Take a deep dive into the crazy, beautiful world of Sparks

As a music lover since, well my whole life really, with catholic taste, it shames me immensely that until last week, I had never heard of Sparks. On the plus side, it’s not too late to become a fan of this distinctly, delightfully and deliciously oddball duo – brothers Ron and Russell Mael. At least I’m not alone in my erstwhile ignorance.

Legend has it, John Lennon saw Sparks on TV, and phoned Ringo Starr to say: “You’ll never believe what I’m watching – Marc Bolan is playing a song with Adolf Hitler!”, says a BBC article, headlined with that very phrase: “The Greatest Band You’ve Never Heard Of”.

The two-hour-and-18-minutes documentary feature The Sparks Brothers was directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Baby Driver – two very different but equally great movies), who is known for his, shall we say, exuberant style. This made him the perfect person to tell the story of Sparks.

Who are the Sparks Brothers?

The brothers were born in 1945 (Ron) and 1948 (Russell), grew up in an affluent Los Angeles suburb, and had a cool mom who took them to Beatles concerts (driving them to Vegas on one occasion) and a dad who exposed them to good old rock ‘n roll like Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis. He also took them Saturday movie matinees, which had an influence on their later work.

The brothers attended UCLA, where Ron began a course in cinema and graphic arts in 1963 while Russell studied theatre arts and filmmaking between 1966 and 1968. Almost unbelievably, he was also a football quarterback.

The first recording of their music was in 1967 (unreleased), and their debut album came out in 1971. What kind of music do they play? Well, funny you should ask … it depends on the decade. Sometimes it’s glam rock, sometimes it’s pop, other years it’s pure synth disco, perhaps some New Wave for good measure. With such a range over such a long period of time, it’s okay if you don’t like every note they play because, yes, some of it is just weird.

They recorded an album almost every year – apart from a short early 1990s break – up to 2020, and are in fact embarking on their biggest tour this very year. What is fairly consistent are the quirky lyrics and zero compromise of their art.

Welcome to a full-on, sensory overload

That’s the sound, or a small part of it anyway. The optics are just as wild, and the documentary – and this is what makes it such enjoyable viewing – includes live shows, television appearances and animations, in a riot of colour and sensory overload. Russell, the pretty vocalist, never stands still on stage and, oh my, those flamboyant suits are just wonderful. I’d love to know what happened to them.

Ron, songwriter and keyboardist, is in stark contrast – staring deadpan into the camera, hair firmly slicked back, most often dressed in a white shirt and black pants, maybe a tie. His “Hitler” moustache was a trademark for many years although it could just as easily be a Chaplin. Today it’s more of a pencil style.

This colourful  footage is complemented (and contrasted) with interviews, filmed in black and white, with the brothers as well as a string of music industry royalty you can look up on IMDb because there are so many of them (Flea from RHCP, Weird Al, Todd Rundgren, Giorgio Moroder, Duran Duran, Franz Ferdinand – with whom Sparks recorded an album in 2015 – are a few I can remember off the top of my head). Also chatting on camera are assorted fans and collaborators, for a healthy balance.

Channelling their muses from across the pond

Although American, Sparks found more popularity across the pond in the UK and Europe, and in the 70s they had a decidedly British feel to them, musically and visually. This cannot not have anything to do with their early predilection for British bands The Who, Pink Floyd, the Kinks and the Move. And the Beatles, of course.

Perhaps most charming of all is that Ron and Russell are sweet and funny. They seem to have navigated their life in music free of scandal, showered with the admiration of their peers, and they avidly guard their private lives.

Spreading joy, fun and whimsy

Their offbeat humour is dry and often subtle (look at the name on Ron’s keyboard…) and their purpose appears to be to spread happiness and joy and fun wherever they go. That they’ve had a lifelong working relationship is itself remarkable, and neither can imagine it any other way.

I loved every minute of this documentary, for its content and its style, and I’m so glad I’ve made a new musical discovery. From one of my favourite movie review sites, Roger Ebert: “Once again, Edgar Wright has proven himself to be the master of whimsical filmmaking. Never have I seen a documentary as fun as Wright’s The Sparks Brothers, which is thrilling from beginning to end.”

It’s good to be in good company.