Russell and Ron Mael never stand still. Since the birth of Sparks back in 1972, the singer and keyboard player siblings have operated within multiple genres, including pop, rock, new wave, synth-rock and disco, but always sounded like only themselves. We caught up with Russell to talk about their latest tour, based on new album MAD!.
Sparks have released twenty-eight albums across seven decades, toured and explored side projects. Your parents must have instilled a very strong work ethic in you both.
Our work ethic comes from ourselves and each other. We enjoy what we do and always want to be doing something adventurous and special that excites us. Then we know we will be satisfied creatively, and hopefully our fans will be happy too.
Sparks do things that other bands would run away from. For example, in 2008 you played a 21-night run in London featuring all 20 albums released to that point in their entirety. Where does that sense of ambition – of crazy danger, if you will – come from?
Well, that certainly was crazy, and something we would not recommend to other bands. A song on the new album called Do Things My Own Way encapsulates our approach. It’s a mission statement that Sparks has had from day one as a band. We kind of like to take our own path.
The album’s song My Devotion is a wry observation on obsessive, possibly unhealthy adulation of a sports team, a nation or a religion. Could it also refer to a fan of Sparks?
Like a few others from the album, My Devotion is about a relationship. We try to find ways of showing relationships in, hopefully, fresh ways that are tender but not saccharine.
A Little Bit Of Light Banter addresses the casual yet potentially destructive way people converse in 2025. For clarity, are you pro or against what the kids now refer to as ‘bants’?
It’s more a song about human nature, the routine… flipping off the light and on to sleep.
A Martian visits Earth, wanting to know about Sparks. Which one song do you play it?
At the moment I would choose Running Up A Tab At The Hotel For The Fab from MAD!.
In 2015, Sparks made a collaborative album with Franz Ferdinand as FFS. Who else, current or from the past, might you be inclined to repeat that same process with?
From the past, but no longer alive… Michel Legrand who did the music for The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg, a film which was influential on us. The music is amazing and if you aren’t crying by the movie’s end you have no soul. Also, Little Richard, whose singing was on another level, so intense and spectacularly powerful. And Elvis…
The 2021 documentary The Sparks Brothers was critically praised. Were you fully satisfied by its portrayal of the band and its story?
When we started talking with [director] Edgar Wright it was clear that he has a passion for Sparks, and he did a great job. The Sparks Brothers was successful both creatively and commercially.
Presumably, the latest tour will feature MAD! in its entirety during the first half, followed by a second set of hits and deep cuts?
For a while that was the format we used, but for the last few tours the setlist has represented our whole career. There are certain songs, like This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us, that we have to, and want to, play. We like to play a few songs from the new album and then we have the twenty-seven previous albums to choose from. We try to choose some songs that we haven’t done live in the past, so hopefully there will be some surprises.
Sparks are on tour now. Visit the Sparks website for dates and tickets.
