Watch a rare Sparks concert from 1976 in full
Despite being dubbed “your favourite band’s favourite band” by many of their loyal supporters, American art-pop duo Sparks flew relatively under the radar in regards to the mainstream – for a period of time, at least. Though they grew up in California, brothers Ron and Russell Mael were more drawn to a music scene from across the ocean, finding a love for English rock bands like The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Who. As a result, they developed a unique sound characterised by Russell’s voice and lyrics and Ron’s keyboard, as well as a distinctive live performance.
Sparks inspired many subsequent artists and genres, from Depeche Mode to Björk and their biggest track ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us’ charted in the UK, but many would argue that Sparks never really accumulated the commercial success to match the critical adoration. However, they were to be catapulted back into the cultural zeitgeist in 2021 with the release of Cannes opener Anette, a project that was written by the duo and quickly followed by the Edgar Wright-directed documentary The Sparks Brothers.
The filmmaker shared his disappointment at Sparks’ relative obscurity and desire to rectify this. He told Collider: “I liked Ron and Russell in Sparks for many, many years. I’ve always felt like more people should know who they were or understand how influential they were and how many artists have been influenced by them… I made the movie, because as a Sparks fan, I was aggrieved on their behalf that they weren’t better known.”
It was Sparks’ peculiar live performance on Top of the Pops that piqued Wright’s interest. In an NPR article, Wright recalls: “Russell is conventionally handsome but quite androgynous and like sort of strutting around wearing like a ladies blouse, which would have been quite something at the time”.
He continues: “Ron has this Chaplin-esque toothbrush moustache, and he’s got his hair slicked back… And then on top of that, he’s staring down the lens at the audience at home, unsmiling.”
In a black and white full concert video of their performance at The Capitol Theatre in the Autumn of 1976, Sparks again display their specific look and quirky stage presence. With a full band behind the duo, they perform their biggest hit alongside a number of tracks from their album of the same year Big Beat.
Watch the concert video below.
