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♪ Fanfare
2
00:00:52,530 --> 00:00:56,273
♪ The opening film fanfare
3
00:01:00,886 --> 00:01:04,629
♪ Documentary film fanfare
4
00:01:11,070 --> 00:01:14,509
♪ Edgar Wright film fanfare.
5
00:01:14,551 --> 00:01:16,466
-And look right in the camera?
-Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
6
00:01:16,510 --> 00:01:17,902
-Okay. Okay, great.
-Just talk to me through the camera.
7
00:01:17,947 --> 00:01:20,688
-Speeding.
-Beck. Take one. Mark.
8
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Throughout all the years
that I've been making music,
9
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if you get on a tour bus
10
00:01:26,737 --> 00:01:30,001
and you sit on a long drive
with a bunch of musicians,
11
00:01:30,045 --> 00:01:33,049
eventually, the conversation
will go to Sparks.
12
00:01:33,093 --> 00:01:35,094
My good friends, Sparks.
13
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-Sparks. -Sparks.
-Sparks. -Sparks.
14
00:01:37,662 --> 00:01:39,621
I remember just seeing them all the time
15
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and like, "Who are those guys?"
16
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They are an anomaly.
17
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I don't feel like they purposely
18
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have been
19
00:01:46,801 --> 00:01:48,543
trying to be mysterious, right?
20
00:01:48,585 --> 00:01:50,152
They don't really look like a band.
21
00:01:50,197 --> 00:01:52,024
They do just look like people
who've been sort of
22
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let out for a day.
23
00:01:53,852 --> 00:01:55,897
♪ And it ain't me
who's gonna leave... ♪
24
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Look into camera.
25
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-You want to look in the lens.
-Yeah.
26
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Damn you and your three-quarterness.
27
00:02:01,033 --> 00:02:03,340
It's a damn mole!
28
00:02:03,384 --> 00:02:05,385
Two members of like mind,
29
00:02:05,429 --> 00:02:07,388
and they're conspirators.
30
00:02:07,430 --> 00:02:11,260
It's a very clever thing
they've got going on.
31
00:02:11,305 --> 00:02:15,352
They really tiptoe through the tulips
32
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between beauty
33
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and revulsion.
34
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What's going on? Oh, my God.
35
00:02:21,532 --> 00:02:23,403
It's insane, but it's fantastic.
36
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They would make really good Muppets.
37
00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:29,018
♪ Daily, except for Sunday...
38
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You have this snaky lead singer...
39
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You know, something for the ladies.
40
00:02:32,281 --> 00:02:35,894
And then you got Adolf Hitler
on-on the keyboards.
41
00:02:35,937 --> 00:02:36,895
It is a little strange.
42
00:02:38,114 --> 00:02:40,028
Why has that bloke got a Hitler mustache?
43
00:02:40,769 --> 00:02:42,597
That's a good look.
44
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Dean Martin was hanging out,
45
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and he would always, like,
46
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look at Ron like,
"What the...?"
47
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♪
48
00:02:54,739 --> 00:02:56,437
When I first discovered Sparks,
49
00:02:56,479 --> 00:02:58,569
I never thought of them
as being American at all.
50
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I thought of them
51
00:02:59,656 --> 00:03:01,746
just being this, like... Sparks.
52
00:03:01,789 --> 00:03:03,617
They're otherworldly.
53
00:03:03,661 --> 00:03:07,534
I always thought
Sparks were a... a British band.
54
00:03:07,578 --> 00:03:09,276
They're the best, uh, British group
55
00:03:09,318 --> 00:03:10,668
ever to come out of America.
56
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Je suis américain.
57
00:03:12,408 --> 00:03:14,977
♪ Everywhere, heartbeat,
increasing heartbeat... ♪
58
00:03:15,020 --> 00:03:17,240
They are a total enigma to me.
59
00:03:17,283 --> 00:03:19,676
They are a band who
you can look up on Wikipedia
60
00:03:19,721 --> 00:03:21,765
and know nothing.
61
00:03:21,810 --> 00:03:24,204
Who the fuck are these guys?
62
00:03:24,247 --> 00:03:27,424
Ron has a huge snow globe collection.
63
00:03:27,467 --> 00:03:29,599
Like... Really?
64
00:03:29,644 --> 00:03:32,689
It's quite special and, um...
65
00:03:32,734 --> 00:03:34,649
odd.
66
00:03:34,692 --> 00:03:36,346
If you try to describe them to people,
67
00:03:36,389 --> 00:03:38,435
it's like, what do they
sound like? Sparks.
68
00:03:38,478 --> 00:03:41,002
The work speaks for itself,
so I don't have to know them.
69
00:03:41,045 --> 00:03:42,787
All pop music is rearranged Vince Clarke
70
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and rearranged Sparks.
71
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That's the truth.
72
00:03:45,399 --> 00:03:47,139
So we have influenced everyone.
73
00:03:47,182 --> 00:03:49,751
Honestly, I don't want to see this movie.
74
00:03:49,793 --> 00:03:52,361
I don't want to learn too much about 'em.
75
00:03:52,406 --> 00:03:56,061
Um, I'll watch it because I'm in it.
76
00:03:56,104 --> 00:03:57,585
What do you think about me
77
00:03:57,627 --> 00:03:59,500
calling the documentary
The Sparks Brothers?
78
00:04:02,764 --> 00:04:06,723
-Um, in lieu of anything better...
-Yeah, yeah.
79
00:04:09,378 --> 00:04:11,598
We hate that name.
80
00:04:16,995 --> 00:04:18,822
We are Sparks.
81
00:04:20,302 --> 00:04:21,870
Sparks are a band.
82
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Next question.
83
00:04:25,874 --> 00:04:28,658
-We are not an English band.
-Dude.
84
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I'm the singer.
85
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I'm not the singer.
86
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We are not identical twins.
87
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We are brothers.
88
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We are brothers.
89
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We do not live together.
90
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We are from a middle-class background.
91
00:04:51,855 --> 00:04:55,250
My sexual persuasion is slightly horny.
92
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There are 25 Sparks albums.
93
00:05:03,214 --> 00:05:05,783
With advances in medical technology,
94
00:05:05,826 --> 00:05:09,264
hopefully there will be
200 to 300 more Sparks albums.
95
00:05:10,918 --> 00:05:13,529
Sparks... how did this glam rock anomaly
96
00:05:13,574 --> 00:05:17,317
become a band with a career
spanning five decades?
97
00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:21,321
How can Ron and Russell Mael
be successful, underrated,
98
00:05:21,363 --> 00:05:23,887
hugely influential and overlooked
99
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all at the same time?
100
00:05:25,716 --> 00:05:28,370
How do two brothers survive
in a rock and roll world
101
00:05:28,415 --> 00:05:30,459
without killing each other?
102
00:05:30,504 --> 00:05:32,113
And where does one even start
103
00:05:32,156 --> 00:05:36,117
with 25 studio albums
and nearly 500 songs?
104
00:05:37,206 --> 00:05:41,471
Join us as we pull back the curtain
105
00:05:41,514 --> 00:05:45,605
to shine a light on the brothers Mael
106
00:05:45,649 --> 00:05:48,783
and crucially offer
a window into the psyche
107
00:05:48,826 --> 00:05:51,350
of these extraordinary musicians
108
00:05:51,394 --> 00:05:55,093
and, through their music,
paint a long overdue portrait
109
00:05:55,137 --> 00:05:57,834
of them as real artists.
110
00:05:57,879 --> 00:06:02,362
Our story begins
not in gloomy old England
111
00:06:02,404 --> 00:06:04,406
but in sunny California.
112
00:06:04,451 --> 00:06:07,410
♪ Gonna tell Aunt Mary
'bout Uncle John ♪
113
00:06:07,454 --> 00:06:10,281
♪ He claim he has the misery,
but he has a lot of fun ♪
114
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♪ Oh, baby, yeah, baby
115
00:06:13,894 --> 00:06:15,939
♪ Whoo, baby...
116
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To a kid seeing them on TV,
117
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they just came from another world.
118
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♪ Well, long tall Sally...
119
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They weren't supposed
to come from anywhere.
120
00:06:23,687 --> 00:06:26,603
I think, originally, I did
think they were a British band.
121
00:06:26,646 --> 00:06:28,343
I'm still not convinced
that they're American.
122
00:06:28,387 --> 00:06:29,954
I always sort of thought of them as like.
123
00:06:29,997 --> 00:06:32,000
Cheap Trick in a way, like,
oh, they're probably
124
00:06:32,043 --> 00:06:33,348
from the Midwest somewhere.
125
00:06:33,393 --> 00:06:35,264
We're kind of the rare breed
126
00:06:35,307 --> 00:06:37,571
of native-born Californians.
127
00:06:37,613 --> 00:06:40,704
I was born in Santa Monica, California.
128
00:06:40,747 --> 00:06:43,533
He was born in Culver City, California.
129
00:06:43,576 --> 00:06:46,709
Our father was an artist, a painter
130
00:06:46,754 --> 00:06:48,668
and was also a commercial artist
131
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for theHollywood Citizen-News.
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♪ Well, I saw Uncle John...
133
00:06:52,324 --> 00:06:54,283
Some of the images that he painted were
134
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places that we would go to quite a bit.
135
00:06:56,937 --> 00:06:59,156
One of them was the Santa Monica Pier.
136
00:06:59,201 --> 00:07:02,857
We would spend days fishing for perch.
137
00:07:02,899 --> 00:07:04,728
And kind of... the pier, to me,
138
00:07:04,771 --> 00:07:08,079
looks like that painting,
not like the real thing is.
139
00:07:08,122 --> 00:07:09,776
♪ Have some fun tonight...
140
00:07:09,819 --> 00:07:12,432
He always had these records from Elvis
141
00:07:12,475 --> 00:07:15,303
and Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard.
142
00:07:15,346 --> 00:07:18,567
Him introducing us to cool music
143
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was something that we kind of retained.
144
00:07:21,528 --> 00:07:24,574
♪ One, two, three o'clock,
four o'clock rock... ♪
145
00:07:24,617 --> 00:07:26,663
It really was an amazing time
146
00:07:26,706 --> 00:07:30,927
because we were exposed to the
first seismic shift in music.
147
00:07:30,971 --> 00:07:33,713
I remember the first time I went to see.
148
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Blackboard Jungle.
149
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One instance of hearing the title music
150
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changed my whole DNA.
151
00:07:40,677 --> 00:07:44,028
This kind of music was really overturning
152
00:07:44,072 --> 00:07:47,204
that staid Eisenhower-era lifestyle.
153
00:07:47,249 --> 00:07:51,079
This was wrong but in
all the kind of right ways.
154
00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:54,822
If you want to understand
155
00:07:54,865 --> 00:07:56,475
Ron and Russell, you need to see them
156
00:07:56,519 --> 00:07:58,521
through one prism, and that-that prism is
157
00:07:58,564 --> 00:08:02,002
cinema but specifically Hollywood.
158
00:08:03,874 --> 00:08:06,790
I remember spending
a lot of time at the movies
159
00:08:06,834 --> 00:08:08,923
with Russell and our father.
160
00:08:08,966 --> 00:08:12,927
We would go see a lot
of Westerns and war films.
161
00:08:15,581 --> 00:08:17,235
I really cherished those
162
00:08:17,278 --> 00:08:18,889
Saturday matinees.
163
00:08:18,932 --> 00:08:20,629
It was a rich experience.
164
00:08:20,673 --> 00:08:22,326
It was more than just a movie.
165
00:08:22,370 --> 00:08:24,547
It was a... a total afternoon
166
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with popcorn and cartoons and newsreels.
167
00:08:29,029 --> 00:08:31,946
Why don't you try a juicy, good hot dog?
168
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Our parents didn't care
if a movie had started,
169
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so we would just come
in the middle of the movie
170
00:08:36,341 --> 00:08:40,649
and try to imagine
what the beginning of it was.
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And I think part of our, uh,
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jagged sense of narrative in the songs
173
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might have been, uh,
initiated in some way by that.
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♪
175
00:09:01,758 --> 00:09:07,241
Um, when our father died, uh,
176
00:09:07,284 --> 00:09:11,638
obviously, it was
a really traumatic experience.
177
00:09:13,335 --> 00:09:17,600
You don't even understand,
really, how that's possible
178
00:09:17,644 --> 00:09:20,647
or that he's not gonna
ever be there again.
179
00:09:20,690 --> 00:09:24,389
And-and, uh, it's something
that's so abstract,
180
00:09:24,432 --> 00:09:26,609
just the concept of death.
181
00:09:26,653 --> 00:09:29,568
And, uh... and it's when...
when it's your father,
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and then especially at that age, too,
183
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that you're so young that you never
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got to ask the questions
185
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that you would now like
to have asked to him
186
00:09:41,405 --> 00:09:43,538
and to have known more about him.
187
00:09:43,582 --> 00:09:46,236
And I think that's kind of
part of the sad thing, too,
188
00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:49,893
is that, uh, so much
you'll never find out
189
00:09:49,937 --> 00:09:52,200
about, uh, your own father.
190
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We were both very, very young.
191
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I was... I was 11,
and Russell was eight, and...
192
00:10:04,081 --> 00:10:07,955
kind of everything changed
at that moment for us,
193
00:10:07,998 --> 00:10:11,000
and I think it did
bring us closer together.
194
00:10:14,004 --> 00:10:16,267
'Cause it was all very unexpected,
195
00:10:16,311 --> 00:10:18,922
the three of us were then kind of
196
00:10:18,966 --> 00:10:21,576
forced to be stronger as a unit.
197
00:10:21,620 --> 00:10:23,144
Um, Ron and I would,
198
00:10:23,187 --> 00:10:25,625
you know, do everything that we could
199
00:10:25,668 --> 00:10:27,626
to help out our mom.
200
00:10:29,279 --> 00:10:31,804
Our mother decided that
I should have piano lessons.
201
00:10:31,847 --> 00:10:33,544
I didn't want to admit that I enjoyed
202
00:10:33,588 --> 00:10:35,286
taking the piano lessons
203
00:10:35,330 --> 00:10:36,678
because, you know, there...
204
00:10:36,722 --> 00:10:38,638
always a rebellious streak in me,
205
00:10:38,681 --> 00:10:41,857
but piano lessons were actually
something I really enjoyed.
206
00:10:41,902 --> 00:10:45,165
And they would have talent
shows at elementary school,
207
00:10:45,209 --> 00:10:47,908
and I would get up there
in a pink sport jacket
208
00:10:47,951 --> 00:10:50,779
and a... a tie, and my hair
209
00:10:50,823 --> 00:10:53,390
really kind of greased and everything,
210
00:10:53,434 --> 00:10:56,394
and performing those talent
shows was an addictive thing.
211
00:10:56,437 --> 00:10:59,179
You really saw the audience reaction,
212
00:10:59,222 --> 00:11:00,615
and you thought,
"This is kind of cool."
213
00:11:00,659 --> 00:11:02,139
And it-it also
214
00:11:02,182 --> 00:11:04,053
blended in with our interest in sports.
215
00:11:04,097 --> 00:11:08,188
Both music and sports were
things that garnered attention.
216
00:11:08,231 --> 00:11:11,018
♪ Going out when the rest
are coming home ♪
217
00:11:11,061 --> 00:11:14,238
♪ Coming home when the rest
are going out ♪
218
00:11:14,282 --> 00:11:17,371
♪ And when I'm broke
and really down, I'm down... ♪
219
00:11:17,414 --> 00:11:19,808
It's an odd thing that our huge passion
220
00:11:19,852 --> 00:11:23,812
when we were growing up
in school was-was athletics.
221
00:11:25,379 --> 00:11:28,817
Hard to believe that, uh,
this scrawny body
222
00:11:28,861 --> 00:11:33,996
once played against, uh, 250-pound guys.
223
00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:36,870
I sometimes equate the experience
224
00:11:36,913 --> 00:11:39,610
of going out onto the field
on Friday night
225
00:11:39,654 --> 00:11:43,049
as the same sensation
as when you go onstage.
226
00:11:43,092 --> 00:11:45,399
There's the same adrenaline rush.
227
00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:51,580
♪ I want to be, I want to be
228
00:11:51,623 --> 00:11:55,018
♪ I want to be,
I want to be ♪
229
00:11:55,062 --> 00:11:58,629
♪ I want to be like
everybody else. ♪
230
00:12:04,331 --> 00:12:07,552
-♪ Ooh, ooh.
-♪ Over the summer
231
00:12:07,596 --> 00:12:09,946
-♪ Over the summer.
-♪ Ooh
232
00:12:09,990 --> 00:12:11,294
♪ Over the summer
233
00:12:11,339 --> 00:12:12,774
♪ Ooh...
234
00:12:12,818 --> 00:12:14,690
We lived always near
235
00:12:14,734 --> 00:12:17,301
the ocean, so both in Venice
and then Pacific Palisades.
236
00:12:17,345 --> 00:12:21,043
♪ You've got to trust
in summer ♪
237
00:12:21,087 --> 00:12:24,091
♪ Miracles can happen
if you do... ♪
238
00:12:24,134 --> 00:12:25,831
In the summer, we would walk down.
239
00:12:25,875 --> 00:12:27,746
There's a little bluff
that you have to walk
240
00:12:27,789 --> 00:12:29,225
from our house in the Palisades,
241
00:12:29,269 --> 00:12:31,053
and it led down to the ocean.
242
00:12:31,097 --> 00:12:33,534
It took maybe a half an hour.
243
00:12:33,577 --> 00:12:35,275
We'd do that routine every day.
244
00:12:35,318 --> 00:12:37,799
We'd stay from
like 9:00 in the morning
245
00:12:37,844 --> 00:12:39,628
to maybe, you know,
7:00 at night.
246
00:12:39,671 --> 00:12:42,413
So that was our life
for three months every year.
247
00:12:42,456 --> 00:12:45,807
♪ July, you were
the plainest of Janes... ♪
248
00:12:45,851 --> 00:12:49,115
People say that
they don't see any Los Angeles
249
00:12:49,158 --> 00:12:52,815
in what we're doing,
and I think that, actually,
250
00:12:52,859 --> 00:12:55,861
they're missing a lot of
what the influence was on us.
251
00:12:58,602 --> 00:13:00,692
We had our transistor radio,
252
00:13:00,735 --> 00:13:03,259
and, uh, AM music
at that time in Los Angeles
253
00:13:03,303 --> 00:13:04,783
was really incredible.
254
00:13:04,826 --> 00:13:08,177
It was just one big mass of pop music.
255
00:13:09,571 --> 00:13:11,312
Ladies and gentlemen, the beat goes on.
256
00:13:11,355 --> 00:13:13,443
♪ More music.
257
00:13:13,488 --> 00:13:16,143
The Real Don Steele.
258
00:13:16,186 --> 00:13:17,753
♪ 93 KHJ.
259
00:13:17,797 --> 00:13:20,799
♪ Please, please, please...
260
00:13:20,842 --> 00:13:23,541
There was no distinction between
261
00:13:23,585 --> 00:13:27,067
British bands or soul groups,
Black groups, white groups.
262
00:13:27,110 --> 00:13:28,894
It-it didn't really matter.
263
00:13:28,937 --> 00:13:33,682
Like, no one cared or
questioned the genres of music.
264
00:13:33,725 --> 00:13:37,424
You would always want
to go see any British band
265
00:13:37,467 --> 00:13:39,383
that would come to Los Angeles.
266
00:13:39,427 --> 00:13:42,211
The high point of our lives...
Uh, we can actually say
267
00:13:42,255 --> 00:13:46,173
we've seen The Beatles twice
because we had a cool mom.
268
00:13:46,216 --> 00:13:47,696
The Beatles,
269
00:13:47,739 --> 00:13:49,740
on their way to the Hollywood Bowl.
270
00:13:49,784 --> 00:13:52,091
Some of the youngsters
don't give up easily.
271
00:13:52,134 --> 00:13:53,875
For whatever reason,
272
00:13:53,919 --> 00:13:56,661
she agreed to drive us to Las Vegas,
273
00:13:56,705 --> 00:13:59,054
where they were playing a concert.
274
00:13:59,099 --> 00:14:03,058
So there we were in our little
Fiat Multipla that our mom had
275
00:14:03,102 --> 00:14:07,368
and had this sort of bad
futuristic shape to it.
276
00:14:07,410 --> 00:14:10,066
And, uh, we're putting along
the highway to Las Vegas
277
00:14:10,110 --> 00:14:12,198
just to see The Beatles.
278
00:14:12,241 --> 00:14:13,982
That's a mom.
279
00:14:21,686 --> 00:14:25,385
While we were at UCLA,
everything coalesced for us
280
00:14:25,428 --> 00:14:29,519
as far as soaking in all of
these things from the outside.
281
00:14:29,563 --> 00:14:32,914
We played in bands
early on with ridiculous names.
282
00:14:32,959 --> 00:14:35,875
I don't know, we were in Moonbaker Abbey,
283
00:14:35,918 --> 00:14:38,485
and we were in The Urban Renewal Project.
284
00:14:38,528 --> 00:14:41,532
I mean, how successful
could a band ever get
285
00:14:41,576 --> 00:14:44,230
calling themselves Urban Renewal Project?
286
00:14:45,580 --> 00:14:47,668
The first two songs that we ever recorded
287
00:14:47,711 --> 00:14:51,193
were "Computer Girl" and, uh,
the other one... what was this?
288
00:14:51,238 --> 00:14:52,803
-What was the second one?
-"Windmill."
289
00:14:52,847 --> 00:14:55,024
I'm ashamed that I forgot that,
but "W-Windmill."
290
00:14:55,067 --> 00:14:57,418
-So classic that he forgot it.
-Yeah.
291
00:14:57,461 --> 00:15:01,291
It's really strange
to have a song in 1966
292
00:15:01,335 --> 00:15:03,684
called "Computer Girl,"
because we didn't even
293
00:15:03,727 --> 00:15:06,427
really know what
a computer was at that time.
294
00:15:06,470 --> 00:15:10,865
♪ Computer girl
295
00:15:10,909 --> 00:15:14,783
♪ My computer girl
296
00:15:14,826 --> 00:15:16,567
♪ This is a recording
297
00:15:16,610 --> 00:15:20,048
♪ She's got no arms
298
00:15:20,092 --> 00:15:26,533
♪ She's got no legs
299
00:15:26,576 --> 00:15:31,755
♪ For computers
300
00:15:31,799 --> 00:15:35,150
♪ Have no limbs...
301
00:15:35,195 --> 00:15:37,240
-Pre-Kraftwerk?
-Pre-Kraftwerk. Yes.
302
00:15:37,283 --> 00:15:38,720
Yeah, we predate Kraftwerk
303
00:15:38,763 --> 00:15:41,852
when it comes to computer songs.
304
00:15:41,897 --> 00:15:43,681
The first time that we really got
305
00:15:43,725 --> 00:15:47,250
serious about music
was when we met Earle Mankey
306
00:15:47,293 --> 00:15:49,296
and the three of us got together
307
00:15:49,338 --> 00:15:52,254
and had similar musical taste.
308
00:15:52,298 --> 00:15:54,082
They seemed pretty much
309
00:15:54,126 --> 00:15:56,650
just like normal college students.
310
00:15:56,693 --> 00:15:58,653
But once we got into
the recording process,
311
00:15:58,696 --> 00:16:01,437
they-they turned out to be different.
312
00:16:01,481 --> 00:16:04,528
You have three people in a room
and a two-track tape recorder,
313
00:16:04,572 --> 00:16:07,662
and you want to emulate,
let's say The Beatles.
314
00:16:07,705 --> 00:16:10,230
Well, uh, first,
you might think you need drums.
315
00:16:10,273 --> 00:16:11,971
Well, we didn't have any drums.
316
00:16:12,014 --> 00:16:13,058
So, uh,
317
00:16:13,101 --> 00:16:14,711
bang on some boxes
318
00:16:14,755 --> 00:16:17,672
and find a table that had a nice tone,
319
00:16:17,715 --> 00:16:19,673
and if you needed a cymbal,
that was harder.
320
00:16:19,716 --> 00:16:20,717
But as I recall,
321
00:16:20,761 --> 00:16:22,981
there was a brass lampshade
322
00:16:23,024 --> 00:16:25,461
that, uh, didn't really ring
like a cymbal,
323
00:16:25,505 --> 00:16:27,421
but it would give us a nice clank.
324
00:16:28,856 --> 00:16:30,684
When I joined the band,
325
00:16:30,727 --> 00:16:32,469
it was called Halfnelson.
326
00:16:32,513 --> 00:16:35,298
I was contacted by Russell,
and he explained to me,
327
00:16:35,341 --> 00:16:37,561
"Well, we're not just getting together
328
00:16:37,605 --> 00:16:40,476
"to drink beer,
meet girls and play music.
329
00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:43,567
We're actually gonna
become big."
330
00:16:43,610 --> 00:16:46,004
That sounds like the scene
from our biopic
331
00:16:46,048 --> 00:16:47,831
that's, uh, upcoming soon.
332
00:16:49,485 --> 00:16:51,052
♪ Whoo!
333
00:16:51,096 --> 00:16:54,056
♪ Fa-fa-fa, fa-fa,
fa-fa-fa... ♪
334
00:16:54,100 --> 00:16:56,884
I think, at the
beginning, I was trying to be
335
00:16:56,927 --> 00:17:01,323
as much like Mick Jagger or Roger Daltrey
336
00:17:01,368 --> 00:17:03,283
as I could possibly be.
