Sparks

Sparks are the influential Art Pop duo of Ron and Russell Mael whose career spans more than 50 years. The Los Angeles-raised brothers are widely admired for the wit of their lyrics and the inventiveness of their music, plus their effortless ability to shift genres between glam, hard rock, chamber pop, and electro-disco, sometimes within the same song. The only constants are singer Russell's dramatic, heavenly falsetto and energy, and keyboardist Ron's exquisite songwriting.

Landmark Sparks releases include the iconic “This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us” (a UK smash), the singles “When I'm With You” and “When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way'?” (hits in France and Germany respectively), “Cool Places” (a staple of '80s US modern rock radio), sampler-based concept album Lil' Beethoven, and the pioneering Giorgio Moroder-produced No.1 In Heaven. Their resurgent popularity has resulted in two consecutive UK Top 10 albums, Hippopotamus and A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip.

Their past collaborators include Franz Ferdinand, Faith No More and Todd Rundgren, and notable Sparks fans include Beck, New Order, Bjork, Erasure, The Darkness and Duran Duran.

In recent years the Maels have branched out with a radio opera (The Seduction Of Ingmar Bergman) and a film musical (Annette, written by Sparks and directed by Leos Carax).

They are also the subject of The Sparks Brothers, a major film documentary by Edgar Wright.