<p>Sparks are touring – playing dates in the UK and Ireland in June and July – and with a new (and 28th) album, Mad!. Russell Mael looks back at the first shows he ever saw and played which entails …</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… sitting on the floors of LA clubs watching Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Move, the Faces, the Who and Tyrannosaurus Rex.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… his Mum taking him to see the Beatles in the Hollywood Bowl among “10,000 screaming girls”.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… “there was a faux honesty about the Laurel Canyon bands – ‘it’s just me and my guitar’ – whereas the British acts had the clothes and put on a performance. Which is just as honest.”</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… what Todd Rundgren saw in the early Sparks.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… Edgar Wright’s “love letter” movie ‘The Sparks Brothers’ and how it’s expanded their audience.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… rehearsing for four months to perform all 21 of their albums in their entirety in 2008 (in Islington) and the people who came every night.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… playing pizza parlours in the ‘60s – “we were paid in pizza”.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… and how the Mael brothers’ creative relationship has worked - indeed thrived – for over 60 years.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Sparks tour dates and tickets: </strong><a href="https://allsparks.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://allsparks.com/</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Order Sparks’ new album Mad! here: </strong><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/MAD-Sparks/dp/B0DY9JD1TX" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/MAD-Sparks/dp/B0DY9JD1TX</a></p><br><p><strong>Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: </strong><a href="https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Word In Your Ear

Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold

Why Sparks’ Russell Mael preferred British acts to the ‘faux honesty’ of Laurel Canyon

APR 8, 202524 MIN
Word In Your Ear

Why Sparks’ Russell Mael preferred British acts to the ‘faux honesty’ of Laurel Canyon

APR 8, 202524 MIN

Description

<p>Sparks are touring – playing dates in the UK and Ireland in June and July – and with a new (and 28th) album, Mad!. Russell Mael looks back at the first shows he ever saw and played which entails …</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… sitting on the floors of LA clubs watching Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Move, the Faces, the Who and Tyrannosaurus Rex.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… his Mum taking him to see the Beatles in the Hollywood Bowl among “10,000 screaming girls”.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… “there was a faux honesty about the Laurel Canyon bands – ‘it’s just me and my guitar’ – whereas the British acts had the clothes and put on a performance. Which is just as honest.”</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… what Todd Rundgren saw in the early Sparks.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… Edgar Wright’s “love letter” movie ‘The Sparks Brothers’ and how it’s expanded their audience.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… rehearsing for four months to perform all 21 of their albums in their entirety in 2008 (in Islington) and the people who came every night.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… playing pizza parlours in the ‘60s – “we were paid in pizza”.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… and how the Mael brothers’ creative relationship has worked - indeed thrived – for over 60 years.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Sparks tour dates and tickets: </strong><a href="https://allsparks.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://allsparks.com/</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Order Sparks’ new album Mad! here: </strong><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/MAD-Sparks/dp/B0DY9JD1TX" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/MAD-Sparks/dp/B0DY9JD1TX</a></p><br><p><strong>Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: </strong><a href="https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>