337
00:17:03,326 --> 00:17:07,068
I kind of missed the mark
by a few thousand miles,
338
00:17:07,113 --> 00:17:09,593
but something else emerged.
339
00:17:09,636 --> 00:17:11,334
♪ From champagne
340
00:17:11,377 --> 00:17:14,729
♪ And I have never
met the queen ♪
341
00:17:14,771 --> 00:17:17,557
♪ And I wish I could have
all he has got ♪
342
00:17:17,601 --> 00:17:20,734
♪ And I wish I could be
like David Watts... ♪
343
00:17:20,778 --> 00:17:22,084
I think there was
344
00:17:22,127 --> 00:17:23,432
sometimes a conscious
345
00:17:23,477 --> 00:17:25,869
and sometimes an unconscious attempt
346
00:17:25,913 --> 00:17:28,873
at trying to emulate the early Who songs
347
00:17:28,916 --> 00:17:31,571
and the early Kinks songs
that really felt
348
00:17:31,615 --> 00:17:33,748
in tune with what
we really wanted to be doing.
349
00:17:33,790 --> 00:17:36,055
♪ I'd lead the school team
to victory... ♪
350
00:17:36,097 --> 00:17:38,578
I remember I liked
bands that they didn't like.
351
00:17:38,622 --> 00:17:40,667
And I remember one time
I made the comment that,
352
00:17:40,711 --> 00:17:43,236
"Hey, Blood Sweat & Tears,
they're great, huh?"
353
00:17:43,278 --> 00:17:46,455
All the eyes rolled back simultaneously.
354
00:17:46,500 --> 00:17:47,892
It could've been worse.
He could have mentioned
355
00:17:47,935 --> 00:17:50,503
Chicago or somebody like that, and...
356
00:17:50,547 --> 00:17:54,421
then he would have been
out of the band immediately.
357
00:17:58,859 --> 00:18:02,732
♪ When you're
a French director... ♪
358
00:18:02,777 --> 00:18:04,560
There was a sense at the time
359
00:18:04,605 --> 00:18:07,259
that if you were kind of a hip person
360
00:18:07,303 --> 00:18:10,262
that you would also
automatically be interested
361
00:18:10,306 --> 00:18:13,003
in French New Wave films and Bergman.
362
00:18:13,048 --> 00:18:16,921
It kind of went hand in hand
with liking the British bands.
363
00:18:16,964 --> 00:18:19,184
It was just kind of a badge of honor,
364
00:18:19,228 --> 00:18:23,276
liking nonmainstream things.
365
00:18:25,278 --> 00:18:28,280
When I first met Ron,
366
00:18:28,324 --> 00:18:33,154
we were all deeply,
deeply rooted in film.
367
00:18:33,199 --> 00:18:36,201
As far as Russ was concerned, uh,
368
00:18:36,244 --> 00:18:38,595
he wanted to be a filmmaker.
369
00:18:38,638 --> 00:18:39,856
Early on, I was dabbling
370
00:18:39,901 --> 00:18:42,424
in French New Wave cinema
371
00:18:42,469 --> 00:18:46,603
and, uh, made a film when I was at UCLA.
372
00:18:46,646 --> 00:18:48,344
Um, and I don't know if it's...
373
00:18:48,387 --> 00:18:50,651
I-I wouldn't call it a great film,
374
00:18:50,693 --> 00:18:53,393
-but it wasn't...
-Oh, don't be so modest.
375
00:18:53,435 --> 00:18:57,135
I starred in Russell's student film,
376
00:18:57,179 --> 00:18:59,442
Très Sérieux, which means, I guess,
377
00:18:59,486 --> 00:19:01,923
Very Serious or something like that.
378
00:19:01,965 --> 00:19:05,752
My name in the movie was
Jean-Paul Mankey.
379
00:19:05,796 --> 00:19:10,148
You know, it was poking fun
at, uh, French art films.
380
00:19:11,366 --> 00:19:13,064
That's the cool thing about them.
381
00:19:13,107 --> 00:19:14,631
You know, they take something
that seems to be
382
00:19:14,674 --> 00:19:16,720
really great and arty,
383
00:19:16,763 --> 00:19:18,721
and then they shoot it in the pants.
384
00:19:18,766 --> 00:19:21,769
Other times, people think
they're making fun of something
385
00:19:21,811 --> 00:19:23,509
when they're deadly serious.
386
00:19:23,553 --> 00:19:25,294
They're kind of inscrutable, those guys.
387
00:19:28,253 --> 00:19:30,646
Well, I had
a chance to meet Ron and Russell
388
00:19:30,691 --> 00:19:32,823
when I worked at, uh, Universal Records.
389
00:19:32,866 --> 00:19:34,825
They brought their demo tape in,
390
00:19:34,868 --> 00:19:39,307
and I was taken by the creativity,
391
00:19:39,352 --> 00:19:42,310
the artistry, uh, the individuality.
392
00:19:42,355 --> 00:19:44,182
And it was something
393
00:19:44,226 --> 00:19:46,315
that you just knew was something.
394
00:19:46,358 --> 00:19:51,145
And I lobbied my brains out
to have them get signed.
395
00:19:52,973 --> 00:19:55,932
Every office
we'd go into was all excited.
396
00:19:57,195 --> 00:19:59,240
They'd call their friends in
and say, "Listen to this stuff.
397
00:19:59,285 --> 00:20:01,025
Isn't this weird?
Isn't this great?"
398
00:20:01,068 --> 00:20:03,114
Uh, and then they wouldn't sign us.
399
00:20:04,550 --> 00:20:06,465
The thing that marked them
400
00:20:06,509 --> 00:20:09,817
was their unwillingness
to give up on rejection.
401
00:20:09,859 --> 00:20:12,253
They just wouldn't give up.
402
00:20:12,298 --> 00:20:14,038
There's always just been
403
00:20:14,082 --> 00:20:17,172
one person throughout our whole career
404
00:20:17,215 --> 00:20:20,087
that would kind of get what it was
405
00:20:20,131 --> 00:20:22,351
that we were doing
at any one particular time...
406
00:20:22,394 --> 00:20:25,006
And the first one was Todd Rundgren...
407
00:20:25,048 --> 00:20:28,878
When everybody else at every
record label rejected us.
408
00:20:30,837 --> 00:20:32,273
If it hadn't been for him,
409
00:20:32,317 --> 00:20:35,145
there wouldn't have been a Sparks now.
410
00:20:35,190 --> 00:20:38,148
Well, without me,
there would be no Halfnelson.
411
00:20:38,192 --> 00:20:41,457
Sparks was something
that happened a little later.
412
00:20:41,500 --> 00:20:43,894
Todd Rundgren first discovered Sparks
413
00:20:43,938 --> 00:20:45,853
and produced their debut album.
414
00:20:46,896 --> 00:20:48,550
We sent the demo album
415
00:20:48,595 --> 00:20:50,596
to Todd Rundgren.
I had some notoriety
416
00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:52,598
in the business, so he took my call.
417
00:20:52,642 --> 00:20:58,257
My memory was that, uh,
Russell's, uh, girlfriend,
418
00:20:58,299 --> 00:21:01,477
part-time girlfriend,
girlfriend on and off, uh,
419
00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:04,436
was Miss Christine from the GTO's.
420
00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:07,221
Miss Christine was like
my girlfriend for a while,
421
00:21:07,266 --> 00:21:09,963
and then she became Russell's
girlfriend for a while.
422
00:21:10,007 --> 00:21:11,443
We became friends
423
00:21:11,487 --> 00:21:14,621
with-with, uh, Miss Christine as well.
424
00:21:14,663 --> 00:21:18,798
And so, um, at that time, I, uh...
425
00:21:18,842 --> 00:21:20,844
-We did?
-We did. We did.
426
00:21:22,977 --> 00:21:24,847
Let me... let me, uh...
yeah, we were...
427
00:21:24,892 --> 00:21:27,763
So I became... I became friends
with Miss Christine.
428
00:21:29,548 --> 00:21:32,202
I think Russell thought it was weird,
429
00:21:32,247 --> 00:21:34,162
but I didn't consider it
any sort of affront,
430
00:21:34,204 --> 00:21:35,945
but I think I knew Miss Christine
431
00:21:35,990 --> 00:21:37,991
better than he did.
432
00:21:38,035 --> 00:21:39,558
Yeah, I'm sure Miss Christine
433
00:21:39,602 --> 00:21:41,343
played Todd the demo.
434
00:21:41,386 --> 00:21:43,866
She was... she and Todd
were together quite a while,
435
00:21:43,911 --> 00:21:46,434
um, and she loved Sparks.
436
00:21:46,479 --> 00:21:47,958
Christine said, "Oh, Todd",
437
00:21:48,001 --> 00:21:49,481
"you've got to hear these guys.
438
00:21:49,525 --> 00:21:52,615
It's so great.
You're gonna want to sign 'em."
439
00:21:54,182 --> 00:21:56,357
I was struck by
the fact that it wasn't like
440
00:21:56,402 --> 00:21:59,752
anything else
that I was normally getting.
441
00:21:59,796 --> 00:22:03,017
It is sometimes like butterfly hunting.
442
00:22:03,059 --> 00:22:05,148
You're looking for some species
443
00:22:05,192 --> 00:22:08,369
that nobody has ever discovered before.
444
00:22:11,286 --> 00:22:13,635
So they set up a demo
445
00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:15,682
as if it was like a whole venue.
446
00:22:15,724 --> 00:22:19,468
They had this rehearsal space
out in the Valley.
447
00:22:19,511 --> 00:22:21,470
They called it the Doggy Factory,
448
00:22:21,513 --> 00:22:23,603
which implied that doggies
were made there,
449
00:22:23,645 --> 00:22:26,257
but it was actually doggy beds.
450
00:22:26,300 --> 00:22:28,346
Yeah, that's...
it was all left-handed.
451
00:22:28,390 --> 00:22:30,609
It was... I mean, this band,
you're gonna go see 'em
452
00:22:30,653 --> 00:22:32,394
at a doggy bed factory.
453
00:22:32,438 --> 00:22:35,309
I thought they were joking.
I thought it was a club.
454
00:22:35,354 --> 00:22:37,311
We all sat down in some folding chairs,
455
00:22:37,355 --> 00:22:39,444
and they put on a whole show.
456
00:22:39,488 --> 00:22:41,924
The biggest number, uh,
457
00:22:41,969 --> 00:22:43,536
I guess it would have to be the song.
458
00:22:43,578 --> 00:22:45,451
"Slowboat."
459
00:22:45,493 --> 00:22:48,148
There was a papier-mâché boat.
460
00:22:48,192 --> 00:22:50,412
Russell would sit in this boat
461
00:22:50,455 --> 00:22:53,109
and be towed across the floor
by the roadie.
462
00:22:53,153 --> 00:22:56,156
I got in it as if it
was like a Rose Parade float,
463
00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:58,246
and I was waving to the audience
464
00:22:58,288 --> 00:23:00,378
as the captain of this slow boat.
465
00:23:00,422 --> 00:23:02,729
And about three feet
later, he'd have to stop
466
00:23:02,771 --> 00:23:05,557
because it would be the end of the stage.
467
00:23:05,601 --> 00:23:06,645
My wife thought
468
00:23:06,689 --> 00:23:08,734
Russ was, uh, very cute,
469
00:23:08,778 --> 00:23:10,998
and I kept asking her about the music,
470
00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:13,000
but she kept telling me
how cute Russ was.
471
00:23:13,042 --> 00:23:15,959
Russ was really cute.
472
00:23:18,657 --> 00:23:20,398
I was
473
00:23:20,442 --> 00:23:22,704
well proud of the effort
that they put out
474
00:23:22,749 --> 00:23:25,490
and said,
"We'll make a record."
475
00:23:25,534 --> 00:23:30,538
♪ Slow boat, bring me back
another day... ♪
476
00:23:30,583 --> 00:23:33,802
Of course, everything
that happened after that was...
477
00:23:33,846 --> 00:23:35,631
was evolutionary.
478
00:23:35,674 --> 00:23:38,025
♪
479
00:23:56,652 --> 00:23:58,785
Sorry, Sam, can we
take that back a little ways?
480
00:23:58,827 --> 00:24:00,700
We'll pick it up.
481
00:24:00,742 --> 00:24:03,442
We really were elated that now things
482
00:24:03,484 --> 00:24:05,226
seemed real for once.
483
00:24:05,269 --> 00:24:07,270
It was really amazing.
484
00:24:07,315 --> 00:24:08,708
It was really surreal.
485
00:24:08,750 --> 00:24:10,186
It was like, "My God, this is...
486
00:24:10,230 --> 00:24:11,405
How did I get here?
This is incredible."
487
00:24:11,450 --> 00:24:14,191
It just, uh, seemed like
488
00:24:14,234 --> 00:24:18,152
we were soon gonna be at
the Hollywood Bowl ourselves.
489
00:24:21,241 --> 00:24:23,505
The making of the album was so much fun.
490
00:24:23,548 --> 00:24:26,247
It was great.
Uh, we had what seemed like
491
00:24:26,289 --> 00:24:28,509
an unlimited amount of time
in a good studio.
492
00:24:28,554 --> 00:24:29,771
♪ All will join in
493
00:24:29,816 --> 00:24:31,686
♪ In the
big scene... ♪
494
00:24:31,730 --> 00:24:34,342
To Todd's credit,
he really made us feel at home
495
00:24:34,384 --> 00:24:37,953
and more importantly
made us feel at home musically
496
00:24:37,998 --> 00:24:40,957
because he really wanted us
to keep to the essence
497
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,133
of what the demos were.
498
00:24:43,176 --> 00:24:45,788
♪ Take a tall one,
take a small one... ♪
499
00:24:45,832 --> 00:24:47,747
I didn't want to mess with
500
00:24:47,789 --> 00:24:50,618
this latent outsider genius.
501
00:24:50,663 --> 00:24:52,664
I'm just gonna figure out
502
00:24:52,708 --> 00:24:54,666
how to make it
a little bit more high-fidelity,
503
00:24:54,710 --> 00:24:56,885
and that...
and that will be fine,
504
00:24:56,930 --> 00:24:59,585
I think.
505
00:24:59,627 --> 00:25:01,368
This album was gonna be
506
00:25:01,412 --> 00:25:03,936
just phenomenal,
507
00:25:03,980 --> 00:25:05,241
just really good.
508
00:25:07,593 --> 00:25:10,203
We released the Halfnelson album,
509
00:25:10,247 --> 00:25:13,511
and it didn't really get
the commercial success
510
00:25:13,555 --> 00:25:17,471
that I think Todd was hoping for.
511
00:25:18,604 --> 00:25:20,561
With Sparks, you have this
512
00:25:20,605 --> 00:25:22,868
strange combination of...
513
00:25:22,912 --> 00:25:24,871
almost creative recklessness
514
00:25:24,913 --> 00:25:27,047
because they don't follow
the conventional path,
515
00:25:27,089 --> 00:25:29,048
which is what makes them great as a fan.
516
00:25:31,181 --> 00:25:33,182
There's this force of creativity
517
00:25:33,227 --> 00:25:35,358
that goes into that experimentation,
518
00:25:35,403 --> 00:25:37,578
but the culture isn't there yet.
519
00:25:37,623 --> 00:25:39,798
And then you find yourself
in the real world
520
00:25:39,842 --> 00:25:41,757
where you have to sell records.
521
00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:43,672
Well, you did it again.
522
00:25:43,715 --> 00:25:45,194
You look at Sparks,
523
00:25:45,239 --> 00:25:47,109
they're-they're just
blazing this trail, um,
524
00:25:47,153 --> 00:25:48,676
because there's just no...
525
00:25:48,721 --> 00:25:50,330
It-It's the ultimate experience
526
00:25:50,374 --> 00:25:52,115
of what you want from your artists.
527
00:25:52,159 --> 00:25:55,989
There's just no connection
to what is actually going on
528
00:25:56,031 --> 00:25:58,295
in the world.
529
00:25:58,338 --> 00:26:00,950
The album didn't sell very well,
530
00:26:00,993 --> 00:26:05,214
so the, uh, marketing geniuses
at the record company said,
531
00:26:05,259 --> 00:26:07,130
"Well, maybe a different name
532
00:26:07,173 --> 00:26:09,480
and a different album cover
would make the difference."
533
00:26:09,523 --> 00:26:11,265
And he goes,
534
00:26:11,307 --> 00:26:13,267
"You guys like comedy.
You like the Marx Brothers.
535
00:26:13,309 --> 00:26:16,051
You're brothers.
So the Sparks Brothers."
536
00:26:16,096 --> 00:26:19,751
And that met with one of those
pregnant pauses from us
537
00:26:19,795 --> 00:26:23,277
where we both stare at-at him,
uh, kind of aghast.
538
00:26:23,319 --> 00:26:25,278
I think we negotiated out
539
00:26:25,321 --> 00:26:28,586
the word "brothers"
and ended up with just Sparks.
540
00:26:32,154 --> 00:26:33,721
♪ She was
a wonder girl ♪
541
00:26:33,766 --> 00:26:35,855
♪ Some girl, that girl
542
00:26:35,897 --> 00:26:37,900
♪ She was a wonder girl
543
00:26:37,943 --> 00:26:40,859
♪ Some girl, that girl
544
00:26:40,903 --> 00:26:46,038
♪ It was a grand old time
we had ♪
545
00:26:46,082 --> 00:26:47,910
♪ She was there
546
00:26:47,953 --> 00:26:50,739
♪ And I was pretty glad...
547
00:26:50,782 --> 00:26:52,872
We're driving around,
548
00:26:52,914 --> 00:26:55,003
and the radio is kind of on,
549
00:26:55,048 --> 00:26:57,528
and I hear this voice, and I yell,
550
00:26:57,572 --> 00:26:59,835
"Yo, turn that up!
551
00:26:59,878 --> 00:27:02,969
"What is that? Turn that up.
552
00:27:03,011 --> 00:27:05,188
"Who is that?
553
00:27:05,231 --> 00:27:07,494
"Turn it up louder.
554
00:27:07,538 --> 00:27:09,584
That's amazing."
555
00:27:09,627 --> 00:27:11,193
♪ To her friends
556
00:27:11,238 --> 00:27:13,674
♪ It's a wonder that
557
00:27:13,719 --> 00:27:16,416
♪ She always
started trends... ♪
558
00:27:16,460 --> 00:27:20,028
All the bells and
whistles went off in my head.
559
00:27:20,073 --> 00:27:21,769
The radio announcer
560
00:27:21,814 --> 00:27:24,598
never got back on and said who that was,
561
00:27:24,643 --> 00:27:26,339
and it haunted me for years.
562
00:27:27,993 --> 00:27:32,301
♪ Ooh, wonder girl...
563
00:27:32,346 --> 00:27:34,434
We had made our first appearance
564
00:27:34,478 --> 00:27:36,611
onAmerican Bandstand,
which was pretty much
565
00:27:36,654 --> 00:27:39,788
the equivalent of being, like,
onTop of the Pops in the UK,
566
00:27:39,832 --> 00:27:42,355
but we still had no... no money
567
00:27:42,398 --> 00:27:45,532
and we were on food
assistance plans, food stamps.
568
00:27:45,576 --> 00:27:48,884
And so we went into
a supermarket the next week,
569
00:27:48,927 --> 00:27:51,146
and the checker said,
570
00:27:51,191 --> 00:27:53,714
"Hey, I saw you on television last week.
571
00:27:53,759 --> 00:27:55,499
You guys were great."
572
00:27:55,542 --> 00:27:58,414
And then we have
to pull out our food stamps
573
00:27:58,459 --> 00:28:00,548
to the nice lady, and then she's going,
574
00:28:00,590 --> 00:28:02,768
"Can we get approval for these poor guys
575
00:28:02,810 --> 00:28:04,900
"on aisle six, please?
576
00:28:04,943 --> 00:28:08,034
Poor people over here
who are on a television show."
577
00:28:08,076 --> 00:28:10,036
♪ Ooh, wonder girl...
578
00:28:10,078 --> 00:28:12,080
-Being humiliated in public.
-Yeah. Yeah.
579
00:28:12,125 --> 00:28:14,344
-Good training.
-Yeah.
580
00:28:14,387 --> 00:28:18,347
I'm immune to humiliation after that.
581
00:28:18,392 --> 00:28:20,220
♪ Hey, Lisa,
they're having a big party ♪
582
00:28:20,262 --> 00:28:22,439
♪ Down at
the Allele Pool tonight ♪
583
00:28:22,482 --> 00:28:25,181
♪ Ooh, let's do it
584
00:28:27,443 --> 00:28:29,663
It was a struggle
finding gigs for the band.
585
00:28:29,708 --> 00:28:30,709
So the thing that happened is
586
00:28:30,751 --> 00:28:32,579
the band went far afield.
587
00:28:32,623 --> 00:28:34,059
It's just ridiculous.
588
00:28:34,103 --> 00:28:36,365
We played some just terrible places
589
00:28:36,410 --> 00:28:38,804
where they all hated us.
590
00:28:38,846 --> 00:28:40,457
They went to Redding, California.
591
00:28:40,500 --> 00:28:42,459
It's like, why the hell Redding?
592
00:28:42,502 --> 00:28:47,115
But Houston got off to
a bad start and went downhill.
593
00:28:48,074 --> 00:28:50,076
So, there we are
594
00:28:50,118 --> 00:28:52,382
playing for this redneck audience
595
00:28:52,425 --> 00:28:56,256
that had been there to come see
a band called Cold Blood.
596
00:28:56,298 --> 00:28:59,606
Needless to say, uh,
they did not like us very much.
597
00:29:00,955 --> 00:29:03,132
I used to, as part of the stage act,
598
00:29:03,175 --> 00:29:05,394
have this giant wooden sledgehammer,
599
00:29:05,439 --> 00:29:08,615
with this, like,
really heavy mallet on it.
600
00:29:08,659 --> 00:29:10,878
He'd throw the sledgehammer up in the air
601
00:29:10,923 --> 00:29:13,011
and catch it, but this time,
he didn't catch it.
602
00:29:15,623 --> 00:29:18,278
Came down... slam!...
On his head.
603
00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:20,019
And I won't say it knocked him out,
604
00:29:20,061 --> 00:29:21,846
but he was extremely bloody.
605
00:29:21,890 --> 00:29:24,587
And I had this giant gash on my head,
606
00:29:24,632 --> 00:29:26,939
and I'm bleeding
and blood's flowing down.
607
00:29:26,981 --> 00:29:28,809
But the audience seemed to think it was
608
00:29:28,854 --> 00:29:30,463
part of our show,
like it was... you know,
609
00:29:30,507 --> 00:29:31,813
it was Alice Cooper with a blood capsule,
610
00:29:31,856 --> 00:29:33,771
but this was no blood capsule.
611
00:29:33,815 --> 00:29:38,471
This was my kind of brain, uh,
oozing out onto the stage.
612
00:29:38,515 --> 00:29:41,997
We're all laughing
up until we see Ron's reaction.
613
00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:44,913
And Ron's reaction is a combination of,
614
00:29:44,957 --> 00:29:48,047
"How dare you laugh?"
615
00:29:48,089 --> 00:29:51,049
and, "Oh, my God,
Russ is gonna die."
616
00:29:51,093 --> 00:29:52,747
I didn't even know
617
00:29:52,790 --> 00:29:54,443
he hit himself in the head
until after it was over.
618
00:29:54,488 --> 00:29:56,142
Then we went backstage,
619
00:29:56,184 --> 00:29:59,275
and I saw he was bleeding,
and big brother Ron,
620
00:29:59,318 --> 00:30:00,885
of course, was very concerned.
621
00:30:00,929 --> 00:30:02,757
-Was I?
-Yeah.
622
00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:05,454
Oh, times change.
623
00:30:09,894 --> 00:30:11,330
The next album
624
00:30:11,374 --> 00:30:12,897
that we would come up with,
625
00:30:12,941 --> 00:30:14,724
which was called
Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing,
626
00:30:14,769 --> 00:30:16,683
was produced by Jim Lowe.
627
00:30:16,727 --> 00:30:18,119
They were what I thought
628
00:30:18,163 --> 00:30:20,383
rock and roll was supposed to be.
629
00:30:20,426 --> 00:30:21,863
And I thought, "If this doesn't happen,
630
00:30:21,906 --> 00:30:23,517
what am I gonna go do next?"
631
00:30:23,559 --> 00:30:25,998
What would you produce
after you did Sparks?
632
00:30:27,173 --> 00:30:29,044
The fact that the second album
633
00:30:29,087 --> 00:30:31,307
was more experimental
than the first album,
634
00:30:31,351 --> 00:30:33,179
I think, was just a natural progression.
635
00:30:33,221 --> 00:30:34,875
It might have been better.
636
00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:37,878
It was certainly
more complex, more artistic.
637
00:30:37,923 --> 00:30:41,361
I thought that made for
a more interesting album.
638
00:30:41,403 --> 00:30:44,667
In a way, that album is
even more eccentric,
639
00:30:44,711 --> 00:30:46,887
I think, than...
than the first album.
640
00:30:46,932 --> 00:30:50,152
And so, you know, it was
really inspiring to us to know
641
00:30:50,195 --> 00:30:51,719
that they were giving us this permission
642
00:30:51,761 --> 00:30:55,027
to kind of commit self-destruction.
643
00:31:00,945 --> 00:31:02,990
♪ Whippings and apologies...
