To celebrate the release of the new EP by Sparks (Madder!, available now on Spotify), TOM OGG discusses the ‘eccentric brilliance’ of the band, aka Californian brothers Ron and Russell Mael
THERE are few bands about whom I have changed my mind more in recent years than Sparks.
I used to think they were, at best, a novelty band, and a rather annoying one at that, with a hyperactive lead singer who sung everything in a semi-operatic warble and a silly keyboardist with an Adolf Hitler moustache.
Today, however, I would place Sparks comfortably within my top five all-time favourite music groups, possibly even top three.
I realise now that Russell Mael possesses one of the most versatile and impressive singing voices on the planet – and it is a voice that remains as strong here in 2025 as it was when the band first formed in the US back in the mid-1960s.
Keyboardist and Russell’s older brother Ron Mael, meanwhile, is a songwriter of genius, capable of writing melodies and hooks as powerful as his lyrics are intelligent and witty, and all with an insatiable desire to experiment and push at the boundaries, hence the dizzying number of musical genres tackled by Sparks throughout their five decade-plus career. Oh, and the facial hair – modelled on Charlie Chaplin, not Hitler – is these days more of a streamlined pencil ‘tache.
Not convinced? Here is a playlist showcasing some of my favourite Sparks songs which I hope will go some way to highlighting their eccentric brilliance. “We have a hostility to being boring”, the brothers once said. No kidding.
All songs are currently available on Spotify and YouTube.
1) This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us (Kimono My House, 1974)
THE song that first brought Sparks to the attention of the masses, in the UK and Europe at least (the LA-born Mael brothers have always been far more appreciated outside of their home country), This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us reached number two on the UK singles chart upon release in 1974.
Still perhaps the best-known Sparks track, the smash-hit song is catchy and melodic, yet there is a reason it remains a rarity at karaokes: Russell – whose high-pitched vocal dances atop the twisty-turny melody – delivers Ron’s wordy pun-filled lyrics with a clarity that is nigh-on impossible to replicate.
A stone-cold pop classic, replete with Wild West sound effects courtesy of the BBC Library, and a song that allegedly prompted John Lennon to call Ringo Starr at home and say: “Quick, turn on Top of the Pops. Hitler is playing with Marc Bolan”.
Avoid at all costs the terrible remake from Sparks’ 1997 Plagiarism album in which guest vocalist Mike “Faith No More” Patton barks the lyrics like someone urgently in need of a Lozenge.
2) Amateur Hour (Kimono My House, 1974)
ANOTHER great track from Sparks’ Kimono My House album, Amateur Hour was the follow-up single to This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us and once again saw the group entering the top ten of the UK singles chart, the second and last time they would ever do so.
The song is quite insanely catchy, with Russell singing the tongue-twister chorus lyrics at dizzying speed (“Amateur hour goes on and on/When you turn pro, you know/She lets you know”).
3) Wonder Girl (Halfnelson/Sparks, 1971)
WHEN it first appeared in 1971, the Wonder Girl single – Sparks’ debut release – was credited to “Halfnelson”, which was the name the Mael brothers initially chose for the group. Thankfully, they soon after adopted the altogether snappier “Sparks” and Wonder Girl became a minor regional hit when re-released in 1972.
Listen out for what sounds suspiciously like someone farting in the studio at 1:50.
4) At Home, at Work, at Play (Propaganda, 1974)
ALTHOUGH not quite as commercially successful as its predecessor, Propaganda – Sparks’ fourth studio album – is arguably even better than Kimono My House, with At Home, at Work, at Play among the record’s many highlights. An absolutely barnstorming rocker with Russell singing at such a pace as to make Scatman John sound like Droopy by comparison. Truly, the man has the vocal chords of a wizard.
5) Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth (Propaganda, 1974)
A NICE contrast to the preceding track, Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth is one of the slower songs on Propaganda, and one that has often been wrongly cited as a precursor to the climate-conscious activism that emerged over subsequent decades. Ron Mael: “We got so many compliments about Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth being pro-environment and pro-ecology. But it wasn’t at all. [The meaning was] never turn your back on Mother Earth – or it’ll whack you.”
6) Get In the Swing (Indiscreet, 1975)
FOUR years before Fleetwood Mac released Tusk, Sparks adopted a similar musical style for this lively 1975 single, with a backing track akin to a school marching band, replete with whistles, trombones and pounding snare drums. The song makes an unexpected about-turn towards the end with a brief sermon-like passage: “Hello down there/This is your creator with a questionnaire/Hello up there/I don’t have the time to fill out questionnaires”. Produced, as per all of the Indiscreet album, by Tony Visconti of David Bowie fame.
