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Dec 31, 2024 Issue #73 - Maya Hawke and Nilüfer Yanya By Hays Davis

In 1974, the band Sparks saw a startling change of fortune when they transformed from an American band with somewhat dim prospects into a British band that became an overseas sensation. Kimono My House was their breakthrough third album, reaching #4 on the UK albums chart and including two UK Top 10 singles. If this sounds like the stuff of movies, it came close in 2021, thanks to The Sparks Brothers, the documentary directed by Edgar Wright that tells the story of brothers Ron Mael and Russell Mael, who are the band Sparks.

Originally formed as the band Halfnelson in 1968, their self-titled debut album was released in 1971, produced by Todd Rundgren. Following a name change, the debut was re-released under the Sparks name, but little attention was attracted to that or to the follow-up, 1973’s A Woofer in Tweeter’s Clothing. Still, Island Records liked what they heard, and they were interested in signing Sparks—but only the Maels.

“It was sort of a strange experience,” remembers keyboard player/songwriter Ron Mael. “We were signed with Island Records, but they were signing us for kind of a potential. They liked the songwriting in general, and they liked the singing, but we didn’t have any songs for what would become Kimono My House. So, we moved to England, gave up everything here, and there were no songs. But we were kind of too young and naïve to know how much pressure we actually should have been in at that time.”

The Maels were well aware of what Island’s offer meant to their future as a band, especially considering how their previous releases had fared. “We were so grateful to both Chris Blackwell, the head of Island Records at the time, and also Muff Winwood, who worked with Island and came on to produce our album,” says Ron. “They were accepting of all of our eccentricities. They just thought it could be a little more aggressive-sounding.” After placing ads in British music papers, Sparks transformed into a full band once again, only this time they were 3/5ths British. Ron leaned into songwriting, including some co-writes with Russell, and Kimono My House gradually came together. “[Winwood] said, at the time, ‘You’ll probably have to write four songs to come up with one good one,’ but he loved the good ones,” remembers Ron.

When the time came to select the song for their first UK single, the Maels felt that one of the album’s more accessible tracks might be a safer choice. “But Muff Winwood said, ‘No, we have to go with ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us’ for that first single,’” Ron recalls. “‘That’s the strongest musical statement, and then whatever happens, happens.’ He was right, and we were so lucky to have been around at that time when there were people like that that wanted to be brave about those things and had a passion for music that was challenging but also a part of pop music in general.”

“This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us” made an audacious and exciting introduction from Kimono. “A lot of bands have sections in the songs, a lot of instrument breaks where a singer can rest for a while, but ours are kind of wall-to-wall singing, and lots of lyrics,” says singer Russell Mael, considering their material from a singer’s standpoint. “And a lot of times, not common lyrics for pop songs. And they’re pretty acrobatic a lot of the time, just the melodies and stuff.”

Making their debut appearance on Britain’s Top of the Pops TV show in April of ’74, Sparks captivated viewers who embraced the single and were fascinated by the visual impact of the Maels. With Russell storming the stage sporting a curly mane and Ron being nattily attired with short hair and a Charlie Chaplin-esque moustache and glaring amusingly during his close-ups, the cameras loved the brothers, and viewers became fans.

“You become more aware of what it is after people react to it, as opposed to you doing something,” says Russell, regarding the brothers’ visual presentation. “It’s not planned, but it was done with some intentions. Just Ron getting his hair cut and not wanting to be looking like everyone else in the band with trying to be the traditional pop star, pop look. And then, when we were on all the British TV like Top of the Pops, it kind of accentuated his look, and the difference between him and me.”

Adds Ron, “If you could imagine [having an] impact on 25% of the U.S. on one night, that’s kind of what happened in the UK. Top of the Pops was viewed each week by a quarter of the country, and so, if you were on that show and they’re showing close-ups and everything, it can have an enormous effect. It certainly did for Sparks.”

“This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us” made it to #2 on the UK singles chart, and 1974 played out in a flurry of live and TV appearances, press coverage, the release of another album, Propaganda, that November, and more UK hit singles. “It was kind of insane,” says Russell, “with people leaping onto the stage and being able to cause chaos like that, which doesn’t happen as much now because there’s better security. And maybe more mild manners, unfortunately.” In the decades that followed, commercial success would come in waves, with the band continuing to release memorable albums and building a fan base that seems to love them more than ever. On top of the new wave of adulation and attention brought on by The Sparks Brothers, in 2015 they put out FFS, a collaborative album with Franz Ferdinand, and in 2021 Annette, a musical romantic drama film the Maels co-wrote and did all the music for, was released after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival. Just last year, the band unveiled an acclaimed new album, The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte, with the video for its title track starring two-time Academy Award winning actress Cate Blanchett. Clearly, this is a good time to be Sparks. And, looking back, there’s no overstating the importance to Sparks of Kimono My House and the excitement it generated.

“We were kind of the right band at that particular time,” says Ron, “and I think British audiences were more accepting of things that were more eccentric, but also accessible as well. We loved pop music, and so there’s a certain element of accessibility in being a part of that. We kind of embrace that; we don’t think it’s having to compromise ourselves to do that. It’s just meant to be your time.”

www.allsparks.com

[Note: This article originally appeared in Issue 73 of our print magazine, which is out now. This is its debut online.]

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