644
00:31:04,688 --> 00:31:07,821
Those two records are
my two favorite records
645
00:31:07,865 --> 00:31:09,824
that I've been involved with.
646
00:31:09,867 --> 00:31:10,912
And I told my wife
647
00:31:10,955 --> 00:31:12,958
after the Wooferalbum,
648
00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:15,089
I said, "If this album doesn't..."
649
00:31:15,134 --> 00:31:16,787
"doesn't make some noise or do something,
650
00:31:16,830 --> 00:31:18,701
I'm gonna go into
another business."
651
00:31:18,746 --> 00:31:21,053
It was just, "I-I don't know
anything about music.
652
00:31:21,096 --> 00:31:22,968
If people don't like
this stuff, it's crazy."
653
00:31:23,010 --> 00:31:25,665
And so I started, uh,
654
00:31:25,709 --> 00:31:27,755
directing television commercials.
655
00:31:29,583 --> 00:31:30,539
It didn't create the spark
656
00:31:30,584 --> 00:31:31,846
that they...
657
00:31:31,890 --> 00:31:33,804
that they had hoped for.
658
00:31:35,414 --> 00:31:37,242
They said, "Well, it's not really"
659
00:31:37,286 --> 00:31:39,288
"clicking here in the States,
but the sensibility
660
00:31:39,332 --> 00:31:41,508
"seems to be something that we think
661
00:31:41,550 --> 00:31:43,596
would go over better
in the UK."
662
00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:45,772
And all of a sudden, one day,
663
00:31:45,816 --> 00:31:48,210
we're on a frigging airplane to London.
664
00:31:56,697 --> 00:32:00,005
♪ How I wished my folks
were gracious hosts... ♪
665
00:32:00,048 --> 00:32:02,789
Getting to see,
you know, Buckingham Palace
666
00:32:02,833 --> 00:32:05,183
and riding on the tube, and we were
667
00:32:05,227 --> 00:32:08,186
living the good life
in our small little way.
668
00:32:10,579 --> 00:32:12,886
Back in the Doggy
Factory, we had a picture
669
00:32:12,931 --> 00:32:14,932
on the wall of John's Children,
670
00:32:14,976 --> 00:32:17,152
and they were really cool-looking guys.
671
00:32:17,195 --> 00:32:20,241
When we got over there,
John was our manager.
672
00:32:20,286 --> 00:32:22,069
The idea was, would I look after them
673
00:32:22,114 --> 00:32:25,029
and try and secure TV,
et cetera, and, uh,
674
00:32:25,073 --> 00:32:27,857
some shows in London and press,
which we did.
675
00:32:27,902 --> 00:32:30,122
♪ What a war, some war
676
00:32:30,164 --> 00:32:32,645
♪ Lord knows
she's from Germany ♪
677
00:32:32,689 --> 00:32:34,256
♪ Well, it's
the same old country ♪
678
00:32:34,299 --> 00:32:35,778
♪ But the people
have changed... ♪
679
00:32:35,823 --> 00:32:37,085
The only TV we did, I think,
680
00:32:37,128 --> 00:32:38,652
was theGrey Whistle Test,
681
00:32:38,694 --> 00:32:41,001
which Bob Harris said
was, like, the worst band
682
00:32:41,046 --> 00:32:42,176
he'd ever seen.
683
00:32:44,396 --> 00:32:46,442
Old Grey Whistle Test
was dark and underground,
684
00:32:46,486 --> 00:32:48,227
and it was a bit worthy.
685
00:32:48,269 --> 00:32:52,057
And the-the presenter
Bob Harris didn't like Sparks.
686
00:32:52,099 --> 00:32:53,840
That was actually a-a real turn-on
687
00:32:53,884 --> 00:32:56,191
because whatever Bob
didn't like, you kind of liked.
688
00:32:56,234 --> 00:32:57,800
Great stuff.
689
00:32:57,845 --> 00:32:59,673
Everybody saw us
on Old Grey Whistle Test,
690
00:32:59,715 --> 00:33:01,282
and being on the telly was a big deal.
691
00:33:01,326 --> 00:33:04,503
So, when we then got the follow-up gig
692
00:33:04,547 --> 00:33:08,463
at the Marquee Club,
the place was packed.
693
00:33:08,508 --> 00:33:10,291
Almost in that first moment,
694
00:33:10,336 --> 00:33:12,207
when you see something like Sparks,
695
00:33:12,250 --> 00:33:13,643
which is just so distinctive
696
00:33:13,686 --> 00:33:15,689
and sounds so distinctive,
697
00:33:15,731 --> 00:33:17,343
everything that you ever feel about them
698
00:33:17,385 --> 00:33:19,561
for the rest of time is in there.
699
00:33:19,605 --> 00:33:22,478
♪ Oh, my word,
she's from Germany ♪
700
00:33:22,521 --> 00:33:24,436
♪ Well, it's
the same old country ♪
701
00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:26,787
♪ But the people
have changed... ♪
702
00:33:26,829 --> 00:33:29,136
"Girl from Germany"
was kind of a harbinger
703
00:33:29,181 --> 00:33:33,228
of things to come for us
in a lyrical way, I think.
704
00:33:33,271 --> 00:33:37,276
It's about a guy
who's defending his girlfriend,
705
00:33:37,318 --> 00:33:39,365
who happens to be from Germany,
706
00:33:39,407 --> 00:33:41,758
to his parents who are Jewish.
707
00:33:41,801 --> 00:33:44,282
♪ Well, the car I drive
is parked outside... ♪
708
00:33:44,326 --> 00:33:45,848
They come out with this song,
709
00:33:45,893 --> 00:33:46,849
and it's like, are you kidding me?
710
00:33:46,894 --> 00:33:48,677
They're, like, talking about
711
00:33:48,721 --> 00:33:51,115
how people still hate Germans and stuff,
712
00:33:51,159 --> 00:33:53,161
and it's so sick and so funny.
713
00:33:54,467 --> 00:33:57,512
My favorite lyric from a Sparks song is
714
00:33:57,557 --> 00:34:00,385
from "Girl from Germany," which is, uh...
715
00:34:00,429 --> 00:34:02,648
"My word, she's from Germany.
716
00:34:02,692 --> 00:34:05,217
It's the same old country,
but the people have changed."
717
00:34:05,259 --> 00:34:08,742
Which is, like, well played, well played.
718
00:34:08,784 --> 00:34:13,094
♪ With its splendid castles
and its fine cuisine ♪
719
00:34:13,137 --> 00:34:14,791
♪ Its lovely German women
720
00:34:14,835 --> 00:34:17,445
♪ And you and me.
721
00:34:18,751 --> 00:34:20,405
There's a better than even chance
722
00:34:20,449 --> 00:34:23,148
that it would've continued
moving onward and upward
723
00:34:23,190 --> 00:34:25,672
had the record company
at that point not decided
724
00:34:25,715 --> 00:34:26,847
that, "Well, we've invested enough."
725
00:34:26,889 --> 00:34:28,501
"We're gonna pull the plug,
726
00:34:28,543 --> 00:34:30,764
and we're gonna bring 'em
back to America."
727
00:34:30,806 --> 00:34:32,679
They literally were
thrown out of England.
728
00:34:32,722 --> 00:34:34,246
It was like one day's notice,
729
00:34:34,289 --> 00:34:36,291
you're on an airplane,
you're out of here.
730
00:34:36,335 --> 00:34:37,945
"Pack your gear
and get out of here."
731
00:34:39,293 --> 00:34:41,121
We had built up way more momentum
732
00:34:41,166 --> 00:34:42,775
in London than we had in L.A.,
733
00:34:42,818 --> 00:34:45,126
but whatever momentum
we had built up in L.A.
734
00:34:45,170 --> 00:34:47,389
had completely died out.
735
00:34:47,432 --> 00:34:49,739
My memory of what the mood was like
736
00:34:49,782 --> 00:34:51,827
at that time was,
737
00:34:51,871 --> 00:34:54,614
"Well, you know, this thing
may have run its course."
738
00:35:02,143 --> 00:35:04,318
We were kind of stuck in a way,
739
00:35:04,362 --> 00:35:06,146
knowing that there was
740
00:35:06,190 --> 00:35:09,150
this promised land that was...
that was there for us
741
00:35:09,193 --> 00:35:12,110
if we could only figure out
how to get there.
742
00:35:12,152 --> 00:35:14,677
They called and said
they'd like to come over
743
00:35:14,721 --> 00:35:16,766
and, um, yeah, could I help?
744
00:35:16,809 --> 00:35:18,507
Which I could and did.
745
00:35:18,550 --> 00:35:21,597
I talked to David Betteridge
at Island Records,
746
00:35:21,641 --> 00:35:23,860
and David said,
"Yeah, go for it."
747
00:35:25,253 --> 00:35:26,688
As soon as I saw the pictures
748
00:35:26,733 --> 00:35:27,907
of Ron and Russell...
749
00:35:27,951 --> 00:35:29,561
This was before I'd met them...
750
00:35:29,605 --> 00:35:31,172
Just looking at the pictures
751
00:35:31,215 --> 00:35:34,001
and listening to those first two albums,
752
00:35:34,043 --> 00:35:36,264
straightaway, it all made sense.
753
00:35:36,307 --> 00:35:38,831
It seemed to me that the only way
754
00:35:38,875 --> 00:35:40,528
that we could get this happening
755
00:35:40,572 --> 00:35:43,750
is if we made it
a little bit more rock and roll
756
00:35:43,793 --> 00:35:47,056
and get an English
backing group with them.
757
00:35:47,101 --> 00:35:48,449
A friend of mine said,
758
00:35:48,494 --> 00:35:50,277
"I saw your old band buddies.
759
00:35:50,322 --> 00:35:52,193
"They're having a garage sale.
760
00:35:52,237 --> 00:35:54,195
And they told me that
they were moving to England."
761
00:35:54,239 --> 00:35:55,936
And I said, "What?
They're moving to England?
762
00:35:55,978 --> 00:35:56,980
News to me."
763
00:35:58,199 --> 00:35:59,460
A yard sale in anybody's yard
764
00:35:59,505 --> 00:36:02,594
in Los Angeles means
bad news for somebody.
765
00:36:02,637 --> 00:36:04,900
It was an agonizing decision
766
00:36:04,945 --> 00:36:06,989
for Ron and Russ to-to, uh,
767
00:36:07,034 --> 00:36:09,557
cut the band loose and go to England.
768
00:36:09,601 --> 00:36:14,083
To betray the other people
was a really difficult thing,
769
00:36:14,128 --> 00:36:17,565
but also knowing that being
770
00:36:17,610 --> 00:36:21,266
a British band
was a lifetime dream of ours.
771
00:36:21,309 --> 00:36:23,442
They were on the horns of a dilemma.
772
00:36:23,485 --> 00:36:25,574
Obviously, I think
they made the right decision.
773
00:36:25,617 --> 00:36:27,532
The rest is history.
774
00:36:33,233 --> 00:36:35,235
The bands that we had admired,
775
00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:38,108
these English bands
that we liked so much,
776
00:36:38,152 --> 00:36:40,110
we always thought of them
as being glamorous
777
00:36:40,153 --> 00:36:42,896
and-and bigger than life.
778
00:36:42,938 --> 00:36:45,376
So, when we put out
these ads for band members,
779
00:36:45,420 --> 00:36:47,769
we were kind of trying to find people
780
00:36:47,813 --> 00:36:51,034
that would fulfill that image
of ours of this England
781
00:36:51,077 --> 00:36:54,690
that was maybe just in our minds.
782
00:36:56,213 --> 00:36:57,737
Straightaway, it worked.
783
00:36:57,780 --> 00:36:59,391
It just worked.
784
00:36:59,434 --> 00:37:01,697
Each time you'd go to the rehearsal room,
785
00:37:01,740 --> 00:37:04,177
there'd be something new there.
786
00:37:04,222 --> 00:37:05,614
I'm like, "Shit, that's good."
787
00:37:05,657 --> 00:37:07,137
Um, you know, then the next rehearsal.
788
00:37:07,181 --> 00:37:08,400
"Wow, that song's good."
789
00:37:09,922 --> 00:37:12,664
We found a momentum very quickly,
790
00:37:12,708 --> 00:37:15,581
and when we got enough tracks
to make an album,
791
00:37:15,623 --> 00:37:17,322
then we said,
792
00:37:17,364 --> 00:37:18,757
"We've made an album."
793
00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:20,847
Well, everybody at Island was
794
00:37:20,889 --> 00:37:22,630
really ecstatic about the album
795
00:37:22,675 --> 00:37:24,371
and really supportive.
796
00:37:24,416 --> 00:37:25,938
And-and especially in picking.
797
00:37:25,981 --> 00:37:27,418
"This Town Ain't Big Enough
for Both of Us"
798
00:37:27,461 --> 00:37:29,463
to be the first song, 'cause it was...
799
00:37:29,507 --> 00:37:31,291
you know, it was taking a chance,
800
00:37:31,335 --> 00:37:34,686
it was going for something
that was really extreme.
801
00:37:36,210 --> 00:37:38,472
"This Town Ain't
Big Enough for the Both of Us"
802
00:37:38,516 --> 00:37:40,954
was the first record I heard
by them on the radio.
803
00:37:40,996 --> 00:37:43,695
I remember I-I had a, uh...
a darkroom in my home,
804
00:37:43,739 --> 00:37:45,436
and that came on in the dark.
805
00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:47,351
I nearly dropped my tongs,
806
00:37:47,394 --> 00:37:49,440
as they say in the photography world.
807
00:37:49,483 --> 00:37:51,485
The first thing
that I ever bought was, um,
808
00:37:51,530 --> 00:37:53,182
"This Town Ain't Big Enough
for the Both of Us."
809
00:37:53,226 --> 00:37:54,793
I just played it nonstop
810
00:37:54,836 --> 00:37:57,231
until the grooves wore out
pretty much, you know.
811
00:37:57,275 --> 00:38:00,059
My granddad was a wedding DJ, and he had.
812
00:38:00,103 --> 00:38:01,148
"This Town Ain't Big Enough
813
00:38:01,190 --> 00:38:03,018
"for the Both of Us" by Sparks.
814
00:38:03,063 --> 00:38:05,847
I remember hearing, uh,
815
00:38:05,891 --> 00:38:08,286
"This Town Ain't Big Enough for
the Both of Us" and just going,
816
00:38:08,329 --> 00:38:11,331
"I've never heard
anything like this."
817
00:38:11,376 --> 00:38:14,291
♪
818
00:38:25,041 --> 00:38:26,652
Everyone at the record label said,
819
00:38:26,695 --> 00:38:28,480
"It's gonna become a big hit
if we can just
820
00:38:28,523 --> 00:38:30,612
get you
on theTop of the Pops."
821
00:38:30,655 --> 00:38:33,222
The producer of the show was
a very dapper gentleman,
822
00:38:33,266 --> 00:38:35,878
and he said, "Oh, hello.
My name is Robin Nash.
823
00:38:35,922 --> 00:38:37,315
Nice to meet you."
824
00:38:37,358 --> 00:38:39,577
I said,
"Hi. My name is Russell."
825
00:38:39,621 --> 00:38:42,449
He was taken aback a bit
that I was an American,
826
00:38:42,494 --> 00:38:44,409
and he went and made a phone call
827
00:38:44,452 --> 00:38:46,061
and had taken us off the show
828
00:38:46,106 --> 00:38:48,630
because we hadn't gotten work permits.
829
00:38:48,673 --> 00:38:51,893
So everyone at Island was
just distraught.-
830
00:38:51,938 --> 00:38:53,592
It allowed another band,
831
00:38:53,635 --> 00:38:55,811
one of the greats of all time,
The Rubettes,
832
00:38:55,855 --> 00:38:58,117
to take our place,
833
00:38:58,161 --> 00:39:00,902
and so they sadly reached number one.
834
00:39:00,947 --> 00:39:03,471
You know, all through
our career, there have been.
835
00:39:03,514 --> 00:39:07,518
The Rubettes in-in some form or other.
836
00:39:07,561 --> 00:39:09,869
I love "Sugar Baby Love" by The Rubettes.
837
00:39:09,911 --> 00:39:12,480
Ron will hate you for that.
-
838
00:39:12,523 --> 00:39:15,440
But where are they now?
839
00:39:15,483 --> 00:39:18,094
Finally, the British
Musicians' Union relented,
840
00:39:18,137 --> 00:39:19,704
and there we were.
841
00:39:19,748 --> 00:39:21,923
"This Town Ain't Big Enough
for the Both of Us."
842
00:39:21,967 --> 00:39:23,230
♪
843
00:39:23,273 --> 00:39:24,971
I loved his voice.
844
00:39:25,014 --> 00:39:27,755
You know, I-I guess it was
kind of like a bit...
845
00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:31,019
I don't know what it was...
Quite feminine, I guess.
846
00:39:31,063 --> 00:39:34,501
Quite sort of...
possessed or something.
847
00:39:34,545 --> 00:39:36,809
It definitely wasn't like rock and roll.
848
00:39:36,851 --> 00:39:38,898
♪ Zoo time is
she and you time ♪
849
00:39:38,940 --> 00:39:40,856
♪ The mammals are
your favorite type ♪
850
00:39:40,900 --> 00:39:43,423
♪ And you want her tonight
851
00:39:43,467 --> 00:39:45,425
♪ Heartbeat,
increasing heartbeat ♪
852
00:39:45,469 --> 00:39:48,036
♪ You hear the thunder
of stampeding rhinos ♪
853
00:39:48,081 --> 00:39:50,257
♪ Elephants and tacky tigers
854
00:39:50,300 --> 00:39:54,086
♪ This town ain't big enough
for the both of us ♪
855
00:39:54,130 --> 00:39:58,047
♪ And it ain't me
who's gonna leave... ♪
856
00:39:58,090 --> 00:40:00,092
I think there were 60 million people
857
00:40:00,135 --> 00:40:01,963
at that time in the UK, and...
858
00:40:02,007 --> 00:40:05,315
and 15 million of them were
watching Top of the Pops.
859
00:40:06,795 --> 00:40:09,449
When I was growing up,
I never knew anybody
860
00:40:09,494 --> 00:40:11,364
that went to university,
but I never knew anyone
861
00:40:11,409 --> 00:40:13,018
that didn't watch Top of the Pops.
862
00:40:13,061 --> 00:40:14,628
When I saw them
863
00:40:14,672 --> 00:40:16,152
onTop of the Pops for the first time,
864
00:40:16,195 --> 00:40:19,503
I instantly wanted to be
the keyboard player.
865
00:40:19,547 --> 00:40:22,157
I wanted to be the quiet one
that didn't say anything.
866
00:40:22,202 --> 00:40:25,378
I remember sitting there
probably with my parents
867
00:40:25,422 --> 00:40:27,947
in front of Top of the Pops
on a Thursday night
868
00:40:27,989 --> 00:40:30,210
and seeing these two guys on there,
869
00:40:30,253 --> 00:40:32,472
thinking, "What is that?"
870
00:40:32,516 --> 00:40:33,909
♪ Daily, except for Sunday
871
00:40:33,952 --> 00:40:36,041
♪ You dawdle into the café...
872
00:40:36,085 --> 00:40:37,260
Everyone came
873
00:40:37,304 --> 00:40:38,827
to school the next day saying,
874
00:40:38,871 --> 00:40:40,525
"Did you see that guy?"
875
00:40:42,003 --> 00:40:43,179
The-the man who looked like Hitler.
876
00:40:44,746 --> 00:40:47,139
A lot of people say,
"Why the Charlie Chaplin look?"
877
00:40:47,182 --> 00:40:49,447
And a lot of people say,
"Why the Hitler look?"
878
00:40:49,489 --> 00:40:51,492
And both of those people
879
00:40:51,536 --> 00:40:55,148
seem to me to be
cartoon characters in a way.
880
00:40:56,541 --> 00:40:58,367
The next day, when you talk about it,
881
00:40:58,411 --> 00:41:00,849
the word of mouth begins
in a way that is viral...
882
00:41:00,893 --> 00:41:02,329
Like we now have, obviously,
on everything...
883
00:41:02,371 --> 00:41:03,896
But back then, that was a rare thing.
884
00:41:03,938 --> 00:41:05,505
And you start to make things up slightly.
885
00:41:05,550 --> 00:41:07,159
One of my favorite anecdotes
886
00:41:07,202 --> 00:41:09,378
about thatTop of the Pops
appearance is...
887
00:41:09,422 --> 00:41:11,903
is John Lennon ringing up
Ringo Starr and saying...
888
00:41:11,947 --> 00:41:14,472
-You won't believe what's on the television.
-What?
889
00:41:14,514 --> 00:41:17,909
-Marc Bolan is playing a song with Adolf Hitler.
-Hitler?
890
00:41:17,952 --> 00:41:19,911
But that's how,
unfortunately, we all thought.
891
00:41:19,954 --> 00:41:20,913
We all thought
892
00:41:20,956 --> 00:41:22,567
Adolf Hitler.
893
00:41:22,610 --> 00:41:25,003
Two years ago, there was somebody
894
00:41:25,047 --> 00:41:27,048
dressed like Hitler
playing the piano on the BBC.
895
00:41:27,092 --> 00:41:30,530
Sparks.
She's talking about Sparks.
896
00:41:30,574 --> 00:41:32,838
He-he was born
looking like Hitler, that guy.
897
00:41:35,710 --> 00:41:37,407
From then on,
every single piece ever written
898
00:41:37,451 --> 00:41:40,541
about the group would just say
"Adolf Hitler," which also
899
00:41:40,585 --> 00:41:42,063
really kind of weirdly tangled up
900
00:41:42,108 --> 00:41:43,369
in the myth of the group.
901
00:41:43,413 --> 00:41:45,590
You know, the shock to the system
902
00:41:45,632 --> 00:41:48,896
as a piece of choreography,
let alone his appearance,
903
00:41:48,940 --> 00:41:50,550
was so remarkable that immediately
904
00:41:50,594 --> 00:41:52,987
it started to grow in your imagination.
905
00:41:53,032 --> 00:41:54,336
They're playing this upbeat,
906
00:41:54,380 --> 00:41:56,818
energetic, fantastic music,
907
00:41:56,862 --> 00:41:58,690
and he just stood there.
908
00:41:58,733 --> 00:42:01,561
I think it's really clever.
909
00:42:01,606 --> 00:42:04,347
The following day, I remember going in
910
00:42:04,391 --> 00:42:07,001
and one of the sales guys saying,
911
00:42:07,045 --> 00:42:10,309
"We've done 200,000 singles
today already.
912
00:42:10,353 --> 00:42:11,963
"The vans are out everywhere,
913
00:42:12,007 --> 00:42:15,228
and there were people
buying boxes of them."
914
00:42:15,271 --> 00:42:17,925
That is a fantastic feeling.
915
00:42:17,969 --> 00:42:20,711
John and I have said,
"Always judge an album
916
00:42:20,755 --> 00:42:22,409
by its cover."
917
00:42:22,452 --> 00:42:25,237
Um, so if something has
a dreadful album cover,
918
00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:26,891
don't buy it.
919
00:42:26,934 --> 00:42:29,590
♪
920
00:42:29,634 --> 00:42:31,373
The cover's amazing, with the two
921
00:42:31,418 --> 00:42:33,333
kind of Geisha girls
with the smeared makeup on.
922
00:42:33,376 --> 00:42:36,030
Here, you have this image
which should be and could be
923
00:42:36,074 --> 00:42:37,336
perfect and pristine, and if it had been
924
00:42:37,380 --> 00:42:38,773
another band of the period,
925
00:42:38,817 --> 00:42:40,382
it would have been...
There would have been...
926
00:42:40,427 --> 00:42:41,862
They would have been more objectified.
927
00:42:41,907 --> 00:42:43,429
They're doing... even with the visual,
928
00:42:43,472 --> 00:42:45,170
they're doing something interesting,
929
00:42:45,213 --> 00:42:46,954
but you can't quite put
your finger on what it is.
930
00:42:46,998 --> 00:42:49,610
I was like, "Oh, my God,
this is fantastic."
931
00:42:49,653 --> 00:42:52,960
At once like fashion photography,
932
00:42:53,005 --> 00:42:56,485
and at once making fun
of fashion photography.
933
00:42:56,530 --> 00:42:59,228
And I think that is something
I love about Sparks is that
934
00:42:59,271 --> 00:43:00,925
they are the ones
935
00:43:00,969 --> 00:43:02,753
they were to mock,
you know, in a weird way.
936
00:43:03,842 --> 00:43:05,583
The art direction's just superb.
937
00:43:05,626 --> 00:43:07,802
Imagine, you know, us trying
to convince our record label,
938
00:43:07,846 --> 00:43:10,108
"No, no, no, we don't want
the name of the band,
939
00:43:10,152 --> 00:43:12,632
"uh, uh, and the title
of the album on the front.
940
00:43:12,677 --> 00:43:15,070
No, that's going on the back."
941
00:43:15,114 --> 00:43:18,030
The joy of actually having this fantastic
942
00:43:18,072 --> 00:43:19,465
12-inch vinyl in front of you,
943
00:43:19,509 --> 00:43:21,076
and it had the lyrics on it as well,
944
00:43:21,119 --> 00:43:22,643
and then you're reading
through the lyrics,
945
00:43:22,686 --> 00:43:23,731
and you're thinking,
946
00:43:23,775 --> 00:43:25,603
"This band are amazing."