7) Goofing Off (Introducing Sparks, 1977)
I LOVE traditional Jewish music almost as much as I love Jewish humour, and Goofing Off combines elements of both to winning effect. The result sounds like a first-rate bat mitzvah wedding band, albeit a bat mitzvah wedding band featuring a squealing Brian May-like guitar soloist. Ron and Russell’s parents were the children of Jewish immigrants, their father from Russia and Austria and their mother from Poland.
8) La Dolce Vita (No.1 in Heaven, 1979)
AND then, after seven albums of inventive rock-orientated pop, Sparks released the No.1 in Heaven album, a pioneering disco record produced by Giorgio “I Feel Love” Moroder, and the first of the many musical detours that would come to define the Mael brothers’ career.
The synth-tastic La Dolce Vita was one of four successful singles from the album and was accompanied by a hypnotically surreal music video, with Russell displaying some supremely goofy dance moves (think drunk parent at Christmas) and Ron pulling his usual inscrutable facial expressions at the keyboards.
9) Beat the Clock (No.1 in Heaven, 1979)
ANOTHER cracking song from No.1 in Heaven, Beat the Clock – named after the 1950s game show of the same name – features Ron’s customary lyrical humour, including a reference to one Elizabeth Taylor (“I’ve met everyone but Liz/Now I’ve even met old Liz”) and another memorable music video.
I’m seemingly alone among Sparks fans in far preferring the shortened single version of Beat the Clock to that on the album.
10) Where’s My Girl (Whomp That Sucker, 1981)
A REAL return to form after 1980’s uncharacteristically disappointing Terminal Jive album, Whomp That Sucker is my personal favourite Sparks record: a ten-song collection of poppy new-wave songs overseen by long-time Queen producer Reinhold Mack.
Where’s My Girl is a typically dazzling track, with choppy near-funky verses giving way to fuzzy blasts of synthesized keyboards for the chorus and a red-hot guitar solo.
11) Tips for Teens (Whomp That Sucker, 1981)
THE opening track on Whomp That Sucker, and the album’s lead single, Tips for Teens sees Russell imparting words of wisdom to a spotty teenage relative, resulting in some of Ron’s funniest lyrics: “Soon you will lose all your zits/Tight sweaters no longer fit/Jetsetters will make their pitch.” The boxing theme of the Tips for Teens music video reflected the eye-catching Whomp That Sucker cover artwork.
12) The Willys (Whomp That Sucker, 1981)
A THIRD and final Whomp That Sucker track, The Willys mercifully has nothing to do with male genitalia and instead focuses on the common nervous disposition that makes sufferers “shiver and shake/Like doin’ Swan Lake” and which is “hard to explain/Like Citizen Kane/To someone who’s blind.” We’ve all been there.
13) Angst in My Pants (Angst in My Pants, 1982)
THE title track of Sparks’ 11th studio album offers more high-quality new-wave pop courtesy of producer Reinhold Mack.
Boasting goosebump-inducingly effective chord changes during the verses, Angst in My Pants is an oddly moving account of an individual whose intelligence and financial success does nothing to alleviate his innermost anxieties: “You can dress nautical, learn to tie knots/Take lots of Dramamine out on your yacht/But when you’re all alone, and nothing bites/You’d wish you’d stayed at home with someone nice”.
14) Eaten by the Monster of Love (Angst in My Pants, 1982)
RIDICULOUSLY melodic, Eaten by the Monster of Love was included on the soundtrack for the Nicolas Cage-fronted teen-rom-com Valley Girl (1983), and, as such, it remains one of Sparks’ most instantly recognisable tracks, at least by people who have watched Valley Girl. Be warned: one listen and the central melody will remain permanently lodged in your head for the remainder of 2025.
15) All You Ever Think About Is Sex (In Outer Space, 1983)
SO quintessentially English is the humour of Sparks that it is easy to forget that committed Anglophiles Ron and Russell Mael are, in fact, Californian. As such, the all-American lyrical references to the White House and baseball stadiums in All You Ever Think About Is Sex – the second single from their In Outer Space album – initially come as something of a surprise (“Say, do you remember the Dodgers and the Mets? 50 thousand people saw us and turned red”). The music video featured Ron being pelted with cream-coloured pies. Oo-er missus!
16) With All My Might (Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat, 1984)
AN attempt by Ron Mael to write a song minus any humour or irony, With All My Might is about as conventional a track as exists in the Sparks catalogue, being a rather sweet little love song with lyrics about swirling oceans and fighting dragons. Lovely.
