Laisse Moi Tranquile (French version of "Barbecutie") (collaboration with Peter Tchaynikov) | 3.008.888 |
| Just Keep Right My French Souvenir (French version of "Thanks But No Thanks") | 2.053.642 |
| S.O.S. (French version of "Reinforcements") | 3.770.828 |
2001 Birmingham Sparks Convention - Fred Ekelund acoustic live performance:
| Track | Bytes |
| Just Got Back From Heaven | 1.181.751 |
| Love Scenes | 1.313.042 |
| I Bought The Mississippi River | 813.659 |
| The Decline And Fall Of Me | 951.351 |
| Funny Face | 1.370.094 |
| Sherlock Holmes | 1.344.859 |
| The Toughest Girl In Town | 1.142.802 |
| Wonder Girl | 882.414 |
| Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth | 955.739 |
| When Do I Get To Sing My Way | 1.787.739 |
| Nothing To Do | 1.292.379 |
Next sets: The "Dutch Maelbros" at the Birmingham Sparks convention (audio and video..), Fred Ekelund's set (as video), and (if everyone involved allows me) also the Tribute CD in several parts.
01. This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us