947
00:43:25,646 --> 00:43:27,909
I had to know everything about them
948
00:43:27,952 --> 00:43:30,650
and threw myself into being a fan.
949
00:43:33,262 --> 00:43:35,351
♪
950
00:43:47,188 --> 00:43:49,277
The first tour was really exciting.
951
00:43:49,322 --> 00:43:50,583
The audience would just go crazy.
952
00:43:50,628 --> 00:43:53,804
I mean, it was just fandom.
953
00:43:53,847 --> 00:43:55,545
We were now thrown into kind of
954
00:43:55,588 --> 00:43:57,112
what we thought was the...
sort of the big league,
955
00:43:57,155 --> 00:44:00,289
having the success ofKimono My House.
956
00:44:00,333 --> 00:44:03,030
The concerts we were doing
at that time were just
957
00:44:03,074 --> 00:44:04,641
really wild events.
958
00:44:04,684 --> 00:44:06,947
And I remember one in Liverpool,
959
00:44:06,992 --> 00:44:08,601
we were pressed against the glass
960
00:44:08,646 --> 00:44:10,429
of the exterior of the hotel,
961
00:44:10,472 --> 00:44:13,041
just smashed against
the front of the building,
962
00:44:13,085 --> 00:44:14,652
and then finally somebody
helped rescue us
963
00:44:14,695 --> 00:44:16,304
and we went through the kitchen.
964
00:44:16,349 --> 00:44:18,090
You know, it was a really special period.
965
00:44:18,132 --> 00:44:20,483
♪ Amateur hour goes on and on,
and when you turn pro ♪
966
00:44:20,527 --> 00:44:22,050
♪ You know,
she'll let you know... ♪
967
00:44:22,094 --> 00:44:24,096
I remember vividly seeing them
968
00:44:24,139 --> 00:44:25,967
at Hammersmith Odeon.
969
00:44:26,010 --> 00:44:29,492
And I remember being really
excited about seeing them.
970
00:44:29,536 --> 00:44:34,061
There was a lot of screaming
'cause of cutie-pie on vocals.
971
00:44:34,106 --> 00:44:36,630
It was a given after they'd
been onTop of the Pops.
972
00:44:36,673 --> 00:44:38,893
♪ Our voices change
at a rapid pace... ♪
973
00:44:38,936 --> 00:44:39,938
I lived in Beckenham,
974
00:44:39,981 --> 00:44:42,375
and, uh, that's where I saw
975
00:44:42,418 --> 00:44:44,637
Ron and Russell walking down the street.
976
00:44:44,681 --> 00:44:46,204
And that was a very strange experience.
977
00:44:46,248 --> 00:44:48,076
I thought they didn't really exist.
978
00:44:48,119 --> 00:44:50,382
You know, they existed onstage,
they existed on the TV,
979
00:44:50,425 --> 00:44:52,733
and, you know,
they were from other lands.
980
00:44:52,777 --> 00:44:54,213
I remember sort of wanting to hide.
981
00:44:54,255 --> 00:44:55,996
♪ Amateur hour goes on and on
982
00:44:56,041 --> 00:44:57,782
♪ And when you turn pro,
you know... ♪
983
00:44:57,824 --> 00:44:59,827
We knew when they were
gonna be at the BBC.
984
00:44:59,871 --> 00:45:01,699
We knew when they
were gonna be at Capital.
985
00:45:01,742 --> 00:45:03,961
We knew when they were getting
off a plane at Heathrow.
986
00:45:04,005 --> 00:45:06,137
We were detectives in terms of actually
987
00:45:06,181 --> 00:45:07,878
finding stuff out about them.
988
00:45:07,922 --> 00:45:09,706
You know, it was a full-time job
989
00:45:09,750 --> 00:45:11,621
to make sure we were on top of it.
990
00:45:11,664 --> 00:45:14,755
We'd been to see them
quite a few times in London.
991
00:45:14,798 --> 00:45:17,409
The excitement never, ever went away.
992
00:45:17,452 --> 00:45:19,717
It was always just a-a thrill.
993
00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:22,110
Somebody cut the budget
the morning of the show,
994
00:45:22,153 --> 00:45:23,851
so they canceled security,
995
00:45:23,894 --> 00:45:25,940
so it was really insane.
996
00:45:25,983 --> 00:45:28,550
Oh, God, there I am, yeah.
997
00:45:32,380 --> 00:45:34,295
Obviously, Russell was beautiful,
998
00:45:34,340 --> 00:45:35,949
but I always loved Ron.
999
00:45:35,994 --> 00:45:38,039
He was different.
1000
00:45:38,083 --> 00:45:40,346
He was a little bit more challenging.
1001
00:45:40,389 --> 00:45:45,045
I really felt like I could
kind of go places with Ron.
1002
00:45:45,090 --> 00:45:47,353
Oh, that's me.
That's me. That's me.
1003
00:45:47,396 --> 00:45:49,789
I've just put my arm round him.
1004
00:45:52,358 --> 00:45:54,315
I kind of got to him
1005
00:45:54,360 --> 00:45:58,320
and sort of really did realize
in that moment
1006
00:45:58,364 --> 00:46:00,713
that this was a terrible thing to do.
1007
00:46:00,757 --> 00:46:02,976
This was a disaster.
1008
00:46:03,021 --> 00:46:05,065
I'm never gonna be able to talk to him
1009
00:46:05,110 --> 00:46:06,981
on a serious level now about, you know,
1010
00:46:07,025 --> 00:46:09,940
his love of French cinema
or The Beach Boys.
1011
00:46:09,983 --> 00:46:13,509
I was doomed forever
to be a child to him.
1012
00:46:13,552 --> 00:46:16,643
For everyone's safety,
I think we should have
1013
00:46:16,686 --> 00:46:18,818
a little restraint in the hall, okay?
1014
00:46:18,862 --> 00:46:21,213
I mean, I've always been, like,
1015
00:46:21,255 --> 00:46:23,780
a believer in just... go for it, you know?
1016
00:46:23,824 --> 00:46:24,824
If you've got material,
1017
00:46:24,869 --> 00:46:26,173
record.
1018
00:46:26,217 --> 00:46:27,871
Tour, record.
Just keep doing it.
1019
00:46:29,351 --> 00:46:34,268
♪ When she's on
her best behavior ♪
1020
00:46:34,313 --> 00:46:39,186
♪ Don't be tempted
by her favors ♪
1021
00:46:39,231 --> 00:46:42,842
♪ Never turn your back
1022
00:46:42,887 --> 00:46:45,237
♪ On Mother Earth
1023
00:46:49,458 --> 00:46:53,940
♪ Towns are hurled
from A to B ♪
1024
00:46:53,985 --> 00:46:59,425
♪ By hands that looked
so smooth to me ♪
1025
00:46:59,467 --> 00:47:02,907
♪ Never turn your back
1026
00:47:02,949 --> 00:47:05,518
♪ On Mother Earth...
1027
00:47:05,561 --> 00:47:07,606
For two years, we toured the world,
1028
00:47:07,650 --> 00:47:08,782
and we had a great time.
1029
00:47:09,869 --> 00:47:11,610
It was very, very hectic
1030
00:47:11,653 --> 00:47:13,655
touring withKimono
and then recordingPropaganda
1031
00:47:13,699 --> 00:47:15,570
kind of at the same time.
1032
00:47:15,614 --> 00:47:17,311
But it was good fun.
1033
00:47:17,356 --> 00:47:20,097
♪ To my friends
1034
00:47:20,141 --> 00:47:22,143
♪ To my friends...
1035
00:47:22,186 --> 00:47:23,840
Ron's like a writing machine.
1036
00:47:23,884 --> 00:47:25,494
He wasn't, you know, one for
1037
00:47:25,538 --> 00:47:27,322
drinking in the bar with the guys,
1038
00:47:27,365 --> 00:47:29,237
and in some ways, he was quite aloof,
1039
00:47:29,280 --> 00:47:30,847
but that's what Ronnie would be doing...
1040
00:47:30,891 --> 00:47:32,327
Thinking and writing.
1041
00:47:32,371 --> 00:47:34,590
And so the material kept coming.
1042
00:47:34,634 --> 00:47:36,896
Obviously, that was a demand upon him
1043
00:47:36,940 --> 00:47:39,900
but one that I think
he kind of thrives on.
1044
00:47:39,943 --> 00:47:42,860
♪ On Mother Earth.
1045
00:47:47,385 --> 00:47:49,909
There's always massive pressures
1046
00:47:49,954 --> 00:47:51,737
if you've been successful the first time
1047
00:47:51,780 --> 00:47:53,739
because, first of all,
everybody tells you
1048
00:47:53,782 --> 00:47:55,916
you're a genius, and then they say,
1049
00:47:55,960 --> 00:47:58,570
"Now do it again."
1050
00:47:58,614 --> 00:48:01,052
Eins, zwei, drei, vier.
Eins, zwei, drei, vier.
1051
00:48:01,094 --> 00:48:04,054
♪ Something for the girl
with everything ♪
1052
00:48:04,097 --> 00:48:05,664
♪ See, the writing's
on the wall ♪
1053
00:48:05,708 --> 00:48:07,710
♪ You bought the girl a wall
1054
00:48:07,753 --> 00:48:10,190
♪ Complete with matching
ballpoint pen ♪
1055
00:48:10,235 --> 00:48:12,193
♪ You can breathe another day
1056
00:48:12,237 --> 00:48:15,065
♪ Secure in knowing
she won't break you yet ♪
1057
00:48:15,108 --> 00:48:17,764
♪ Something for the girl
with everything... ♪
1058
00:48:17,806 --> 00:48:19,592
I'm not exactly sure
1059
00:48:19,635 --> 00:48:22,202
how we were able to come up
with Propagandaso soon
1060
00:48:22,246 --> 00:48:24,945
after Kimono My House, and especially
1061
00:48:24,989 --> 00:48:25,945
with all the touring.
1062
00:48:25,989 --> 00:48:27,034
I mean, I think
1063
00:48:27,077 --> 00:48:28,775
part of the thing was just being
1064
00:48:28,818 --> 00:48:29,949
in that milieu.
1065
00:48:29,994 --> 00:48:31,342
♪ Yes, everything
1066
00:48:31,385 --> 00:48:33,300
♪ Hey, come out and say hello
1067
00:48:33,344 --> 00:48:34,824
♪ Before our friends
all go... ♪
1068
00:48:34,867 --> 00:48:36,739
There was pure excitement
1069
00:48:36,782 --> 00:48:40,307
knowing that you're on this,
you know, fast-moving train
1070
00:48:40,351 --> 00:48:42,483
and-and kind of you had to kind of
1071
00:48:42,527 --> 00:48:45,356
keep up with that
by coming up with the material.
1072
00:48:46,880 --> 00:48:49,056
Great, boys. We'll have
to put the piano on again
1073
00:48:49,099 --> 00:48:51,405
'cause Ronnie fell off the stool.
1074
00:48:51,449 --> 00:48:53,452
Is that a train?
1075
00:48:54,713 --> 00:48:58,369
And now, as all good things
come to an end,
1076
00:48:58,413 --> 00:49:01,634
we must say goodbye to Zurich,
1077
00:49:01,677 --> 00:49:04,070
auf Wiedersehen to Zurich,
1078
00:49:04,114 --> 00:49:06,072
uh, ciao, Zurich,
1079
00:49:06,117 --> 00:49:09,206
and bon voyage, Zurich.
1080
00:49:09,250 --> 00:49:10,947
♪ Bon voyage...
1081
00:49:10,990 --> 00:49:12,601
When the idea was presented
1082
00:49:12,644 --> 00:49:14,690
for the cover, there was no question.
1083
00:49:14,733 --> 00:49:17,867
I mean, it was like, "These
guys know what they're doing.
1084
00:49:17,911 --> 00:49:19,913
You know, we'll go along
with whatever you want."
1085
00:49:19,956 --> 00:49:23,873
Yet again, this is that thing of theirs
1086
00:49:23,916 --> 00:49:27,007
where somehow they marry their music
1087
00:49:27,050 --> 00:49:30,271
and their visuals
so brilliantly together.
1088
00:49:30,315 --> 00:49:32,708
This is me holding up the front of it
1089
00:49:32,751 --> 00:49:34,710
so that you can cut to it.
1090
00:49:34,753 --> 00:49:37,974
This is me holding up the back of it.
1091
00:49:38,018 --> 00:49:40,889
They're obviously being kidnapped.
1092
00:49:40,934 --> 00:49:43,153
Probably, they're gonna be
thrown overboard and drowned.
1093
00:49:43,197 --> 00:49:46,896
Then you go to the back,
and they're tied up
1094
00:49:46,940 --> 00:49:48,246
in the back of the car.
1095
00:49:48,289 --> 00:49:49,987
And the inside cover,
1096
00:49:50,030 --> 00:49:52,858
they have somehow not been drowned,
1097
00:49:52,902 --> 00:49:54,556
they haven't been thrown out of a car,
1098
00:49:54,599 --> 00:49:57,036
and by working together,
1099
00:49:57,081 --> 00:50:00,693
you think maybe they are
phoning the police.
1100
00:50:00,735 --> 00:50:04,043
And I love the fact that
there is some kind of story.
1101
00:50:04,088 --> 00:50:05,784
It could be in the other order.
1102
00:50:05,827 --> 00:50:07,525
It could be that
the hotel one is the start,
1103
00:50:07,568 --> 00:50:09,005
then they're put in the car,
1104
00:50:09,048 --> 00:50:10,572
and then they're killed on the boat.
1105
00:50:10,615 --> 00:50:13,052
That's why you're a director.
1106
00:50:13,097 --> 00:50:16,577
When you make successful records,
1107
00:50:16,621 --> 00:50:21,496
there's always a moment in time
where you've got to say,
1108
00:50:21,539 --> 00:50:24,717
"Do we carry on using the same formula,
1109
00:50:24,760 --> 00:50:27,023
or do we change the formula?"
1110
00:50:27,067 --> 00:50:28,677
You've got to make changes.
1111
00:50:28,721 --> 00:50:30,375
You've got to move things on.
1112
00:50:30,418 --> 00:50:32,724
And, uh, I was one of
the things that was moved on,
1113
00:50:32,768 --> 00:50:34,335
but that's okay.
1114
00:50:36,858 --> 00:50:38,947
♪ Get in
the swing, pal ♪
1115
00:50:38,992 --> 00:50:40,514
♪ Get in the swing
1116
00:50:40,559 --> 00:50:43,213
♪ With everybody
and everything... ♪
1117
00:50:43,257 --> 00:50:47,260
I loved what Muff did
onPropaganda andKimono,
1118
00:50:47,304 --> 00:50:49,088
and the next album went to Tony Visconti,
1119
00:50:49,132 --> 00:50:51,047
and it changed rapidly.
1120
00:50:51,090 --> 00:50:53,179
Everything changed.
1121
00:50:53,224 --> 00:50:55,878
♪ When salmon spawn...
1122
00:50:55,922 --> 00:50:57,923
They certainly got Tony Visconti
1123
00:50:57,967 --> 00:50:59,708
at the height of his powers,
1124
00:50:59,751 --> 00:51:02,581
when he was working
with Bowie a lot and T. Rex,
1125
00:51:02,623 --> 00:51:05,322
uh, making amazing-sounding records.
1126
00:51:05,365 --> 00:51:07,367
♪ But on they go...
1127
00:51:07,411 --> 00:51:09,369
They didn't want to make it necessarily
1128
00:51:09,414 --> 00:51:11,677
a strict, straight-up band record.
1129
00:51:11,719 --> 00:51:12,721
They wanted
1130
00:51:12,764 --> 00:51:14,635
kind of the equivalent of.
1131
00:51:14,679 --> 00:51:17,291
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Bandfor themselves,
1132
00:51:17,335 --> 00:51:20,425
which was difficult for
the other members of the band.
1133
00:51:20,467 --> 00:51:22,992
♪ And have a warm bed
waiting... ♪
1134
00:51:23,036 --> 00:51:24,690
We're not gonna be fooling
1135
00:51:24,733 --> 00:51:26,561
either ourselves or anybody else
1136
00:51:26,605 --> 00:51:30,130
if the thing just sounds like
it's going through the motions.
1137
00:51:30,173 --> 00:51:32,001
We're willing to take the chance,
1138
00:51:32,045 --> 00:51:34,568
however many people are...
feel alienated.
1139
00:51:34,612 --> 00:51:36,222
♪ With everybody
and everything... ♪
1140
00:51:36,266 --> 00:51:38,050
I know that feeling.
1141
00:51:38,094 --> 00:51:40,358
Maybe that's just the-the instinct
1142
00:51:40,400 --> 00:51:43,056
of somebody who's coming
1143
00:51:43,099 --> 00:51:44,579
from a place of art,
1144
00:51:44,623 --> 00:51:46,538
not necessarily trying to make a hit.
1145
00:51:46,581 --> 00:51:49,235
♪ All for one, one for all...
1146
00:51:49,280 --> 00:51:50,541
We just let our imaginations
1147
00:51:50,585 --> 00:51:52,152
soar on every song in it.
1148
00:51:52,195 --> 00:51:54,371
You know, it does sound
like Sparks, but I mean,
1149
00:51:54,414 --> 00:51:55,807
it's so far out.
1150
00:51:55,851 --> 00:51:58,157
♪ One, two, three, one, two
1151
00:52:00,117 --> 00:52:01,943
I never understood any of it, actually.
1152
00:52:01,987 --> 00:52:04,121
Things like
"Under the Table with Her."
1153
00:52:04,164 --> 00:52:06,166
My God, what's that about?
1154
00:52:06,210 --> 00:52:07,907
♪ Nobody misses
1155
00:52:07,949 --> 00:52:10,170
♪ Diminutive offspring
1156
00:52:10,213 --> 00:52:12,432
♪ Not when there's
big wigs there... ♪
1157
00:52:12,476 --> 00:52:14,173
"Dinner for 12 is now
1158
00:52:14,217 --> 00:52:16,742
dinner for ten because I'm
under the table with her."
1159
00:52:16,784 --> 00:52:19,396
-I mean, it... I...
-That's just so funny.
1160
00:52:19,440 --> 00:52:21,398
♪ With her...
1161
00:52:24,228 --> 00:52:26,708
You had Russell singing songs
1162
00:52:26,751 --> 00:52:30,755
with lyrics that I always suspected,
1163
00:52:30,798 --> 00:52:34,760
as a 12-, 13-, 14-year-old, were dirty.
1164
00:52:34,802 --> 00:52:37,153
What made it even weirder
was the only song of theirs
1165
00:52:37,197 --> 00:52:40,418
that I was convinced wasn't dirty
1166
00:52:40,460 --> 00:52:42,114
was called "Tits."
1167
00:52:42,159 --> 00:52:43,811
The minute, I think, a lot of people
1168
00:52:43,856 --> 00:52:45,510
see that or saw that song title,
1169
00:52:45,552 --> 00:52:47,728
which was asterisked, think like,
1170
00:52:47,773 --> 00:52:50,297
"Oh, this is, like, a, you know...
1171
00:52:50,340 --> 00:52:53,081
a sexy, rockin', hyper-masculine song,"
1172
00:52:53,126 --> 00:52:54,735
if you didn't know Sparks.
1173
00:52:54,780 --> 00:52:57,304
If you knew Sparks, you probably
should have known better.
1174
00:52:57,347 --> 00:53:00,045
It's about a drunk in a bar
1175
00:53:00,088 --> 00:53:03,570
grumbling about the fact
that his wife's tits
1176
00:53:03,614 --> 00:53:06,574
are no longer recreational
pleasure objects for him
1177
00:53:06,617 --> 00:53:08,793
but she's using them
for feeding the baby.
1178
00:53:10,447 --> 00:53:11,840
♪ God, these drinks...
1179
00:53:11,884 --> 00:53:14,452
And by the way, you realize
1180
00:53:14,494 --> 00:53:17,237
he's also, uh, complaining that
the guy that he is drunkenly
1181
00:53:17,280 --> 00:53:20,458
telling this to is also having
an affair with his wife.
1182
00:53:20,501 --> 00:53:21,762
♪ Fine from behind...
1183
00:53:21,806 --> 00:53:23,329
That one, at least,
1184
00:53:23,373 --> 00:53:26,202
I-I figured I got to decode properly.
1185
00:53:26,246 --> 00:53:28,030
♪ Harry, drink
till you can't see... ♪
1186
00:53:28,074 --> 00:53:30,597
And normally, the codes
were not that easily cracked.
1187
00:53:30,641 --> 00:53:32,164
You can look at the title,
1188
00:53:32,208 --> 00:53:34,123
you can look at the idea and laugh,
1189
00:53:34,166 --> 00:53:35,516
or you can go deeper
1190
00:53:35,559 --> 00:53:37,778
and grow and maybe have a good time,
1191
00:53:37,822 --> 00:53:39,911
maybe a sense of humor.
1192
00:53:39,954 --> 00:53:42,262
And... cue Sparks.
1193
00:53:42,306 --> 00:53:44,568
Something that's always
kind of confounded me
1194
00:53:44,612 --> 00:53:46,266
in popular music
1195
00:53:46,309 --> 00:53:49,704
is people's inability
to take humor seriously.
1196
00:53:49,748 --> 00:53:51,706
And I think that's
one of the things, like,
1197
00:53:51,750 --> 00:53:53,925
why a band like Sparks isn't as big
1198
00:53:53,969 --> 00:53:55,318
as the biggest bands in the world.
1199
00:53:55,362 --> 00:53:57,233
'Cause they're fucking funny.
1200
00:53:57,277 --> 00:53:59,278
♪ Looks, looks, looks
1201
00:53:59,322 --> 00:54:02,413
♪ You had sense, you had style,
you had cash galore... ♪
1202
00:54:02,456 --> 00:54:04,545
A lot of critics and some fans,
1203
00:54:04,588 --> 00:54:05,764
uh, sometimes denigrate bands
1204
00:54:05,806 --> 00:54:07,418
that show their sense of humor.
1205
00:54:07,460 --> 00:54:09,811
Like, "Oh, it's a comedy band.
It's a joke band."
1206
00:54:09,855 --> 00:54:11,509
I just don't get that.
1207
00:54:11,552 --> 00:54:13,728
I don't know why it has
to be so stinking serious.
1208
00:54:13,771 --> 00:54:16,253
♪ You got a built-in seat
that makes you look effete... ♪
1209
00:54:16,295 --> 00:54:18,472
I thought it was
gonna be a smash hit album
1210
00:54:18,516 --> 00:54:20,648
because it was so different
and anyone could see
1211
00:54:20,692 --> 00:54:23,824
that we spent hours of work
and put detail in it
1212
00:54:23,869 --> 00:54:25,565
and the songs were so great
1213
00:54:25,610 --> 00:54:26,871
and Russell's singing
1214
00:54:26,914 --> 00:54:28,525
was amazing.
1215
00:54:28,568 --> 00:54:30,353
The world just didn't
agree with us, you know?
1216
00:54:30,396 --> 00:54:32,746
It did well but not that well.
1217
00:54:32,791 --> 00:54:36,273
We were so irate at just
1218
00:54:36,315 --> 00:54:38,231
the lack of acceptance
for what we thought
1219
00:54:38,275 --> 00:54:40,625
was an amazing album
1220
00:54:40,668 --> 00:54:42,322
that we were seriously considering
1221
00:54:42,365 --> 00:54:44,280
recording "Louie Louie"
as our next single,
1222
00:54:44,324 --> 00:54:46,760
you know, just for spite.
1223
00:54:46,804 --> 00:54:52,070
♪ Someday we'll have
one extra coastline ♪
1224
00:54:52,114 --> 00:54:56,161
♪ We'll tire of the Atlantic
1225
00:54:56,204 --> 00:54:59,773
♪ By then, we'll be rid
of your lot ♪
1226
00:54:59,818 --> 00:55:02,603
♪ A shot heard round the world
will soon be shot ♪
1227
00:55:02,646 --> 00:55:04,605
♪ Will soon be shot...
1228
00:55:04,648 --> 00:55:06,824
When that tour ended,
Ron and Russell put it in
1229
00:55:06,867 --> 00:55:08,827
that they don't want
to live in London anymore.
1230
00:55:08,869 --> 00:55:11,351
They want to go back to L.A.
Totally understandable.
1231
00:55:11,394 --> 00:55:13,570
Um, after, you know,
some years away and touring.
1232
00:55:13,614 --> 00:55:17,965
But to ditch the band
needn't have been part of that.
1233
00:55:18,010 --> 00:55:19,706
They didn't actually sack me.
1234
00:55:19,751 --> 00:55:21,840
It was mutual, really.
1235
00:55:23,101 --> 00:55:24,711
That was it.
1236
00:55:24,755 --> 00:55:26,278
Band over.
1237
00:55:26,322 --> 00:55:27,846
Certainly, it gutted me.
1238
00:55:27,889 --> 00:55:29,673
I mean, I was really upset.
1239
00:55:29,717 --> 00:55:32,023
I mean, it was just folded,
and that was it.
1240
00:55:32,067 --> 00:55:33,981
You know, people went
their separate ways.
1241
00:55:34,025 --> 00:55:36,202
It was a shock, of course, you know,
1242
00:55:36,244 --> 00:55:38,769
but Ian, I think, just accepted it.
1243
00:55:38,813 --> 00:55:40,902
I could understand why.