17) When Do I Get to Sing “My Way” (Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins, 1994)
THE release of Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins in 1994 – and its lead single When Do I Get to Sing “My Way” – saw Sparks fans across the world breathing a huge sigh of relief. The record – Sparks’ 16th studio album – came after a rare dry patch for the group, and marked their first release since 1988’s bland Interior Design, but it was more than worth the wait. The album is one of their very best, with a European-esque dance-pop feel throughout, and songs that often hark back to the great and good (and not-so-good) of golden-age Hollywood and American jazz. The gorgeous When Do I Get to Sing “My Way” obviously tips its hat to Frank Sinatra, while elsewhere there are nods to Charlie Parker (When I Kiss You I Hear Charlie Parker Playing) and Vivien Leigh (Frankly, Scarlett, I Don’t Give a Damn).
18) Now That I Own the BBC (Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins, 1994)
“NOW that I own the BBC/What am I supposed to do with this thing?” muses Russell on this witty slice of dance-pop. Do us all a favour and just shut it down, Russ. (The Maels would later fall out with the Beeb in 2006 after the corporation banned Sparks’ single D**k Around from the airwaves.)
19) My Baby’s Taking Me Home (Lil’ Beethoven, 2002)
ANOTHER wild change in musical direction came in 2002 with the release of Lil’ Beethoven, a concept album in which Ron and Russell melded classical music with rock and pop, creating an offbeat orchestral soundscape, and with lyrics that favoured near-hypnotic repetition over Ron’s usual wordplay gymnastics. The sole single from the album, My Baby’s Taking Me Home, is a typically mesmerising track: there are almost no words spoken other than those of the song’s title, yet the result feels somehow filled with depth and meaning.
20) I Can’t Believe That You Would Fall for All the Crap in This Song (Exotic Creatures of the Deep, 2008)
NOT my favourite song from Sparks’ wonderful Exotic Creatures of the Deep album (that would be either lead single Lighten Up, Morrissey or the majestic I’ve Never Been High), but I Can’t Believe That You Would Fall for All the Crap in This Song is nevertheless a fab T-Rex-style stomper. And, honestly, do song titles get any better than that?
21) Johnny Delusional (FFS, 2015)
I’M not much of a fan of Scottish rockers Franz Ferdinand, and I don’t much like supergroups either, and so for a long time I put off listening to FFS, the only album released by the Sparks-Franz Ferdinand supergroup of the title.
Thankfully, the usual self-indulgence and in-fighting that results when big-name bands collaborate is nowhere to be seen (or rather, nowhere to be heard): the entire FFS album is ludicrously good fun. Lead single Johnny Delusional – the lyrics to which will likely resonate with every red-blooded bloke on the planet – is among the many highlights.
22) Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus, 2017)
THE title track of Sparks’ 23rd studio album, Hippopotamus sees Ron finding increasingly ingenious ways to find rhymes for “hippopotamus”, from “book by Anonymous” and “painting by Hieronymus” to “woman with an abacus” and, best of all, “Volkswagen Microbus”. You don’t get lyrics like that with Ed Sheeran.
23) Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is (The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte, 2023)
RON Mael is now 80 years old, and Russell isn’t far behind, and yet recent years have seen the duo releasing some of their finest albums to date. How is this humanly possible? What are they taking? And where can I get some?
The group’s 25th studio album – The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte – saw the Maels displaying more musical invention, ideas and energy than can typically be found with the debut albums of artists six decades their junior. The entire album is an artpop-infused near-masterpiece, from the title track/lead single (the music video to which features a dancing Cate Blanchett) and the electro-tinged You Were Meant for Me to the laugh-out-loud funny When You Leave (“They’ll be breaking out the X-Box when you leave/They’ll be breaking out the good music when you leave/I’m gonna stay/Just to p**s them off”). But it simply doesn’t get any better than Nothing Is As Good As They Say It is, a song told from the point of view of a newborn baby who wants to return to the peace and quiet of his mother’s womb.
24) The Mona Lisa’s Packing, Leaving Late Tonight (The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte, 2023)
ANOTHER incredible track from The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte. And, remember, these guys are either in or fast approaching their ninth decade. Genius, thy name is Mael.
25) The Number One Song in Heaven (No.1 in Heaven, 1979)
FINALLY, back to 1979 for this disco-themed classic, which was a hit single upon release, and which remains one of Sparks best-loved songs. In any version, it’s a great song, but I personally favour the full-length 7:26 version from the No.1 in Heaven album. It is, as its title suggests, heavenly.
The number one songs in heaven – the genius of Sparks