1244
00:55:40,945 --> 00:55:43,731
They don't care about
the money or the fame.
1245
00:55:43,775 --> 00:55:44,731
Art for art's sake...
1246
00:55:44,775 --> 00:55:46,733
I respect them for it.
1247
00:55:46,777 --> 00:55:49,519
♪ I am the king.
1248
00:55:53,914 --> 00:55:55,829
Thank you! Thank you!
1249
00:56:01,748 --> 00:56:05,143
I've always admired
French directors like Godard
1250
00:56:05,186 --> 00:56:08,016
that were kind of rebellious
against the whole system
1251
00:56:08,059 --> 00:56:10,628
and the whole idea even
of what cinema was
1252
00:56:10,670 --> 00:56:14,762
that they were almost
slightly standing outside
1253
00:56:14,806 --> 00:56:17,547
of filmmaking while
they were making a film.
1254
00:56:17,590 --> 00:56:19,898
It was kind of inspirational to us.
1255
00:56:19,940 --> 00:56:22,422
Ron and Russell always had a desire
1256
00:56:22,465 --> 00:56:24,076
to write music in movies,
1257
00:56:24,119 --> 00:56:27,427
and they love movies and
wanted to be a part of movies.
1258
00:56:27,471 --> 00:56:29,516
In the '70s, one of
our favorite filmmakers
1259
00:56:29,559 --> 00:56:31,648
was Jacques Tati.
1260
00:56:31,692 --> 00:56:34,782
Tati, at that time, was looking
to expand his audience
1261
00:56:34,826 --> 00:56:36,914
to younger people,
1262
00:56:36,958 --> 00:56:38,568
and somehow he thought that
1263
00:56:38,612 --> 00:56:40,396
maybe connecting with a band
1264
00:56:40,440 --> 00:56:42,137
would be a way for him to broaden
1265
00:56:42,181 --> 00:56:43,835
the appeal of his films.
1266
00:56:43,878 --> 00:56:46,141
Well, how was that, uh, film project
1267
00:56:46,184 --> 00:56:47,708
with, uh, Jacques Tati?
1268
00:56:47,751 --> 00:56:49,449
-Whoa. There. You got it.
-Lost the cake.
1269
00:56:49,492 --> 00:56:51,277
Did you get it? Did you get it?
1270
00:56:51,320 --> 00:56:52,583
That's a film project, that is.
1271
00:56:52,626 --> 00:56:54,235
Did you get it?
1272
00:56:54,280 --> 00:56:57,849
Our-our film project with Tati is...
1273
00:56:57,891 --> 00:57:00,894
could relate to that cake,
what just happened to it.
1274
00:57:00,938 --> 00:57:02,766
It's just fallen to bits.
1275
00:57:02,809 --> 00:57:06,248
His health was not
as good as it had been,
1276
00:57:06,291 --> 00:57:09,077
and so the project
just sort of dissipated.
1277
00:57:09,121 --> 00:57:11,297
You know, we have very few things
1278
00:57:11,340 --> 00:57:14,474
that we regret not having happened, but,
1279
00:57:14,518 --> 00:57:16,911
you know, I probably
would have retired after that.
1280
00:57:17,869 --> 00:57:20,784
♪
1281
00:57:20,827 --> 00:57:24,963
Evolving their concept of art is
1282
00:57:25,005 --> 00:57:26,704
paramount to them.
1283
00:57:26,746 --> 00:57:28,922
That's what they have always
striven for and believe in.
1284
00:57:28,967 --> 00:57:30,751
I think, when we didBig Beat,
1285
00:57:30,795 --> 00:57:32,056
we really just wanted
1286
00:57:32,099 --> 00:57:34,711
to change the sound yet again.
1287
00:57:34,755 --> 00:57:38,715
We're trying to be a little less British,
1288
00:57:38,759 --> 00:57:40,673
in a certain sense.
1289
00:57:41,719 --> 00:57:43,677
In any sort of art form, you need to keep
1290
00:57:43,721 --> 00:57:45,679
pushing yourself forward.
1291
00:57:45,722 --> 00:57:47,942
Otherwise, you just sort of...
you're a shark,
1292
00:57:47,985 --> 00:57:50,074
and you stop moving,
and you just... you die.
1293
00:57:50,117 --> 00:57:52,730
Ron and Russell had come to New York
1294
00:57:52,773 --> 00:57:54,601
to do this hard rock record
1295
00:57:54,644 --> 00:57:56,297
and change directions
1296
00:57:56,342 --> 00:57:59,126
and try to break America.
1297
00:57:59,170 --> 00:58:01,260
Russell says, "Well, look",
1298
00:58:01,302 --> 00:58:02,652
"we don't have a band
1299
00:58:02,695 --> 00:58:05,916
anymore, so do you know
a great drummer?"
1300
00:58:10,878 --> 00:58:16,710
Sparks is musically
an enigma to begin with.
1301
00:58:16,753 --> 00:58:21,322
Indiscreet doesn't sound
likeKimono My House,
1302
00:58:21,367 --> 00:58:25,371
and Big Beatis completely different.
1303
00:58:25,414 --> 00:58:28,766
I remember Big Beat coming out
1304
00:58:28,809 --> 00:58:29,853
and sort of considering it,
1305
00:58:29,896 --> 00:58:32,552
like, more as this kind of part
1306
00:58:32,596 --> 00:58:34,858
of the new punk records.
1307
00:58:37,601 --> 00:58:39,994
Sparks are always pushing new boundaries
1308
00:58:40,038 --> 00:58:41,561
and changing their sound,
1309
00:58:41,605 --> 00:58:43,780
often to the deep frustration
of their fan base.
1310
00:58:43,824 --> 00:58:45,739
♪ I'm coming and I'm going...
1311
00:58:45,782 --> 00:58:48,699
You know, I think
the fans ofKimono My House
1312
00:58:48,742 --> 00:58:50,177
andlndiscreet
1313
00:58:50,222 --> 00:58:51,831
and Propaganda,
1314
00:58:51,876 --> 00:58:54,181
I imagine they felt
a little bit let down.
1315
00:58:54,226 --> 00:58:56,445
And that's great... you shouldn't pander
1316
00:58:56,489 --> 00:58:58,143
to the expectations
1317
00:58:58,186 --> 00:59:01,711
of the conservative element
of your fan base.
1318
00:59:01,755 --> 00:59:04,715
Because if you did, you-you'd
make conservative music.
1319
00:59:06,150 --> 00:59:08,893
That record is written by
1320
00:59:08,936 --> 00:59:11,242
the anti-Sparks.
1321
00:59:11,286 --> 00:59:13,201
Lyrically, they'd just go mental.
1322
00:59:13,244 --> 00:59:15,246
"Everybody's Stupid," right?
1323
00:59:19,206 --> 00:59:20,860
When I first heard that record,
1324
00:59:20,905 --> 00:59:22,471
I found it kind of shocking
because the songs were
1325
00:59:22,514 --> 00:59:23,907
so angry and kind of bitter.
1326
00:59:23,951 --> 00:59:25,518
What's he saying? What's he...
1327
00:59:25,561 --> 00:59:27,172
No, you know what he's saying.
1328
00:59:27,215 --> 00:59:29,000
It's clear as a bell.
1329
00:59:29,043 --> 00:59:31,306
♪ Everybody's stupid
1330
00:59:31,349 --> 00:59:33,090
♪ That's for sure.
1331
00:59:33,134 --> 00:59:36,181
I could visibly see
the audience being confused.
1332
00:59:36,224 --> 00:59:37,791
♪ You're stupid,
you're stupid. ♪
1333
00:59:39,706 --> 00:59:42,012
♪ Everybody's stupid
1334
00:59:42,056 --> 00:59:43,971
♪ That's for sure.
1335
00:59:44,014 --> 00:59:46,626
There's probably two of the most
1336
00:59:46,670 --> 00:59:49,237
politically incorrect songs
on that record,
1337
00:59:49,280 --> 00:59:50,804
which are "White Women"
1338
00:59:50,847 --> 00:59:52,719
and "Throw Her Away."
1339
00:59:53,851 --> 00:59:55,592
Which...
1340
00:59:55,635 --> 00:59:57,594
uh, you got to have a sense of humor
1341
00:59:57,637 --> 01:00:01,119
and know the ironic intent on both those.
1342
01:00:01,161 --> 01:00:03,903
♪ Throw her away
and get a new one... ♪
1343
01:00:03,947 --> 01:00:06,079
We want to shake up people,
1344
01:00:06,123 --> 01:00:08,342
and we think that pop music at its best
1345
01:00:08,387 --> 01:00:10,344
has always been something
where you-you hear it
1346
01:00:10,389 --> 01:00:12,434
and you go,
"Oh, my God, what is that?"
1347
01:00:12,478 --> 01:00:14,480
Sparks often do that kind of thing
1348
01:00:14,523 --> 01:00:17,177
which has, I think,
a punk sensibility to it.
1349
01:00:17,222 --> 01:00:19,527
A desire to stir things up
1350
01:00:19,572 --> 01:00:21,661
and shake things up and make you think.
1351
01:00:29,103 --> 01:00:30,974
My first experience of Sparks
1352
01:00:31,018 --> 01:00:33,585
was watching the film Rollercoaster.
1353
01:00:36,893 --> 01:00:40,027
I assumed that they were a made-up band
1354
01:00:40,070 --> 01:00:42,463
because I'd never heard of them before.
1355
01:00:42,507 --> 01:00:45,467
And then years later, I came across.
1356
01:00:45,510 --> 01:00:47,947
"This Town Ain't Big Enough for
the Both of Us" and thought,
1357
01:00:47,992 --> 01:00:49,907
"Oh, it's those guys
from Rollercoaster."
1358
01:00:49,949 --> 01:00:53,387
I had never been
on a huge movie set like that.
1359
01:00:53,431 --> 01:00:55,389
And I didn't know what to make of it.
1360
01:00:55,434 --> 01:00:57,827
And I was looking to Ron and Russell,
1361
01:00:57,871 --> 01:01:00,090
and I remember Ron...
I'll never forget this...
1362
01:01:00,134 --> 01:01:02,222
Ron said...
1363
01:01:02,266 --> 01:01:04,443
"This might be great.
1364
01:01:04,485 --> 01:01:06,793
"Maybe this is gonna be the one
1365
01:01:06,836 --> 01:01:10,056
that breaks the band
worldwide."
1366
01:01:10,101 --> 01:01:12,190
This disaster movie.
1367
01:01:12,233 --> 01:01:14,192
I-I mean, you know,
the movie is what it was.
1368
01:01:14,235 --> 01:01:17,673
It was kind of like...
it-it was pretty lame,
1369
01:01:17,717 --> 01:01:19,414
but how else was I gonna see them?
1370
01:01:22,329 --> 01:01:24,768
They're connoisseurs, and this was just,
1371
01:01:24,811 --> 01:01:26,159
you know, "a disaster movie"
1372
01:01:26,204 --> 01:01:28,248
in more ways than one.
1373
01:01:28,293 --> 01:01:31,643
I-I think I leaned over to him
at one point, I said,
1374
01:01:31,688 --> 01:01:34,603
"I guess this is not
a Jacques Tati movie."
1375
01:01:34,646 --> 01:01:35,996
♪ Big boy...
1376
01:01:36,039 --> 01:01:37,606
Rollercoaster is kind of
1377
01:01:37,650 --> 01:01:40,173
theCitizen Kane of disaster movies.
1378
01:01:40,217 --> 01:01:43,090
I mean, the disaster was that
nobody went to see the movie.
1379
01:01:51,619 --> 01:01:53,710
♪
1380
01:01:56,755 --> 01:01:58,670
I was in high school,
1381
01:01:58,715 --> 01:02:00,891
and I had a friend who was
the first friend in my group
1382
01:02:00,934 --> 01:02:02,588
to have his own apartment.
1383
01:02:02,630 --> 01:02:04,371
We used to just get in all kinds of crazy
1384
01:02:04,416 --> 01:02:06,547
drugged-out states at this guy's house.
1385
01:02:06,592 --> 01:02:08,898
I remember, like, stumbling
into his bathroom all the time
1386
01:02:08,942 --> 01:02:10,769
to either throw up or pee,
1387
01:02:10,813 --> 01:02:12,510
and on the wall,
1388
01:02:12,554 --> 01:02:14,599
there was a picture of Sparks.
1389
01:02:14,643 --> 01:02:16,123
And I remember just
seeing them all the time,
1390
01:02:16,166 --> 01:02:17,951
like, "Who are those guys?"
1391
01:02:17,994 --> 01:02:19,909
And I was kind of in love,
and they were sort of like
1392
01:02:19,952 --> 01:02:24,001
these mysterious, like, icons,
like patron saints.
1393
01:02:24,043 --> 01:02:27,090
I looked at that picture,
like, kind of marveled at it
1394
01:02:27,134 --> 01:02:29,570
a thousand times before I heard them.
1395
01:02:29,614 --> 01:02:32,791
♪ Why is there time?
1396
01:02:34,838 --> 01:02:38,014
♪ Why is there space?
1397
01:02:38,057 --> 01:02:41,235
♪ Why are there dogs and cats
1398
01:02:41,278 --> 01:02:45,500
♪ And trees
and the human race? ♪
1399
01:02:45,543 --> 01:02:48,242
I was sitting in my motel room
1400
01:02:48,286 --> 01:02:50,244
doing nothing, thinking,
1401
01:02:50,288 --> 01:02:51,724
"No matter what happens,
1402
01:02:51,768 --> 01:02:52,898
I'm sticking with you guys."
1403
01:02:54,335 --> 01:02:57,164
And then we got a phone call saying,
1404
01:02:57,208 --> 01:02:59,123
"Party's over, guys.
1405
01:02:59,166 --> 01:03:02,387
"Big Beat didn't do
what it was supposed to do.
1406
01:03:02,429 --> 01:03:04,911
We're flying you guys
back to New York."
1407
01:03:04,954 --> 01:03:07,434
That was the end of it.
1408
01:03:07,478 --> 01:03:09,610
I was really brokenhearted.
1409
01:03:09,655 --> 01:03:13,527
And, uh, they came out with a new record,
1410
01:03:13,572 --> 01:03:16,313
Introducing Sparks.
1411
01:03:17,489 --> 01:03:19,143
♪ Ooh, those mysteries...
1412
01:03:19,186 --> 01:03:22,059
Here you have Russell,
and here you have Ron here.
1413
01:03:22,101 --> 01:03:25,192
This is a great fucking album.
1414
01:03:25,235 --> 01:03:28,413
"Those Mysteries," most poignant song,
1415
01:03:28,456 --> 01:03:31,851
like, that's funny as hell
but also a question...
1416
01:03:31,894 --> 01:03:33,679
This kind of yearning, searching,
1417
01:03:33,722 --> 01:03:36,202
trying to make sense
of, like, the awkwardness
1418
01:03:36,246 --> 01:03:37,943
and the pain of being a human being
1419
01:03:37,987 --> 01:03:41,992
and doing it in a funny, smart way.
1420
01:03:42,034 --> 01:03:44,385
Cool. I'm into it.
1421
01:03:44,429 --> 01:03:47,170
I think so much of their music requires
1422
01:03:47,213 --> 01:03:49,650
not taking it on face value.
1423
01:03:49,695 --> 01:03:53,786
If you want to work with them
and think about the music,
1424
01:03:53,829 --> 01:03:55,309
you can get more out of it.
1425
01:03:55,353 --> 01:03:57,398
If you want to just absorb it,
1426
01:03:57,442 --> 01:03:59,791
you're going to be
missing the point entirely.
1427
01:03:59,835 --> 01:04:01,358
That's what hurt them, I think.
1428
01:04:01,402 --> 01:04:03,882
It hurt Sparks that they came of age
1429
01:04:03,927 --> 01:04:07,146
at a time when people could
only take things at face value.
1430
01:04:07,190 --> 01:04:08,148
One of the snottier
1431
01:04:08,192 --> 01:04:10,367
metal/punk magazines,
1432
01:04:10,411 --> 01:04:13,675
the review was:"Introducing
Sparks, dot-dot-dot.
1433
01:04:13,719 --> 01:04:15,981
Unfortunately,
we've already met."
1434
01:04:18,463 --> 01:04:21,465
From the adulation
that they had been receiving
1435
01:04:21,509 --> 01:04:23,947
to the non-adulation around.
1436
01:04:23,989 --> 01:04:25,773
Big Beatand Introducing,
1437
01:04:25,818 --> 01:04:28,168
it was just obvious it wasn't working.
1438
01:04:28,211 --> 01:04:30,170
It became very difficult,
1439
01:04:30,213 --> 01:04:31,867
and I really liked Ron and Russell.
1440
01:04:31,911 --> 01:04:34,260
I still admired their abilities,
1441
01:04:34,304 --> 01:04:39,396
but I couldn't be 100% behind
what they were doing.
1442
01:04:39,440 --> 01:04:41,485
I mean, Ronnie was really
desperate, too, at this time.
1443
01:04:41,528 --> 01:04:43,269
I mean, he knew it wasn't working.
1444
01:04:43,313 --> 01:04:47,012
♪ I want a big surprise
tonight... ♪
1445
01:04:47,056 --> 01:04:49,494
The record comes out in the heat
1446
01:04:49,536 --> 01:04:51,235
of punk rock,
1447
01:04:51,277 --> 01:04:52,844
and an album
1448
01:04:52,889 --> 01:04:57,893
that could not sound
more out of sorts with that.
1449
01:04:57,936 --> 01:04:59,764
♪
1450
01:04:59,807 --> 01:05:03,594
♪ Where is that
Yankee ingenuity? ♪
1451
01:05:03,637 --> 01:05:05,510
The whole passion and energy
1452
01:05:05,552 --> 01:05:07,164
and kind of statement of punk
1453
01:05:07,206 --> 01:05:09,514
seemed like it was
almost partially directed
1454
01:05:09,556 --> 01:05:11,429
towards what we were doing.
1455
01:05:11,472 --> 01:05:13,039
So we thought, "Is this, like,
1456
01:05:13,083 --> 01:05:14,648
kind of dinosaur music?"
1457
01:05:14,693 --> 01:05:16,608
We never felt that before,
1458
01:05:16,650 --> 01:05:18,784
and we've never felt that since.
1459
01:05:18,827 --> 01:05:20,612
-♪ Big surprise tonight.
-♪ Big surprise
1460
01:05:20,655 --> 01:05:23,614
♪ A really big surprise
tonight ♪
1461
01:05:23,657 --> 01:05:27,400
♪ I want a big surprise
tonight... ♪
1462
01:05:27,445 --> 01:05:29,315
The Sex Pistols' album is one of
1463
01:05:29,360 --> 01:05:31,405
the greatest albums of all time,
1464
01:05:31,449 --> 01:05:34,277
but that wasn't where we should be going,
1465
01:05:34,320 --> 01:05:37,063
so we had to find a proper direction
1466
01:05:37,106 --> 01:05:39,847
so that we would feel unthreatened.
1467
01:05:46,028 --> 01:05:48,945
After we did thelntroducing Sparks album,
1468
01:05:48,987 --> 01:05:51,990
we did an interview with
a journalist in Los Angeles.
1469
01:05:52,034 --> 01:05:54,733
She said, "Well,
what's next for Sparks?"
1470
01:05:54,775 --> 01:05:56,777
And then we said,
"Oh, well, we're going to be
1471
01:05:56,822 --> 01:05:59,389
working with Giorgio Moroder
on our next album."
1472
01:05:59,432 --> 01:06:01,434
She said, "Oh, that's funny."
1473
01:06:01,478 --> 01:06:03,349
"Giorgio didn't mention that to me.
1474
01:06:03,393 --> 01:06:05,177
"I'm really good friends
with him." And we went,
1475
01:06:05,222 --> 01:06:07,572
"Uh, eh, uh..." Gulp.
1476
01:06:07,614 --> 01:06:09,835
'Cause it was a total lie.
1477
01:06:09,878 --> 01:06:11,923
♪ Ooh...
1478
01:06:11,967 --> 01:06:13,708
We wanted to work with Giorgio Moroder,
1479
01:06:13,751 --> 01:06:16,146
and we had heard "I Feel Love"
on the radio,
1480
01:06:16,188 --> 01:06:19,018
the great Donna Summer song
that Giorgio produced,
1481
01:06:19,061 --> 01:06:22,456
but we didn't know how
to contact Giorgio.
1482
01:06:22,500 --> 01:06:24,936
And then she said,
"Well, I could introduce you."
1483
01:06:24,981 --> 01:06:28,027
The number 30 song
this week on the Top 30,
1484
01:06:28,070 --> 01:06:29,594
the young man called Giorgio,
who's with us here
1485
01:06:29,637 --> 01:06:31,335
on Top of the Pops this evening.
1486
01:06:31,378 --> 01:06:32,726
Let's give him a nice
Top of the Popswelcome.
1487
01:06:32,771 --> 01:06:34,119
Thank you.
1488
01:06:34,164 --> 01:06:35,992
And he was really,
1489
01:06:36,034 --> 01:06:37,994
surprisingly to us, up for the challenge
1490
01:06:38,036 --> 01:06:40,213
of working with a...
you know, a band.
1491
01:06:40,257 --> 01:06:43,434
It really was pretty brave of him.
1492
01:06:46,219 --> 01:06:48,786
We did the recordings in Los Angeles.
1493
01:06:49,961 --> 01:06:53,704
Interesting studio because
it was totally electronic
1494
01:06:53,748 --> 01:06:58,492
with a massive amount of Moog modular
1495
01:06:58,536 --> 01:07:02,061
and Roland synthesizers
1496
01:07:02,105 --> 01:07:04,324
and thousands of sounds.
1497
01:07:05,804 --> 01:07:08,023
We were aware that we were
kind of reinventing ourselves
1498
01:07:08,067 --> 01:07:09,677
as we were making that,
1499
01:07:09,721 --> 01:07:11,766
but we knew that we were doing something
1500
01:07:11,809 --> 01:07:13,942
that was totally new.
1501
01:07:15,378 --> 01:07:17,467
For me as a fan, it would be hard to know
1502
01:07:17,510 --> 01:07:20,557
if it's willful
or if it's the innocence of:
1503
01:07:20,601 --> 01:07:22,994
"Wouldn't it be a great idea
if we just made
1504
01:07:23,039 --> 01:07:27,956
a synthesizer record in 1979,
before the '80s?"
1505
01:07:28,000 --> 01:07:31,134
♪ You're the only bank
that's open all night ♪
1506
01:07:31,177 --> 01:07:34,614
♪ La dolce vita
1507
01:07:34,659 --> 01:07:37,835
♪ Now that that's clear,
can you give me a light? ♪
1508
01:07:37,878 --> 01:07:40,751
♪ La dolce vita...
1509
01:07:40,795 --> 01:07:43,101
We all went in it with this kind of
1510
01:07:43,146 --> 01:07:45,757
naive spirit to just do
something that we thought
1511
01:07:45,800 --> 01:07:47,932
was really fresh-sounding.
1512
01:07:47,976 --> 01:07:49,760
And we think it was
something really special.
1513
01:07:49,804 --> 01:07:54,112
♪ Can I have another plate
of your la dolce vita? ♪
1514
01:07:54,157 --> 01:07:58,378
It took one year
after that album was recorded
1515
01:07:58,422 --> 01:08:01,251
before a label wanted to sign it.
1516
01:08:01,293 --> 01:08:04,253
♪ Gold diggers are we
1517
01:08:04,297 --> 01:08:07,474
♪ Step up, follow me...
1518
01:08:07,518 --> 01:08:09,998
Someone at Virgin Records in Germany
1519
01:08:10,041 --> 01:08:12,000
saw the tape sitting there and said,
1520
01:08:12,043 --> 01:08:15,003
"Hmm, Sparks, Giorgio Moroder.
Let me give that a listen."
1521
01:08:15,047 --> 01:08:16,787
And said, "This is pretty amazing,"
1522
01:08:16,831 --> 01:08:19,399
and shipped it off
to Richard Branson and company
1523
01:08:19,443 --> 01:08:22,750
in-in the UK, and they agreed.
1524
01:08:22,793 --> 01:08:24,664
WhenNo. 1 in Heaven came out,
1525
01:08:24,708 --> 01:08:28,015
it was two years after the
massive failure of Introducing,
1526
01:08:28,060 --> 01:08:31,280
and you're kind of seeing
the DNA of so much
1527
01:08:31,323 --> 01:08:33,761
of what would come later on.
1528
01:08:33,805 --> 01:08:35,588
This was probably one of the first
1529
01:08:35,632 --> 01:08:37,373
electropop dance records
1530
01:08:37,417 --> 01:08:38,679
of all time.
1531
01:08:43,206 --> 01:08:45,773
That, to me, was
such an astounding record.
1532
01:08:45,817 --> 01:08:47,340
It seemed really audacious.
1533
01:08:47,384 --> 01:08:49,081
It just takes you on
1534
01:08:49,125 --> 01:08:51,561
this incredible, hypnotic trip.
1535
01:08:51,604 --> 01:08:54,346
Just belied and denied anything
else that was happening.
1536
01:08:54,390 --> 01:08:56,261
It just rose above it.
1537
01:08:56,305 --> 01:08:58,046
♪ We're just gleams
in lovers' eyes ♪
1538
01:08:58,090 --> 01:09:01,398
♪ Steam on sweaty bodies
in the night ♪
1539
01:09:03,355 --> 01:09:05,706
♪ But one of us
might make it through ♪
1540
01:09:05,750 --> 01:09:09,579
♪ All the rest
will disappear like dew ♪
1541
01:09:11,015 --> 01:09:13,149
♪ Pressure building,
getting hot ♪
1542
01:09:13,192 --> 01:09:16,761
♪ Give it, give it,
give it all you got ♪
1543
01:09:18,676 --> 01:09:20,851
♪ When that
love explosion comes ♪
1544
01:09:20,895 --> 01:09:23,768
♪ My, oh, my,
we want to be someone ♪
1545
01:09:24,855 --> 01:09:26,900
♪ Tryouts for
the human race... ♪
1546
01:09:26,944 --> 01:09:30,862
It was a huge influence
on-on our early material.
1547
01:09:30,904 --> 01:09:33,168
Uh, we were already big Moroder fans,
1548
01:09:33,212 --> 01:09:35,997
but this combination, uh,
it was just perfect.
1549
01:09:36,041 --> 01:09:39,000
♪ We just want
to be someone... ♪
1550
01:09:39,043 --> 01:09:40,784
That's why I ended up
working with Vince...
1551
01:09:40,828 --> 01:09:42,569
'cause those synths,
1552
01:09:42,613 --> 01:09:44,310
they just drove me.
1553
01:09:45,310 --> 01:09:47,007
Sparks, "Beat the Clock,"
1554
01:09:47,051 --> 01:09:49,837
uh, Millaney/Grant, sixth of June.
1555
01:09:53,057 --> 01:09:56,016
♪ You gotta beat the clock,
you gotta beat the clock... ♪
1556
01:09:56,060 --> 01:09:58,149
Sparks... well, they're back in Britain,
1557
01:09:58,194 --> 01:09:59,716
they're back in business,
1558
01:09:59,760 --> 01:10:01,587
and they're currently trying
to beat the clock.
1559
01:10:01,631 --> 01:10:03,720
♪ You gotta beat the clock,
you gotta beat the clock... ♪
1560
01:10:03,764 --> 01:10:05,375
As a synthesizer duo,
1561
01:10:05,417 --> 01:10:07,114
I guess you could say that
1562
01:10:07,158 --> 01:10:09,204
they sort of set a template.
1563
01:10:09,247 --> 01:10:11,250
♪ You gotta beat the clock,
you gotta beat the clock... ♪
1564
01:10:11,293 --> 01:10:16,212
I became first aware
of Sparks in their 1979 period.
1565
01:10:16,255 --> 01:10:19,257
Just seeing them on, like, Top
of the Popsaround that time.
1566
01:10:19,301 --> 01:10:22,869
You know, it's a very
sort of stark dynamic image...
1567
01:10:22,913 --> 01:10:25,264
Russell singing, Ron on the synths.
1568
01:10:25,307 --> 01:10:28,224
He had his '79 kind of hipster hair.
1569
01:10:28,266 --> 01:10:30,181
Sparks and their new single
1570
01:10:30,225 --> 01:10:31,966
called "Beat the Clock."
Billy?
1571
01:10:32,010 --> 01:10:33,707
I think it was real great.
1572
01:10:33,751 --> 01:10:35,534
♪ Well, I've seen
everything there is ♪
1573
01:10:35,578 --> 01:10:37,537
♪ I've done
everything there is... ♪
1574
01:10:37,581 --> 01:10:39,712
There's myself, uh, there's
the guy from the Pet Shop Boys,
1575
01:10:39,756 --> 01:10:41,411
there's the guy from Duran Duran.
1576
01:10:41,453 --> 01:10:43,587
I mean, we were all
miserable fuckers, you know?
1577
01:10:43,630 --> 01:10:45,328
It's a look, isn't it,
which we just stole
1578
01:10:45,371 --> 01:10:47,286
from Sparks.
1579
01:10:54,640 --> 01:10:57,730
I was desperately searching
1580
01:10:57,774 --> 01:11:02,519
for music to put in my DJ sets
1581
01:11:02,561 --> 01:11:04,171
at the Blitz Club.
1582
01:11:04,216 --> 01:11:07,654
I came across
"Number One Song in Heaven."
1583
01:11:07,698 --> 01:11:09,439
It's just one of those songs
1584
01:11:09,481 --> 01:11:11,048
that gives me goose bumps.
1585
01:11:11,091 --> 01:11:13,051
What I loved about it
1586
01:11:13,094 --> 01:11:14,921
was the first four minutes,
1587
01:11:14,966 --> 01:11:17,881
and it was all synthesizers
1588
01:11:17,925 --> 01:11:19,622
and sequences.
1589
01:11:19,666 --> 01:11:21,667
And I was like,
"This is great."
1590
01:11:22,886 --> 01:11:27,108
♪ This is the number one song
in heaven ♪
1591
01:11:29,546 --> 01:11:34,028
♪ Written, of course,
by the mightiest hand... ♪
1592
01:11:34,072 --> 01:11:35,943
In Joy Division, when we were doing.
1593
01:11:35,987 --> 01:11:37,554
"Love Will Tear Us Apart,"
1594
01:11:37,596 --> 01:11:40,992
there were two records
that we were listening to.
1595
01:11:41,034 --> 01:11:42,079
Uh, one was.
1596
01:11:42,122 --> 01:11:43,908
Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits,
1597
01:11:43,951 --> 01:11:46,127
and then the other one was
"Number One Song in Heaven."
1598
01:11:46,171 --> 01:11:48,738
"Number One Song
in Heaven" just sort of, like,
1599
01:11:48,782 --> 01:11:50,261
moves in this crazy way.
1600
01:11:50,305 --> 01:11:52,090
And there's even a moment of silence
1601
01:11:52,132 --> 01:11:53,787
pretty early on in the song.
It's, like, this cut
1602
01:11:53,831 --> 01:11:56,050
and then it starts back up.
It's wild.
1603
01:11:56,094 --> 01:11:57,051
One, two, three.
1604
01:11:58,182 --> 01:11:59,576
And it goes, like, I don't know,
1605
01:11:59,618 --> 01:12:01,447
180 BPM or something.
1606
01:12:01,490 --> 01:12:04,363
Oh, my God, that's...
that's too fast.
1607
01:12:04,407 --> 01:12:07,757
♪
1608
01:12:07,801 --> 01:12:09,716
This is the absolute apogee
1609
01:12:09,760 --> 01:12:10,978
of electronic pop music
1610
01:12:11,021 --> 01:12:12,328
for me.
1611
01:12:12,371 --> 01:12:14,154
I can't think of anything better.
1612
01:12:14,198 --> 01:12:16,287
We can only, with Heaven 17,
1613
01:12:16,332 --> 01:12:18,289
kind of aspire to it.
1614
01:12:18,333 --> 01:12:20,378
♪
1615
01:12:22,989 --> 01:12:26,079
♪ It's number one
all over heaven ♪
1616
01:12:26,123 --> 01:12:27,472
♪ It's number one
1617
01:12:27,516 --> 01:12:29,345
♪ All over heaven
1618
01:12:29,387 --> 01:12:32,304
♪ It's number one
all over heaven ♪
1619
01:12:32,347 --> 01:12:35,916
♪ The number one song
all over heaven... ♪
1620
01:12:35,960 --> 01:12:39,789
If they would
release nowNo. 1 in Heaven,
1621
01:12:39,832 --> 01:12:42,226
they would say,
"Wow, geniuses."
1622
01:12:42,270 --> 01:12:44,837
I mean, they were geniuses
then, but now even more
1623
01:12:44,881 --> 01:12:48,145
because this could be
the second sound of the future.
1624
01:12:48,189 --> 01:12:50,016
♪ Gabriel plays it
1625
01:12:50,060 --> 01:12:51,583
♪ God, how he plays it
1626
01:12:51,627 --> 01:12:53,194
♪ Gabriel plays it
1627
01:12:53,238 --> 01:12:54,761
♪ God, how he plays it
1628
01:12:54,805 --> 01:12:56,283
♪ Gabriel plays it
1629
01:12:56,328 --> 01:12:57,807
♪ God, how he plays it
1630
01:12:57,850 --> 01:12:59,636
♪ Gabriel plays it
1631
01:12:59,679 --> 01:13:01,854
♪ Let's hear him play it...
1632
01:13:01,899 --> 01:13:05,076
♪
1633
01:13:05,118 --> 01:13:07,860
I really liked seeing them stripped down,
1634
01:13:07,904 --> 01:13:09,210
and in a way, it made the image
1635
01:13:09,253 --> 01:13:11,082
more impactful.
1636
01:13:11,125 --> 01:13:12,735
♪
1637
01:13:12,779 --> 01:13:14,476
It was shortly after
that period, I guess,
1638
01:13:14,520 --> 01:13:18,784
that Paul McCartney did
that video "Coming Up."
1639
01:13:18,828 --> 01:13:21,875
♪ You want a love
to last forever... ♪
1640
01:13:21,918 --> 01:13:23,963
It was all Paul McCartney doing loads of
1641
01:13:24,007 --> 01:13:25,530
very instantly recognizable characters.
1642
01:13:25,574 --> 01:13:27,097
And, of course, he did Ron.
1643
01:13:27,140 --> 01:13:28,881
I mean, I know how much Ron and Russell
1644
01:13:28,926 --> 01:13:30,579
are fans of The Beatles,
1645
01:13:30,622 --> 01:13:32,972
and so I suspect they were
really excited to see that.
1646
01:13:33,016 --> 01:13:34,671
That's amazing, like,
1647
01:13:34,713 --> 01:13:36,454
that a Beatle would pretend
to be all these...
1648
01:13:36,498 --> 01:13:38,283
like, Buddy Holly
and all these different people,
1649
01:13:38,326 --> 01:13:40,067
and he's Ron Mael.
1650
01:13:41,460 --> 01:13:43,069
I started respecting Ron a lot more
1651
01:13:43,113 --> 01:13:44,768
after Paul McCartney, uh,
1652
01:13:44,810 --> 01:13:47,684
gave his tribute to Ron...
Then I realized,
1653
01:13:47,726 --> 01:13:50,686
"God, I'm working with somebody
that Paul McCartney likes."
1654
01:13:50,729 --> 01:13:52,427
How cool is that?
1655
01:13:52,470 --> 01:13:53,689
It is the ultimate.
1656
01:13:53,733 --> 01:13:55,342
And it's Paul McCartney.
1657
01:13:55,386 --> 01:13:57,301
Just incredible.
1658
01:13:57,345 --> 01:13:59,826
After doingNo. 1 in Heaven
1659
01:13:59,869 --> 01:14:01,914
and working with Giorgio Moroder,
1660
01:14:01,958 --> 01:14:04,265
which was such an inspiring experience,
1661
01:14:04,309 --> 01:14:06,354
it was the time for the follow-up album,
1662
01:14:06,398 --> 01:14:09,095
but Giorgio wasn't, uh, available,
1663
01:14:09,140 --> 01:14:11,229
so it was kind of farmed out.
1664
01:14:11,271 --> 01:14:15,667
I think, for that reason,
the album became more generic.
1665
01:14:17,278 --> 01:14:19,585
To Giorgio's credit, he was
1666
01:14:19,628 --> 01:14:21,500
involved with the selection,
1667
01:14:21,543 --> 01:14:24,242
and there was the song
"When I'm with You."
1668
01:14:24,284 --> 01:14:27,636
He thought that that song
was really something special.
1669
01:14:31,770 --> 01:14:33,643
"When I'm with You."
1670
01:14:33,685 --> 01:14:35,731
That bass line,
1671
01:14:35,774 --> 01:14:37,385
that beautiful string line.
1672
01:14:39,256 --> 01:14:41,432
It wasn't anything
that we kind of planned on,
1673
01:14:41,476 --> 01:14:43,042
but it became, uh,
1674
01:14:43,087 --> 01:14:46,264
the biggest-selling song
that we've ever done.
1675
01:14:46,306 --> 01:14:49,136
♪ When I'm with you
1676
01:14:49,180 --> 01:14:51,095
♪ I never have a problem
1677
01:14:51,137 --> 01:14:53,358
♪ When I'm with you...
1678
01:14:53,400 --> 01:14:55,403
Most of those sales were in France,
1679
01:14:55,447 --> 01:14:58,537
and the song was kind of
the soundtrack of the country
1680
01:14:58,581 --> 01:15:01,234
during that whole period.
1681
01:15:02,323 --> 01:15:04,324
"When I'm with You," the Sparks.
1682
01:15:04,368 --> 01:15:05,891
♪ When I'm with you...
1683
01:15:05,935 --> 01:15:07,590
The video for "When I'm with You"
1684
01:15:07,632 --> 01:15:10,331
was Ron being the ventriloquist
1685
01:15:10,375 --> 01:15:11,984
and me being the dummy,
1686
01:15:12,029 --> 01:15:15,248
and some things never change in life.
1687
01:15:15,292 --> 01:15:17,600
It's a love song.
Someone's in love.
1688
01:15:17,643 --> 01:15:19,166
Okay, I know what's going on.
1689
01:15:19,210 --> 01:15:20,951
And then the more he sings,
1690
01:15:20,993 --> 01:15:22,953
you realize that-that you're
listening to somebody panic.
1691
01:15:22,996 --> 01:15:25,868
♪ It's the break in the song
1692
01:15:25,912 --> 01:15:29,394
♪ When I should say
something special ♪
1693
01:15:30,873 --> 01:15:33,658
♪ But the pressure is on
1694
01:15:33,703 --> 01:15:37,793
♪ And I can't make up
nothing special ♪
1695
01:15:37,837 --> 01:15:40,970
♪ Not when I'm with you
1696
01:15:41,014 --> 01:15:43,103
♪ When I'm with you...
1697
01:15:43,146 --> 01:15:45,541
There is never a "June, moon, spoon"
1698
01:15:45,583 --> 01:15:47,630
aspect to their lyrics.
1699
01:15:47,672 --> 01:15:49,805
There is always a three, four,
1700
01:15:49,849 --> 01:15:52,721
five times removed aspect of:
1701
01:15:52,765 --> 01:15:55,376
So, is the narrator...
This is clearly not the singer.
1702
01:15:55,420 --> 01:15:57,726
He's playing a character,
and then the... and you kind of
1703
01:15:57,770 --> 01:16:00,685
work out what
the character's biography is.
1704
01:16:00,729 --> 01:16:03,863
Each song has such a personality to it.
1705
01:16:03,907 --> 01:16:05,734
That middle eight is
the thing that I think,
1706
01:16:05,778 --> 01:16:08,389
for some listeners who might be investing
1707
01:16:08,432 --> 01:16:10,827
in, like, a love song, will say, like,
1708
01:16:10,869 --> 01:16:13,046
"Oh, hold up. Is this a joke?"
1709
01:16:13,090 --> 01:16:15,309
It could be seen as being insincere.
1710
01:16:15,353 --> 01:16:16,920
In reality,
1711
01:16:16,962 --> 01:16:18,573
it's the thing
that makes them more memorable.
1712
01:16:20,880 --> 01:16:23,490
The thing of doing TV shows that we did
1713
01:16:23,534 --> 01:16:26,582
in a period of, like,
"When I'm with You" in France...
1714
01:16:26,625 --> 01:16:28,583
And we did a lot
in Germany at that time...
1715
01:16:28,627 --> 01:16:31,238
I think, you know, we realized
that the appeal of Sparks
1716
01:16:31,282 --> 01:16:33,283
was going to an area that wasn't
1717
01:16:33,327 --> 01:16:35,024
where we wanted to be going.
1718
01:16:35,068 --> 01:16:38,158
And so, um, that was why
we wanted to start having
1719
01:16:38,202 --> 01:16:40,029
a band context again.
1720
01:16:40,073 --> 01:16:42,292
Please, uh, can you smile?
1721
01:16:42,336 --> 01:16:44,337
Uh, cheese.
1722
01:16:44,381 --> 01:16:46,296
Ah.
1723
01:16:46,340 --> 01:16:48,560
Merci. Thank you.
1724
01:16:50,605 --> 01:16:52,476
My relationship to Sparks,
1725
01:16:52,520 --> 01:16:54,000
like most everything else,
is based on coffee.
1726
01:16:54,043 --> 01:16:56,960
I am an avid, to this day,
coffee drinker.
1727
01:16:57,002 --> 01:16:59,570
And in 1980, it was pretty rough.
1728
01:16:59,614 --> 01:17:01,617
The one place you could go in Los Angeles
1729
01:17:01,659 --> 01:17:03,574
was the Farmers Market.
1730
01:17:03,618 --> 01:17:05,969
They had a Belgian waffle stand
with one espresso machine.
1731
01:17:06,011 --> 01:17:07,578
People started to say,
1732
01:17:07,622 --> 01:17:10,234
"I saw the Sparks brothers
1733
01:17:10,277 --> 01:17:11,844
at Farmers Market."
1734
01:17:11,887 --> 01:17:13,585
And we're like, "What?"
1735
01:17:14,846 --> 01:17:17,850
-Small soy cappuccino, please.
-And for you?
1736
01:17:17,894 --> 01:17:19,939
Uh, what's a red-eye?
1737
01:17:19,983 --> 01:17:22,899
So, a coffee with a shot of espresso.
1738
01:17:22,942 --> 01:17:24,640
-Really?
-Yeah, double caffeine.
1739
01:17:24,682 --> 01:17:26,032
-Wow. I'll try that.
-You want one?
1740
01:17:26,076 --> 01:17:27,555
-Yeah. Yeah.
-Small?
1741
01:17:27,599 --> 01:17:29,340
I'll... I hope I live
to tell the tale.
1742
01:17:29,382 --> 01:17:30,775
I started noticing
1743
01:17:30,819 --> 01:17:32,516
Ron and Russell at this other table.
1744
01:17:32,560 --> 01:17:34,431
They were there almost
every day that we were there,
1745
01:17:34,475 --> 01:17:36,346
and then after a while,
we-we started saying
1746
01:17:36,390 --> 01:17:38,001
sort of a grudging hello to each other.
1747
01:17:38,043 --> 01:17:41,569
One thing led to the next, and we, uh,
1748
01:17:41,613 --> 01:17:43,222
poached their entire band,
1749
01:17:43,266 --> 01:17:45,007
and, uh, that was the end of Bates Motel.
1750
01:17:45,051 --> 01:17:48,488
But it was the start of
the '80s version of Sparks.
1751
01:17:52,015 --> 01:17:53,930
We went to S.I.R....
1752
01:17:53,972 --> 01:17:56,019
Studio Instrument Rentals...
On Santa Monica
1753
01:17:56,061 --> 01:17:59,021
and we started rehearsing the songs
1754
01:17:59,064 --> 01:18:01,632
for what eventually was
Whomp That Sucker.
1755
01:18:01,676 --> 01:18:03,547
It was very different thanTerminal Jive.
1756
01:18:03,591 --> 01:18:05,810
It was like, this is
a new thing going on.
1757
01:18:05,854 --> 01:18:08,684
I want to say we rehearsed for six weeks,
1758
01:18:08,726 --> 01:18:10,467
and then we were on a plane to Munich
1759
01:18:10,511 --> 01:18:12,164
and-and recording the album.
1760
01:18:12,208 --> 01:18:14,037
♪ And, boy, am I sorry...
1761
01:18:15,429 --> 01:18:17,301
All of a sudden,
we're in Musicland Studios.
1762
01:18:17,344 --> 01:18:19,259
It's Giorgio Moroder's studio.
1763
01:18:19,302 --> 01:18:22,045
It's in the basement
of this groovy hotel.
1764
01:18:22,087 --> 01:18:23,698
Sometimes, we just
kind of drift into things,
1765
01:18:23,742 --> 01:18:26,918
but that really was a conscious decision
1766
01:18:26,962 --> 01:18:29,269
to work with a band.
1767
01:18:29,313 --> 01:18:30,836
They were inseparable.
1768
01:18:30,880 --> 01:18:32,533
At that time, I kind of had this thing.
1769
01:18:32,577 --> 01:18:35,188
They were almost like a symbiotic thing.
1770
01:18:35,231 --> 01:18:37,146
They were like one sort of complete form.
1771
01:18:37,189 --> 01:18:38,713
You know, it's an interesting thing
1772
01:18:38,756 --> 01:18:40,105
about how they wrote at that time
1773
01:18:40,149 --> 01:18:41,804
that the lyrics came last.
1774
01:18:41,846 --> 01:18:43,805
Russell would kind of do,
1775
01:18:43,849 --> 01:18:47,591
like, nonsense verbiage
just to fill in the space.
1776
01:18:47,635 --> 01:18:49,114
It was kind of incredible.
1777
01:18:49,158 --> 01:18:51,595
Ron would furiously finish the lyrics,
1778
01:18:51,639 --> 01:18:54,381
literally, it seemed like,
the night before.
1779
01:18:54,425 --> 01:18:56,166
The lyrics would show up, and we'd go,
1780
01:18:56,208 --> 01:18:58,255
"Wow, I had no idea."
1781
01:18:58,297 --> 01:19:01,823
♪ I've got a snapshot
of your Aunt Maureen ♪
1782
01:19:01,867 --> 01:19:04,827
♪ She's 90 and you're a teen
1783
01:19:04,869 --> 01:19:07,394
♪ I'm trying to cheer you up
1784
01:19:07,438 --> 01:19:10,658
♪ Don't be so mean,
don't be so mean... ♪
1785
01:19:13,095 --> 01:19:15,054
"I've got a snapshot
of your Aunt Maureen."
1786
01:19:16,926 --> 01:19:20,451
I can't think of a cooler way
to start a pop song than that.
1787
01:19:20,493 --> 01:19:23,453
Who are you?
Who is Aunt Maureen?
1788
01:19:23,497 --> 01:19:25,150
I love that lyric.
1789
01:19:25,194 --> 01:19:26,891
It grabs me.
1790
01:19:26,935 --> 01:19:30,417
♪ Crash, bam,
now you're looking good ♪
1791
01:19:30,461 --> 01:19:33,551
♪ Tip-top,
now you're feeling good ♪
1792
01:19:33,594 --> 01:19:35,509
♪ Once more,
here's your Aunt Maureen ♪
1793
01:19:35,552 --> 01:19:38,817
♪ Don't you feel good?
Don't you feel good? ♪
1794
01:19:38,860 --> 01:19:40,819
It was a funny thing of listening
1795
01:19:40,863 --> 01:19:42,560
to, like, two grown men being like,
1796
01:19:42,603 --> 01:19:44,387
"Here are tips for teens,"
then sing about, like, zits.
1797
01:19:44,430 --> 01:19:45,823
Like, literally being like,
1798
01:19:45,868 --> 01:19:47,304
"Here's what you do
when you get a zit."
1799
01:19:47,346 --> 01:19:48,957
That's genius.
1800
01:19:49,001 --> 01:19:50,610
Songs are about, like, two things.
1801
01:19:50,654 --> 01:19:52,047
Will you please fuck me?
1802
01:19:52,091 --> 01:19:53,613
Don't shut my party down.
1803
01:19:53,658 --> 01:19:55,833
♪ Tips for teens,
the kind you don't see... ♪
1804
01:19:55,877 --> 01:19:59,577
Their wacko training
bra and blemish cream sound
1805
01:19:59,619 --> 01:20:03,101
is not typical fare
in the L.A. club scene,
1806
01:20:03,145 --> 01:20:07,193
and after several albums,
brothers Russell and Ron Mael
1807
01:20:07,237 --> 01:20:10,849
have yet to give up the fight back home.
1808
01:20:10,893 --> 01:20:13,198
The radio station
that really mattered was.
1809
01:20:13,243 --> 01:20:16,420
"K-Rock," KROQ, and they were playing
1810
01:20:16,462 --> 01:20:19,902
a lot of things
that just fit into our style.
1811
01:20:21,773 --> 01:20:24,079
I never knew Ron and Russell to ever make
1812
01:20:24,122 --> 01:20:26,734
a calculated move to capture an audience.
1813
01:20:26,778 --> 01:20:28,649
Sometimes they hit it
1814
01:20:28,693 --> 01:20:30,912
because they liked something
everybody else liked.
1815
01:20:30,956 --> 01:20:34,090
KROQ played all the-the weird
stuff coming from England:
1816
01:20:34,132 --> 01:20:38,224
The Cure, Depeche Mode,
Duran Duran, New Order.
1817
01:20:38,268 --> 01:20:40,618
If you listened to KROQ, you generally
1818
01:20:40,661 --> 01:20:43,447
didn't listen to other stations.
1819
01:20:43,489 --> 01:20:45,841
Like, it was sort of like
you just listened to KROQ.
1820
01:20:45,884 --> 01:20:47,581
I remember just falling out
1821
01:20:47,625 --> 01:20:49,756
of my chair, you know, hearing Sparks
1822
01:20:49,801 --> 01:20:51,454
actually on the radio.
1823
01:20:51,497 --> 01:20:52,978
You know, we're in
Munich, and somebody's calling,
1824
01:20:53,021 --> 01:20:54,109
like, "Hey they're playing
'Tips for Teens'
1825
01:20:54,153 --> 01:20:55,198
on KROQ every 15 minutes."
1826
01:20:55,240 --> 01:20:56,546
I'm like,
1827
01:20:56,590 --> 01:20:58,157
"Can we hear it?"
You know?
1828
01:20:58,201 --> 01:21:00,029
Sparks is extraordinarily
popular in Europe.
1829
01:21:00,072 --> 01:21:02,682
You are very popular in this country,
1830
01:21:02,726 --> 01:21:04,685
but I think it's safe to say that perhaps
1831
01:21:04,729 --> 01:21:06,686
you-your reception over there is wilder
1832
01:21:06,730 --> 01:21:08,775
and more, uh, outgoing than it is here.
1833
01:21:08,819 --> 01:21:10,778
What are you doing
to correct that situation?
1834
01:21:10,822 --> 01:21:12,649
We're gonna be
concentrating really heavily
1835
01:21:12,693 --> 01:21:14,652
on the States in the next year.
1836
01:21:14,694 --> 01:21:16,479
Would you introduce
me to your associates, please?
1837
01:21:16,523 --> 01:21:18,438
On bass, Les Bohem.
1838
01:21:18,481 --> 01:21:19,917
I thinkWhomp That Sucker is
1839
01:21:19,962 --> 01:21:22,268
the Bates Motel backup band,
1840
01:21:22,311 --> 01:21:25,881
andAngst, that is the point
where we were a band.
1841
01:21:25,923 --> 01:21:29,057
Angst in My Pants
is a record where culture
1842
01:21:29,100 --> 01:21:32,016
and zeitgeist all come together
in that record.
1843
01:21:32,060 --> 01:21:35,498
We have Ron and Russell.
Who is the older?
1844
01:21:35,542 --> 01:21:37,065
You are.
1845
01:21:38,936 --> 01:21:39,895
First of all, best cover.
1846
01:21:39,938 --> 01:21:41,547
That cover totally rules.
1847
01:21:41,591 --> 01:21:43,158
This is how you do an album cover.
1848
01:21:44,159 --> 01:21:45,595
I just remember
1849
01:21:45,639 --> 01:21:47,076
looking at that, and it's like,
1850
01:21:47,118 --> 01:21:49,252
there's this guy
in a wedding dress with this,
1851
01:21:49,295 --> 01:21:50,730
you know, weird mustache.
1852
01:21:50,774 --> 01:21:52,429
It was just such a striking image.
1853
01:21:52,471 --> 01:21:54,212
Even now, it is.
1854
01:21:54,256 --> 01:21:56,171
They themselves
are heterosexual, but they had
1855
01:21:56,215 --> 01:21:57,782
a huge gay following.
1856
01:21:57,824 --> 01:21:59,739
Their songs questioned
notions of masculinity.
1857
01:21:59,783 --> 01:22:02,829
They did it in their music,
they did it in their videos,
1858
01:22:02,873 --> 01:22:04,744
and I think they did it
on that album cover.
1859
01:22:04,788 --> 01:22:08,662
I mean, that is in the great
rock and roll tradition of:
1860
01:22:08,706 --> 01:22:11,143
"'F' you, America."
1861
01:22:11,186 --> 01:22:14,451
You know, it's-it's disturbing,
it's unsettling.
1862
01:22:14,493 --> 01:22:16,496
It's not right.
It's not Republican.
1863
01:22:16,539 --> 01:22:18,454
It's not apple pie.
1864
01:22:18,497 --> 01:22:20,021
Some dudes wouldn't even buy the album,
1865
01:22:20,064 --> 01:22:21,719
'cause they didn't want to
bring it to the counter,
1866
01:22:21,761 --> 01:22:23,328
but that's their problem.
1867
01:22:23,372 --> 01:22:25,375
We think it's important to do something
1868
01:22:25,417 --> 01:22:27,551
that is polarizing.
1869
01:22:27,594 --> 01:22:30,422
We don't feel bad about that
in-in the slightest.
1870
01:22:30,466 --> 01:22:32,425
It kind of encourages us to...
1871
01:22:32,469 --> 01:22:35,733
to push what we're doing even more.
1872
01:22:38,953 --> 01:22:42,391
♪ You're gonna take
a walk in the rain ♪
1873
01:22:42,435 --> 01:22:44,916
♪ And you're gonna get wet
1874
01:22:44,960 --> 01:22:47,265
♪ I predict...
1875
01:22:47,310 --> 01:22:49,354
It's probably one of the most macho,
1876
01:22:49,399 --> 01:22:52,618
badass Sparks songs that's out there.
1877
01:22:52,662 --> 01:22:54,926
And the way they illustrate it is
1878
01:22:54,970 --> 01:22:57,319
with Ron stripping,
1879
01:22:57,363 --> 01:23:00,931
and it's disgusting and creepy
1880
01:23:00,975 --> 01:23:03,152
and delicious.
1881
01:23:03,194 --> 01:23:06,198
♪ Philip don't care,
I predict... ♪
1882
01:23:06,242 --> 01:23:08,809
There's Russell being
the pretty boy, matinee idol,
1883
01:23:08,853 --> 01:23:12,421
and Ron, in his own way,
is a matinee idol,
1884
01:23:12,465 --> 01:23:15,903
but he's one from
the dark side of the lens.
1885
01:23:17,774 --> 01:23:19,645
He doesn't fit in any
of the traditional roles
1886
01:23:19,689 --> 01:23:22,127
that you would have in a...
a rock and roll band.
1887
01:23:22,171 --> 01:23:23,649
That's almost
1888
01:23:23,694 --> 01:23:26,217
more powerful than a front man
in many ways.
1889
01:23:26,261 --> 01:23:27,350
Certainly very distracting.
1890
01:23:31,222 --> 01:23:32,789
Yeah, it's shtick and it's showbiz,
1891
01:23:32,832 --> 01:23:35,314
but it's also
1892
01:23:35,358 --> 01:23:37,533
emblematic and symbolic
1893
01:23:37,577 --> 01:23:40,405
of what their true essence
of who they are is.
1894
01:23:40,449 --> 01:23:42,452
Who is the star of Sparks?
1895
01:23:42,494 --> 01:23:44,453
Sometimes it's Ron,
sometimes it's Russell.
1896
01:23:44,497 --> 01:23:46,716
Russell is, like,
a sort of traditional singer,
1897
01:23:46,760 --> 01:23:49,067
but Ron was...
yeah, really shined
1898
01:23:49,110 --> 01:23:51,851
as just this sort of strange,
odd presence.
1899
01:23:52,853 --> 01:23:55,551
Thank you. Thank you.
1900
01:23:55,595 --> 01:23:57,074
Tell us, though, about Sparks.
1901
01:23:57,118 --> 01:23:58,859
I know that you're an underground band.
1902
01:23:58,903 --> 01:24:00,252
What-what are you saying
1903
01:24:00,296 --> 01:24:01,600
to those kids out there or to adults?
1904
01:24:01,645 --> 01:24:03,081
What-what is Sparks saying?
1905
01:24:03,125 --> 01:24:05,604
Sparks is a rock band
with a point of view.
1906
01:24:05,649 --> 01:24:08,694
The thing that we wish
to convey is-is a sense of joy
1907
01:24:08,738 --> 01:24:10,914
about the music that we are creating.
1908
01:24:10,957 --> 01:24:13,047
And I think most of this sense of joy
1909
01:24:13,091 --> 01:24:17,617
is from Russell's singing
and from my lyrical approach.
1910
01:24:17,661 --> 01:24:19,880
Sometimes it's satirical
1911
01:24:19,923 --> 01:24:23,493
but never without some sort
of witty point of view.
1912
01:24:23,536 --> 01:24:26,104
Sparks.
1913
01:24:29,498 --> 01:24:31,239
"Cool Places" is a big hit.
1914
01:24:31,283 --> 01:24:32,283
I think that's the first time
1915
01:24:32,328 --> 01:24:33,806
some of my contemporaries
1916
01:24:33,850 --> 01:24:35,591
became aware of Sparks.
1917
01:24:35,635 --> 01:24:37,114
-Our time has come.
-Okay.
1918
01:24:37,158 --> 01:24:39,117
-And here we are.
-We've arrived.
1919
01:24:39,161 --> 01:24:41,859
I hope you like our new
single, "Cool Places."
1920
01:24:43,078 --> 01:24:46,385
♪ I wanna go to cool places
with you ♪
1921
01:24:46,429 --> 01:24:49,127
♪ I wanna take you
cool places tonight... ♪
1922
01:24:49,171 --> 01:24:51,564
The video for that song was
1923
01:24:51,608 --> 01:24:54,262
really played a lot on MTV in the States,
1924
01:24:54,305 --> 01:24:56,787
and so it was really reaching
1925
01:24:56,829 --> 01:24:58,876
a new audience that perhaps
we wouldn't have had.
1926
01:24:58,918 --> 01:25:01,007
♪ A minimum of chitchat...
1927
01:25:01,051 --> 01:25:05,490
It's hard to overstate
how important MTV was
1928
01:25:05,534 --> 01:25:08,407
to the music business at that time.
1929
01:25:08,451 --> 01:25:12,890
And the "Cool Places" video
is so wacky and so fun.
1930
01:25:12,932 --> 01:25:14,761
♪ I gotta tell you...
1931
01:25:14,805 --> 01:25:15,979
I guess I would've been in high school
1932
01:25:16,023 --> 01:25:17,546
when "Cool Places" came out.
1933
01:25:17,590 --> 01:25:20,418
And I saw the video on MTV.
1934
01:25:20,462 --> 01:25:22,377
And I knew exactly who Jane Wiedlin was
1935
01:25:22,421 --> 01:25:23,856
'cause I loved the Go-Go's.
1936
01:25:23,900 --> 01:25:25,423
But I thought, "Who are these two guys
1937
01:25:25,467 --> 01:25:27,556
with my Go-Go?"
1938
01:25:27,600 --> 01:25:29,601
♪ And they could tell
we're cooler now... ♪
1939
01:25:29,645 --> 01:25:32,387
I remember
the video very, very distinctly
1940
01:25:32,430 --> 01:25:34,345
for the dancing in it,
1941
01:25:34,390 --> 01:25:35,956
which was very '80s dancing,
1942
01:25:36,000 --> 01:25:39,481
which was just basic swaying.
1943
01:25:39,524 --> 01:25:41,265
Has anybody traced back that dance?
1944
01:25:41,310 --> 01:25:44,181
People call it the Molly Ringwald.
1945
01:25:44,225 --> 01:25:47,315
No, no, no. I think
we thought of it, personally.
1946
01:25:47,359 --> 01:25:49,012
When we saw Molly Ringwald doing it,
1947
01:25:49,055 --> 01:25:51,493
we were like, "Oh, my God,
she stole our dance."
1948
01:25:51,537 --> 01:25:54,713
♪ I wanna go, I wanna go...
1949
01:25:54,757 --> 01:25:57,152
How did you fall in with this company?
1950
01:25:57,194 --> 01:26:00,024
We met on a love boat cruise.
1951
01:26:00,067 --> 01:26:02,157
No, no, seriously.
How did the...
1952
01:26:02,199 --> 01:26:03,854
Did you get a telephone call?
Did you see her?
1953
01:26:03,896 --> 01:26:05,725
What...
Who made the first call?
1954
01:26:05,769 --> 01:26:07,814
Oh, it was mutual admiration
1955
01:26:07,858 --> 01:26:11,166
for, uh, each other's respective groups
1956
01:26:11,208 --> 01:26:13,951
and then mutual, uh, admiration
1957
01:26:13,993 --> 01:26:15,908
for each other's bodies.
1958
01:26:15,953 --> 01:26:17,911
Would you stop that?
1959
01:26:17,954 --> 01:26:20,739
I knew, if I let you go long
enough, I'd be in trouble.
1960
01:26:20,783 --> 01:26:23,177
As you can imagine, I
was madly in love with Russell
1961
01:26:23,220 --> 01:26:27,703
all through my teenage-hood,
and then I got to meet him, and
1962
01:26:27,747 --> 01:26:30,271
I basically threw myself at him.
1963
01:26:30,314 --> 01:26:32,229
Let's just put it that way.
And, um...
1964
01:26:32,274 --> 01:26:36,712
so we had sort of this brief,
brief romance
1965
01:26:36,756 --> 01:26:40,238
that, uh, didn't ever really
get deep or anything,
1966
01:26:40,282 --> 01:26:43,198
and it was fun, and I think,
really, a lot of it for me
1967
01:26:43,240 --> 01:26:45,287
was getting to fulfill a fantasy.
1968
01:26:45,329 --> 01:26:47,592
You know, one thing led
to the next, you know.
1969
01:26:47,636 --> 01:26:49,203
You're now getting a little insight
1970
01:26:49,247 --> 01:26:50,900
into how things happen
in the music world.
1971
01:26:50,944 --> 01:26:52,381
You think it's all just kind of...
1972
01:26:52,423 --> 01:26:53,859
People come out with albums and record
1973
01:26:53,904 --> 01:26:55,166
and it's all lovey-dovey.
1974
01:26:55,210 --> 01:26:56,559
You know, this...
this is how...
1975
01:26:56,601 --> 01:26:57,689
We thought it was limos and ludes,
1976
01:26:57,734 --> 01:26:59,256
but it's really sex, huh?
1977
01:26:59,301 --> 01:27:01,259
-This is how it happens, yes.
-It's really sex.
1978
01:27:01,302 --> 01:27:02,868
I was so in love with
Russell 'cause he was so cute,
1979
01:27:02,912 --> 01:27:05,131
so I chose beauty over brains, but...
1980
01:27:05,176 --> 01:27:07,003
and I'm not saying Russell's not smart
1981
01:27:07,046 --> 01:27:09,702
or Ron's not beautiful...
Don't get me wrong...
1982
01:27:09,746 --> 01:27:12,662
But, like, now, like,
I think of Ron, and I'm like...
1983
01:27:12,704 --> 01:27:14,185
"Oh, Ron Mael."
1984
01:27:14,229 --> 01:27:15,881
Like, I mean, he just wrote
1985
01:27:15,926 --> 01:27:17,841
some of my favorite songs
I've ever heard.
1986
01:27:19,930 --> 01:27:22,149
There is this continual theme
1987
01:27:22,193 --> 01:27:23,586
through Ron's lyrics
1988
01:27:23,628 --> 01:27:25,109
in Sparks songs
1989
01:27:25,152 --> 01:27:27,284
of somehow not being good enough.
1990
01:27:27,328 --> 01:27:28,939
Sparks do that thing...
1991
01:27:28,981 --> 01:27:30,418
It's like, they have
a really poignant theme,
1992
01:27:30,462 --> 01:27:34,204
and they're addressing
something quite serious,
1993
01:27:34,248 --> 01:27:36,162
but it's done in a kind of a playful,
1994
01:27:36,207 --> 01:27:37,817
slightly throwaway way.
1995
01:27:37,860 --> 01:27:39,427
And then you kind of
think about it and you go,
1996
01:27:39,470 --> 01:27:42,256
"You know, it really
is quite sad."
1997
01:27:42,300 --> 01:27:43,693
♪ Turn out the light,
yeah, the light ♪
1998
01:27:43,735 --> 01:27:44,997
♪ And I might have a chance
1999
01:27:45,042 --> 01:27:46,652
♪ I guess I look
slightly worse ♪
2000
01:27:46,695 --> 01:27:48,131
♪ Than the Elephant Man
2001
01:27:48,175 --> 01:27:49,786
♪ Whoa-oh-oh
2002
01:27:49,828 --> 01:27:52,702
♪ I wish I looked
a little better... ♪
2003
01:27:54,269 --> 01:27:57,750
All of the songs come
from the perspective of Ron,
2004
01:27:57,793 --> 01:28:00,492
and, you know, he's socially awkward
2005
01:28:00,536 --> 01:28:03,320
and sort of, you know, like,
runs into issues,
2006
01:28:03,364 --> 01:28:05,975
which is what makes the band
so interesting to me, too,
2007
01:28:06,019 --> 01:28:10,284
'cause the face of Sparks and
the voice of Sparks is Russell,
2008
01:28:10,328 --> 01:28:11,850
and Russell is so handsome
2009
01:28:11,895 --> 01:28:13,505
and, you know, kind of a ladies' man,
2010
01:28:13,548 --> 01:28:15,899
but he's singing these
really fucked-up, like,
2011
01:28:15,942 --> 01:28:18,554
"can't get the girl" lyrics.
2012
01:28:18,596 --> 01:28:19,859
It didn't occur to me,
2013
01:28:19,903 --> 01:28:22,862
but being brothers, at the time,
2014
01:28:22,905 --> 01:28:24,341
when he was the cutie-pie
2015
01:28:24,386 --> 01:28:26,301
and all the teenagers loved him,
2016
01:28:26,344 --> 01:28:29,738
did he get jealous that he
wasn't getting any attention?
2017
01:28:29,782 --> 01:28:32,872
I mean, that would've done
me in if I was his brother.
2018
01:28:34,831 --> 01:28:36,222
He's celebrating all the things
2019
01:28:36,266 --> 01:28:38,399
that awkward kids feel.
2020
01:28:38,443 --> 01:28:39,704
Ultimately, at the end of the day,
2021
01:28:39,748 --> 01:28:40,880
he's making you feel less alone.
2022
01:28:40,923 --> 01:28:43,622
♪ Dress for success
2023
01:28:43,666 --> 01:28:46,363
♪ Oh, that's what they said
2024
01:28:46,408 --> 01:28:48,539
♪ Oh, give me some clothes
2025
01:28:48,583 --> 01:28:51,542
♪ To slap over my head
2026
01:28:51,587 --> 01:28:55,198
♪ I went to Balboa Island
and laid in the sand ♪
2027
01:28:55,242 --> 01:28:58,114
♪ I may be ugly as sin,
but at least now I'm tan ♪
2028
01:28:58,158 --> 01:28:59,811
♪ Whoa-oh-oh
2029
01:28:59,855 --> 01:29:02,640
♪ I wish I looked
a little better... ♪
2030
01:29:02,685 --> 01:29:04,686
We were headlining,
2031
01:29:04,729 --> 01:29:06,645
like, the Greek Theatre by the end,
2032
01:29:06,689 --> 01:29:09,082
which is, like, a 5,000-seat venue.
2033
01:29:09,126 --> 01:29:10,519
You know, it was big.
2034
01:29:11,389 --> 01:29:12,782
There they are, playing
2035
01:29:12,824 --> 01:29:14,349
multiple nights at the Whisky,
2036
01:29:14,391 --> 01:29:15,828
and then larger venues
2037
01:29:15,872 --> 01:29:17,525
like the Country Club or the Palace
2038
01:29:17,569 --> 01:29:19,222
and even headlining the Hollywood Bowl.
2039
01:29:19,265 --> 01:29:20,354
I thought they were one of
2040
01:29:20,398 --> 01:29:21,921
the biggest bands in the world,
2041
01:29:21,965 --> 01:29:23,792
because if you lived in L.A.
in the early '80s,
2042
01:29:23,836 --> 01:29:26,011
that was pretty much
the impression you got.
2043
01:29:26,055 --> 01:29:28,841
♪
2044
01:29:28,885 --> 01:29:30,408
I was happy for them
2045
01:29:30,452 --> 01:29:31,887
because they deserved the success.
2046
01:29:31,930 --> 01:29:34,194
♪ Let's go.
2047
01:29:35,935 --> 01:29:38,110
And then sadly, you know,
with Pulling Rabbits,
2048
01:29:38,154 --> 01:29:40,243
you know, everything started going south.
2049
01:29:42,288 --> 01:29:44,944
I can't believe what I'm seeing.
2050
01:29:44,988 --> 01:29:47,251
Me, either.
2051
01:29:48,470 --> 01:29:50,559
♪ That is what I had intended
2052
01:29:50,601 --> 01:29:52,386
♪ Pretending to be drunk...
2053
01:29:52,430 --> 01:29:55,824
Along comes Sparks with a swing song
2054
01:29:55,868 --> 01:29:59,131
called
"Pretending to Be Drunk."
2055
01:29:59,176 --> 01:30:01,177
♪ You think I am
weak and feeble ♪
2056
01:30:01,220 --> 01:30:03,354
♪ You think I'm a bore...
2057
01:30:03,398 --> 01:30:05,835
Doesn't sound like a Sparks song...
2058
01:30:05,877 --> 01:30:08,403
♪ Soon I'm out the door...
2059
01:30:08,445 --> 01:30:11,144
...but it doesn't sound like
any other kind of song, either.
2060
01:30:11,188 --> 01:30:14,756
It sounds like
an alpine glockenspiel song.
2061
01:30:14,800 --> 01:30:16,411
It's crazy.
2062
01:30:16,453 --> 01:30:18,978
♪ Pretending to be drunk...
2063
01:30:19,021 --> 01:30:20,979
We really do enjoy those periods
2064
01:30:21,024 --> 01:30:23,069
when we do have commercial success,
2065
01:30:23,113 --> 01:30:24,636
but we wanted to do something
2066
01:30:24,680 --> 01:30:27,073
that was not as easily pigeonholed,
2067
01:30:27,117 --> 01:30:29,162
obviously not wanting to commit
2068
01:30:29,206 --> 01:30:31,426
commercial suicide at the same time.
2069
01:30:31,469 --> 01:30:33,470
♪ Pretending
to be drunk... ♪
2070
01:30:33,515 --> 01:30:37,909
In America, Sparks had a hard time.
2071
01:30:37,953 --> 01:30:39,476
They were a bit much for most people.
2072
01:30:39,520 --> 01:30:41,565
What can I say?
I'm an American,
2073
01:30:41,609 --> 01:30:43,438
so I don't want to criticize too much,
2074
01:30:43,480 --> 01:30:45,527
but, you know, Sparks are a lot of things
2075
01:30:45,569 --> 01:30:48,747
that many Americans
don't seem to care for.
2076
01:30:48,791 --> 01:30:51,054
People were immediately,
you know, taken aback.
2077
01:30:51,096 --> 01:30:52,403
They just thought they were weird
2078
01:30:52,447 --> 01:30:53,882
or that they were a novelty.
2079
01:30:53,926 --> 01:30:56,929
♪ That is what I had intended
2080
01:30:56,972 --> 01:30:59,627
♪ Pretending to be drunk...
2081
01:30:59,671 --> 01:31:01,280
I felt like their career was over
2082
01:31:01,324 --> 01:31:02,891
more often than any other band.
2083
01:31:02,935 --> 01:31:04,762
You know, it felt to me like,
"I love this band.
2084
01:31:04,806 --> 01:31:06,155
"Oh, they're gone.
2085
01:31:06,198 --> 01:31:07,679
Oh, never mind.
Oh, they're back."
2086
01:31:07,722 --> 01:31:09,594
Some music from two young men
2087
01:31:09,637 --> 01:31:11,682
who had a host of hits
when I was but a...
2088
01:31:11,726 --> 01:31:13,292
but a child disc jockey.
2089
01:31:13,337 --> 01:31:14,859
I'm pleased to say
they're back to delight us
2090
01:31:14,904 --> 01:31:16,426
with a record
entitled "Change."
2091
01:31:16,470 --> 01:31:18,385
Ladies and gentlemen, Sparks.
2092
01:31:20,604 --> 01:31:22,606
They just keep doing it,
2093
01:31:22,650 --> 01:31:24,783
and they never let anything stop them.
2094
01:31:24,827 --> 01:31:26,784
Whether they're popular or not popular,
2095
01:31:26,828 --> 01:31:29,135
it just doesn't seem to matter to them,
2096
01:31:29,179 --> 01:31:31,180
and I love that about them.
2097
01:31:31,224 --> 01:31:33,270
They don't want to stick
with just one thing.
2098
01:31:33,313 --> 01:31:35,837
You know, and what an audience
seems to want is:
2099
01:31:35,881 --> 01:31:37,404
"This is what this band does,
2100
01:31:37,448 --> 01:31:39,275
and this is what they'll
continue doing for me."
2101
01:31:39,319 --> 01:31:40,972
And if you change too much,
I think it upsets people,
2102
01:31:41,016 --> 01:31:42,539
but in their case, they needed to.
2103
01:31:42,583 --> 01:31:45,282
And I kind of love them
all the more for that.
2104
01:31:45,324 --> 01:31:48,198
♪ The rain is falling down...
2105
01:31:48,240 --> 01:31:50,025
People, a lot of the time,
2106
01:31:50,069 --> 01:31:52,984
they think of our image
as being maybe a bit eccentric
2107
01:31:53,029 --> 01:31:54,856
and they don't think that it's dealing
2108
01:31:54,899 --> 01:31:56,554
with-with sort of real things,
2109
01:31:56,597 --> 01:31:58,251
and we really think that by and large...
2110
01:31:58,295 --> 01:31:59,992
And I emphasize "by and large"...
2111
01:32:00,036 --> 01:32:00,949
We're dealing
2112
01:32:00,993 --> 01:32:02,386
with real situations.
2113
01:32:02,429 --> 01:32:04,301
♪ But wait,
there's a rainbow... ♪
2114
01:32:04,344 --> 01:32:07,260
"Change" was this, um,
2115
01:32:07,304 --> 01:32:08,565
radical departure for them.
2116
01:32:08,609 --> 01:32:10,742
It was kind of more muted,
2117
01:32:10,786 --> 01:32:12,483
and it was sort of darker.
2118
01:32:12,527 --> 01:32:14,920
You couldn't make
a less commercial record
2119
01:32:14,963 --> 01:32:16,792
or release it as a single.
2120
01:32:16,835 --> 01:32:20,317
And I remember how much
I loved it at the time
2121
01:32:20,359 --> 01:32:21,710
because of those qualities.
2122
01:32:21,752 --> 01:32:23,407
♪ Change
2123
01:32:23,449 --> 01:32:28,238
♪ Every dog is gonna
have his day ♪
2124
01:32:28,280 --> 01:32:30,109
♪ Change
2125
01:32:30,153 --> 01:32:34,722
♪ Every loser's gonna
have his way ♪
2126
01:32:34,765 --> 01:32:36,551
♪ Change
2127
01:32:36,594 --> 01:32:39,988
♪ I don't care
what other people say... ♪
2128
01:32:40,032 --> 01:32:42,033
There's this ability...
2129
01:32:42,078 --> 01:32:43,905
So few people have it... it's like...
2130
01:32:43,948 --> 01:32:47,038
you say very little,
you're funny as could be,
2131
01:32:47,082 --> 01:32:49,694
and all of a sudden, it-it's devastating.
2132
01:32:49,738 --> 01:32:52,523
♪ It's a complete
waste of time... ♪
2133
01:32:52,567 --> 01:32:54,960
When I was touring
with them, they would do that.
2134
01:32:55,003 --> 01:32:56,570
And I always thought, "Wow,
2135
01:32:56,613 --> 01:32:58,529
that's a super poignant song,"
2136
01:32:58,573 --> 01:33:00,356
considering their ups and downs
2137
01:33:00,399 --> 01:33:02,751
in the recording industry.
2138
01:33:02,793 --> 01:33:03,795
We were given
2139
01:33:03,838 --> 01:33:05,622
the unenviable task
2140
01:33:05,667 --> 01:33:08,712
of being on a show on British TV
2141
01:33:08,756 --> 01:33:12,761
and our record label didn't
want to finance a video.
2142
01:33:12,804 --> 01:33:15,938
If there's any other
local bands out there
2143
01:33:15,980 --> 01:33:20,332
that would like this same
sort of video, uh, treatment,
2144
01:33:20,377 --> 01:33:23,554
they can contact me
through London Records.
2145
01:33:23,597 --> 01:33:25,729
♪ Change, change, change
2146
01:33:25,774 --> 01:33:29,908
♪ I don't care what
other people say... ♪
2147
01:33:29,952 --> 01:33:31,779
We hoped it would embarrass
2148
01:33:31,823 --> 01:33:33,868
our record label enough to,
2149
01:33:33,912 --> 01:33:37,742
the next time around, maybe,
uh, fling to do a video for us.
2150
01:33:37,786 --> 01:33:40,310
♪ I got places
that I've gotta be... ♪
2151
01:33:40,353 --> 01:33:42,094
We billed the record company
2152
01:33:42,137 --> 01:33:44,140
for the two pounds to buy the, uh, board
2153
01:33:44,182 --> 01:33:46,445
that we made the TV out of, too.
2154
01:33:46,489 --> 01:33:48,230
Still are waiting
to get paid back for that.
2155
01:33:48,274 --> 01:33:49,274
Ladies and gentlemen,
2156
01:33:49,319 --> 01:33:52,670
please welcome Sparks.
2157
01:33:55,280 --> 01:33:57,239
We really liked that song,
2158
01:33:57,283 --> 01:34:00,677
but unfortunately, it didn't
have the commercial success
2159
01:34:00,721 --> 01:34:03,288
that they had hoped for,
so there was one time
2160
01:34:03,332 --> 01:34:05,726
where the head of that label,
he just said, you know,
2161
01:34:05,770 --> 01:34:07,554
"You guys really should write
2162
01:34:07,597 --> 01:34:09,818
some music that
you can dance to."
2163
01:34:09,860 --> 01:34:12,123
♪ Music that you can dance to
2164
01:34:12,167 --> 01:34:13,648
♪ That and that alone
2165
01:34:13,690 --> 01:34:16,389
♪ Is enough for me
2166
01:34:17,564 --> 01:34:20,045
♪ Stark naked modern music
2167
01:34:20,088 --> 01:34:22,613
♪ Hotter than your mama
will ever be... ♪
2168
01:34:22,657 --> 01:34:24,832
"Hotter than
your mama will ever be."
2169
01:34:24,876 --> 01:34:27,225
I mean, every song I write,
I try to make it hotter
2170
01:34:27,270 --> 01:34:28,923
than your mama will ever be.
2171
01:34:28,966 --> 01:34:30,969
♪ Music that
you can dance to ♪
2172
01:34:31,012 --> 01:34:32,753
♪ Cracks you
like a whip ♪
2173
01:34:32,796 --> 01:34:35,408
♪ But it feels so right...
2174
01:34:35,452 --> 01:34:39,108
The lyrics sound like
it's trying to be kind of
2175
01:34:39,150 --> 01:34:41,893
nasty and oversimplistic,
but I swear to God,
2176
01:34:41,936 --> 01:34:43,981
they were... they were done
with total sincerity.
2177
01:34:44,025 --> 01:34:45,591
♪ So what's it gonna be?
2178
01:34:45,636 --> 01:34:47,506
♪ Gonna be, gonna be
2179
01:34:47,551 --> 01:34:50,206
-♪ A symphony tonight.
-♪ Symphony tonight...
2180
01:34:50,248 --> 01:34:52,817
It's a perfectly crafted sellout song,
2181
01:34:52,860 --> 01:34:56,994
except it's not and it's
mocking that idea, and...
2182
01:34:57,038 --> 01:34:59,171
"Here's your fucking
dance pop record."
2183
01:34:59,215 --> 01:35:01,738
♪ Music that you can dance to
2184
01:35:01,783 --> 01:35:06,657
♪ Every single beat
where it ought to be... ♪
2185
01:35:06,701 --> 01:35:08,528
The record executive at that company
2186
01:35:08,572 --> 01:35:11,052
took it the wrong way, and he wasn't
2187
01:35:11,095 --> 01:35:14,317
so happy, so we, uh,
severed our relationship
2188
01:35:14,359 --> 01:35:15,274
with that label.
2189
01:35:15,318 --> 01:35:18,277
♪
2190
01:35:18,320 --> 01:35:20,715
Fuck the guy from London Records, right?
2191
01:35:22,064 --> 01:35:24,369
♪ Music that
you can dance to... ♪
2192
01:35:24,413 --> 01:35:27,112
I told Ron and
Russell that I loved that song,
2193
01:35:27,155 --> 01:35:28,765
and they said something
in the email like,
2194
01:35:28,810 --> 01:35:31,247
"Yes, you're in
the age bracket for that song.
2195
01:35:31,289 --> 01:35:34,250
"That was in a really cheesy
'80s BMX movie
2196
01:35:34,292 --> 01:35:36,381
calledRad,
if you've ever seen it."
2197
01:35:36,426 --> 01:35:38,296
And I wrote back, "Yes, I've seen it.
2198
01:35:38,341 --> 01:35:40,342
My mom was in it."
2199
01:35:44,260 --> 01:35:45,609
♪
2200
01:35:45,652 --> 01:35:47,305
Their base of music, KROQ,
2201
01:35:47,350 --> 01:35:49,220
which was such a great support to them
2202
01:35:49,265 --> 01:35:50,962
in the early '80s, was moving on.
2203
01:35:51,006 --> 01:35:52,789
They wanted bands
like Red Hot Chili Peppers
2204
01:35:52,833 --> 01:35:55,532
and more of a angry, edgier sound.
2205
01:35:55,574 --> 01:35:58,100
It seemed like the Top 40 era,
2206
01:35:58,143 --> 01:36:00,493
that, uh, wasn't happening at that point.
2207
01:36:00,537 --> 01:36:03,887
I bought intolnterior Design
2208
01:36:03,931 --> 01:36:06,716
and would've put out any
Sparks record for any reason.
2209
01:36:06,761 --> 01:36:08,587
Unfortunately, at that time,
2210
01:36:08,631 --> 01:36:11,287
they had less relevance
2211
01:36:11,329 --> 01:36:13,158
than they ever had
2212
01:36:13,202 --> 01:36:14,943
to what was going on in the market.
2213
01:36:14,985 --> 01:36:16,595
So we got to put the record out,
2214
01:36:16,640 --> 01:36:18,597
but we weren't able to do much for it.
2215
01:36:18,641 --> 01:36:22,341
You know, they weren't,
like, 20-somethings anymore.
2216
01:36:22,385 --> 01:36:25,430
It was a very, very hard time
commercially for them,
2217
01:36:25,475 --> 01:36:27,345
but creatively, they never stopped.
2218
01:36:27,390 --> 01:36:28,912
They were always working on something.
2219
01:36:28,957 --> 01:36:32,264
Is there anybody out there
at all right now?
2220
01:36:34,396 --> 01:36:36,615
Let's take a look and see
2221
01:36:36,659 --> 01:36:38,792
what's going on out there in California.
2222
01:36:38,836 --> 01:36:40,533
They're bringing it in in style.
2223
01:36:42,448 --> 01:36:44,929
They recorded every day,
2224
01:36:44,972 --> 01:36:46,234
sometimes seven days a week.
2225
01:36:46,278 --> 01:36:48,193
They were in their home studio
2226
01:36:48,237 --> 01:36:50,716
just coming up with brilliant material
2227
01:36:50,761 --> 01:36:53,458
that wasn't being signed,
and it wasn't necessarily
2228
01:36:53,502 --> 01:36:55,939
going to culminate into an album.
2229
01:36:55,984 --> 01:37:00,030
1990. Happy New Year!
2230
01:37:00,074 --> 01:37:03,033
Because of the lack of a record deal
2231
01:37:03,078 --> 01:37:07,430
and any kind of record company
financial support, you know,
2232
01:37:07,472 --> 01:37:10,475
there comes a point where
the well is getting a bit dry.
2233
01:37:10,520 --> 01:37:12,695
It seemed, like, really imperative
2234
01:37:12,738 --> 01:37:16,439
that Russell learn how
to be the engineer.
2235
01:37:18,744 --> 01:37:22,358
It's 1991 onNew Year's Rockin' Eve.
2236
01:37:24,055 --> 01:37:26,100
Had they have been two guys
2237
01:37:26,144 --> 01:37:27,493
that did drugs and all of that
2238
01:37:27,537 --> 01:37:29,626
and blew their money in the past,
2239
01:37:29,668 --> 01:37:31,149
they wouldn't have been able
2240
01:37:31,193 --> 01:37:32,890
to pay their bills during that time.
2241
01:37:32,934 --> 01:37:36,240
It's a testament to them
in every aspect, you know,
2242
01:37:36,284 --> 01:37:38,199
to how they had... had,
2243
01:37:38,243 --> 01:37:40,898
um, you know, saved for that rainy day.
2244
01:37:40,942 --> 01:37:42,639
So they were able to have, you know,
2245
01:37:42,681 --> 01:37:45,033
almost six years of rainy days.
2246
01:37:45,076 --> 01:37:48,252
Now, 1992. Happy New Year.
2247
01:37:50,212 --> 01:37:51,822
Like, I get emotional
2248
01:37:51,865 --> 01:37:53,737
when I think about that time.
2249
01:37:58,784 --> 01:38:02,702
Every day... like I said,
sometimes seven days a week...
2250
01:38:06,706 --> 01:38:10,579
...from morning till night,
they were working so hard.
2251
01:38:12,408 --> 01:38:15,932
And they never...
they never tried to,
2252
01:38:15,976 --> 01:38:18,109
you know, do their version
of being commercial.
2253
01:38:18,153 --> 01:38:22,721
They never tried to...
to dumb it down, water it down.
2254
01:38:22,765 --> 01:38:27,118
They stayed so true to exactly...
2255
01:38:27,162 --> 01:38:29,425
what they've always been.
2256
01:38:29,467 --> 01:38:31,993
Five seconds to 1993.
2257
01:38:32,036 --> 01:38:35,560
Happy New Year's Rockin' Eve '93.
2258
01:38:35,604 --> 01:38:38,912
The one thing that
I'm proudest of with Sparks
2259
01:38:38,956 --> 01:38:41,958
is just our determination and resilience.
2260
01:38:42,002 --> 01:38:44,831
For instance, we devoted
six years of our lives
2261
01:38:44,875 --> 01:38:46,615
to work on a movie musical project
2262
01:38:46,658 --> 01:38:49,052
that was called Mai, the Psychic Girl.
2263
01:38:49,096 --> 01:38:51,795
It was based on a Japanese manga.
2264
01:38:51,837 --> 01:38:53,710
We were really up
for the challenge of that
2265
01:38:53,752 --> 01:38:54,971
because we-we thought
2266
01:38:55,015 --> 01:38:57,322
that this could be a way also
2267
01:38:57,365 --> 01:39:00,412
for Sparks to channel what we were doing
2268
01:39:00,456 --> 01:39:03,154
but in another form yet again.
2269
01:39:03,198 --> 01:39:06,636
And Tim Burton was signed on
early on to direct it.
2270
01:39:08,680 --> 01:39:11,336
We did miss performing live
during that period,
2271
01:39:11,380 --> 01:39:13,295
but I think, in the back of our heads,
2272
01:39:13,337 --> 01:39:15,340
we were also thinking a lot of people
2273
01:39:15,384 --> 01:39:17,298
are gonna see this Tim Burton movie
2274
01:39:17,341 --> 01:39:22,782
and it will obviously help
the cause for Sparks.
2275
01:39:22,826 --> 01:39:26,612
When we got word that Tim was
2276
01:39:26,655 --> 01:39:28,787
bowing out of Mai, the Psychic Girl,
2277
01:39:28,832 --> 01:39:29,876
there were tears,
2278
01:39:29,920 --> 01:39:32,009
and...
2279
01:39:32,052 --> 01:39:35,926
And I-I-I cry easily,
but Ron and Russell don't,
2280
01:39:35,970 --> 01:39:37,971
and there were tears.
2281
01:39:39,625 --> 01:39:42,323
We kind of had put all
of our chips on that one thing,
2282
01:39:42,367 --> 01:39:45,717
and-and maybe that was
the wrong thing to do.
2283
01:39:47,284 --> 01:39:50,680
Somehow, you know,
you muster up the enthusiasm
2284
01:39:50,722 --> 01:39:52,463
to-to continue on.
2285
01:39:52,507 --> 01:39:54,858
I think sometimes it's the setbacks
2286
01:39:54,900 --> 01:39:58,340
that-that actually make you stronger.
2287
01:39:58,382 --> 01:40:00,645
And sometimes,
as a result of those things,
2288
01:40:00,689 --> 01:40:05,128
you end up doing something even better.
2289
01:40:05,172 --> 01:40:09,090
Happy 1994.
2290
01:40:09,132 --> 01:40:10,569
I remember going to Fopp
2291
01:40:10,613 --> 01:40:12,136
on Byres Road in Glasgow
2292
01:40:12,180 --> 01:40:15,051
and, um, this new Sparks album was out.
2293
01:40:15,095 --> 01:40:16,880
Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins.
2294
01:40:16,922 --> 01:40:18,795
I was thinking, like, "Oh, wow.
2295
01:40:18,837 --> 01:40:20,448
So this band still exists?"
2296
01:40:20,492 --> 01:40:24,060
♪ No, no use
in lecturing them ♪
2297
01:40:24,104 --> 01:40:26,020
♪ Or in threatening them
2298
01:40:26,063 --> 01:40:28,457
♪ They will just say,
"Who are you?" ♪
2299
01:40:28,500 --> 01:40:30,806
That unusual duo from the '70s
2300
01:40:30,850 --> 01:40:32,547
are back and still brilliant.
2301
01:40:32,591 --> 01:40:34,680
Bloody hell, they look amazing.
2302
01:40:34,724 --> 01:40:35,985
Have they not aged?
2303
01:40:36,029 --> 01:40:37,335
It's like a time warp.
2304
01:40:37,378 --> 01:40:38,510
The pair of you look exactly the same.
2305
01:40:38,554 --> 01:40:40,773
Well, thank you.
What can I say?
2306
01:40:40,817 --> 01:40:42,210
So, after a six-year gap,
2307
01:40:42,252 --> 01:40:44,081
they came back with a vengeance.
2308
01:40:44,125 --> 01:40:47,389
♪ No, no use
in taking their time ♪
2309
01:40:47,431 --> 01:40:49,390
♪ Or in wasting two dimes
2310
01:40:49,434 --> 01:40:52,742
♪ On a call to God knows who
2311
01:40:52,784 --> 01:40:55,136
♪ When all you feel
is the rain ♪
2312
01:40:55,179 --> 01:40:57,180
♪ And it's hard to be vain
2313
01:40:57,225 --> 01:41:00,576
♪ When no person looks at you
2314
01:41:00,618 --> 01:41:05,449
♪ So just be gracious
and wait in the queue ♪
2315
01:41:07,496 --> 01:41:11,412
♪ So when do I get
to sing "My Way"? ♪
2316
01:41:11,456 --> 01:41:14,242
♪ When do I get to feel
like Sinatra... ♪
2317
01:41:14,284 --> 01:41:16,505
Oh, my God, "When Do I Get
to Sing 'My Way.'"
2318
01:41:16,547 --> 01:41:18,420
Oh, I love it.
2319
01:41:18,462 --> 01:41:20,335
It absolutely was the perfect song
2320
01:41:20,377 --> 01:41:23,119
for this big comeback.
2321
01:41:23,163 --> 01:41:25,862
Our German manager at the time said,
2322
01:41:25,904 --> 01:41:28,690
"Ja, ja, this is ein Hit."
2323
01:41:28,734 --> 01:41:31,563
So he approached BMG Records in Germany,
2324
01:41:31,606 --> 01:41:33,609
and they said, "Ja, you are right.
2325
01:41:33,652 --> 01:41:35,436
Das ist ein Hit."
2326
01:41:35,479 --> 01:41:39,136
♪ Don't see,
is my smiley face still on? ♪
2327
01:41:39,180 --> 01:41:41,006
The video did showcase them
2328
01:41:41,051 --> 01:41:43,140
as these glamorous guys
2329
01:41:43,184 --> 01:41:45,925
who at least one of them has it all,
2330
01:41:45,969 --> 01:41:47,536
but it's coming out of a time when
2331
01:41:47,578 --> 01:41:49,712
they didn't have it all.
2332
01:41:49,755 --> 01:41:51,453
I feel wonderful.
2333
01:41:51,496 --> 01:41:53,497
♪ When do I get to feel
like Sinatra felt? ♪
2334
01:41:53,542 --> 01:41:56,457
Sparks singing "When
Do I Get to Sing 'My Way'"
2335
01:41:56,501 --> 01:41:58,416
is, like, the ultimate statement.
2336
01:41:58,460 --> 01:41:59,895
It's like, "Yeah, okay, you liked it"
2337
01:41:59,939 --> 01:42:01,636
"when Frank Sinatra did it.
2338
01:42:01,680 --> 01:42:03,507
"You liked it when Sid Vicious
did it, you know?
2339
01:42:03,551 --> 01:42:05,684
Why can't we do it?"
2340
01:42:05,728 --> 01:42:09,210
♪ When do I get to feel
like Sid Vicious felt? ♪
2341
01:42:09,252 --> 01:42:11,386
The irony is I don't
think Ron or Russell want
2342
01:42:11,429 --> 01:42:13,430
to be either Sinatra
2343
01:42:13,475 --> 01:42:15,085
or Sid Vicious.
2344
01:42:15,128 --> 01:42:18,783
They just want to feel as famous.
2345
01:42:18,828 --> 01:42:21,351
♪ They'll introduce me
2346
01:42:21,395 --> 01:42:23,832
♪ Hello, hello
2347
01:42:23,876 --> 01:42:25,139
We were being perceived
2348
01:42:25,181 --> 01:42:26,574
as a brand-new band now.
2349
01:42:26,618 --> 01:42:28,445
♪ Women seduce me...
2350
01:42:28,489 --> 01:42:30,318
Some of the radio stations
2351
01:42:30,360 --> 01:42:33,930
kind of accused us
of ripping off bands that,
2352
01:42:33,972 --> 01:42:37,976
in all modesty, were influenced
by what we had done,
2353
01:42:38,020 --> 01:42:40,805
and it was kind of humiliating.
2354
01:42:40,850 --> 01:42:43,157
Backstage at a Pet Shop Boys concert,
2355
01:42:43,199 --> 01:42:44,722
while I was promoting their records,
2356
01:42:44,766 --> 01:42:46,855
I approached Neil Tennant, and I said,
2357
01:42:46,899 --> 01:42:49,380
"Why don't you guys ever
acknowledge Sparks?"
2358
01:42:49,423 --> 01:42:51,990
And he just gave me a, you
know, sort of a scornful look
2359
01:42:52,034 --> 01:42:55,472
and said, "You're very
naughty," and walked away.
2360
01:42:55,516 --> 01:42:56,865
It was weird coming back...
2361
01:42:56,908 --> 01:42:58,215
Yeah.
2362
01:42:58,259 --> 01:43:00,652
...to find something
you invented.
2363
01:43:00,695 --> 01:43:03,264
Yeah.
And you've left behind.
2364
01:43:03,306 --> 01:43:05,047
We had a top ten with.
2365
01:43:05,091 --> 01:43:06,440
"When Do I Get to Sing 'My Way'"
2366
01:43:06,484 --> 01:43:08,399
and another couple charting singles
2367
01:43:08,443 --> 01:43:10,226
off of that album as well.
2368
01:43:10,270 --> 01:43:12,707
So Sparks really sort of made
a name for themselves
2369
01:43:12,751 --> 01:43:14,536
in the clubs, which was really cool.
2370
01:43:14,578 --> 01:43:17,930
It became the number one
airplay song in Germany.
2371
01:43:17,974 --> 01:43:20,932
Thank you, uh, especially to...
2372
01:43:20,976 --> 01:43:24,109
everyone in Germany
for making this past year
2373
01:43:24,154 --> 01:43:25,938
so super special for Sparks.
2374
01:43:25,981 --> 01:43:28,244
So thank you very much.
2375
01:43:37,167 --> 01:43:40,604
♪
2376
01:43:40,649 --> 01:43:42,606
If we had stayed strong,
2377
01:43:42,650 --> 01:43:44,173
we probably wouldn't have done
2378
01:43:44,217 --> 01:43:46,872
thePlagiarism album.
2379
01:43:46,916 --> 01:43:49,047
Plagiarism was something that was
2380
01:43:49,091 --> 01:43:51,659
recommended from outside forces.
2381
01:43:53,314 --> 01:43:54,792
It's a retrospective of their own career,
2382
01:43:54,837 --> 01:43:56,490
but they've done it
2383
01:43:56,533 --> 01:44:00,886
as grandiose, orchestral,
bombastic versions.
2384
01:44:00,930 --> 01:44:03,279
It was felt that since we had
2385
01:44:03,323 --> 01:44:05,761
reached a whole new audience,
2386
01:44:05,804 --> 01:44:08,242
maybe there's a group of young people
2387
01:44:08,284 --> 01:44:10,591
that haven't heard earlier stuff,
2388
01:44:10,635 --> 01:44:13,811
and we reluctantly went along with that.
2389
01:44:13,855 --> 01:44:16,162
They're not interested
in looking backwards.
2390
01:44:16,206 --> 01:44:18,426
They're always on a quest.
They're always on a mission
2391
01:44:18,469 --> 01:44:22,560
to further their musical perversions.
2392
01:44:22,604 --> 01:44:24,127
One of the reasons why
2393
01:44:24,170 --> 01:44:25,997
we've been able to go on for so long
2394
01:44:26,042 --> 01:44:28,305
is because we're always kind of
looking to the next album
2395
01:44:28,349 --> 01:44:30,828
and not even bothering with the past.
2396
01:44:30,872 --> 01:44:33,048
And so when we get back to Los Angeles,
2397
01:44:33,091 --> 01:44:35,443
that's the first thing
we're gonna be working on
2398
01:44:35,485 --> 01:44:37,922
is an album of new material.
2399
01:44:37,966 --> 01:44:40,011
♪
2400
01:44:42,100 --> 01:44:46,061
Sparks is the quintessence of a band
2401
01:44:46,104 --> 01:44:49,717
that starts and starts again
and starts again.
2402
01:44:49,761 --> 01:44:53,461
No success is big enough for them.
2403
01:44:53,503 --> 01:44:56,420
No failure is small enough for them.
2404
01:44:56,463 --> 01:44:59,074
They can always move on.
2405
01:45:01,817 --> 01:45:03,426
Every single album,
2406
01:45:03,470 --> 01:45:07,126
we think, is going to be
the breakthrough album
2407
01:45:07,170 --> 01:45:09,868
where, you know, the world
finally gets wise.
2408
01:45:09,912 --> 01:45:11,391
♪ To succeed are balls
2409
01:45:11,435 --> 01:45:14,264
♪ All you need are balls...
2410
01:45:14,307 --> 01:45:15,831
Maybe there's something
2411
01:45:15,873 --> 01:45:18,224
to that lyric that resonates
2412
01:45:18,268 --> 01:45:20,270
with-with Sparks.
2413
01:45:25,014 --> 01:45:26,929
And I turn it over to Ron,
2414
01:45:26,971 --> 01:45:28,886
-who would like to...
-Such a... I'm just moved.
2415
01:45:28,930 --> 01:45:31,628
♪ Balls, all you need
are balls ♪
2416
01:45:31,672 --> 01:45:33,805
♪ To succeed are balls
2417
01:45:33,849 --> 01:45:35,980
♪ All you need are...
2418
01:45:36,024 --> 01:45:39,376
Balls didn't break through.
2419
01:45:39,420 --> 01:45:43,074
But every time that happens,
Ron reinvents everything.
2420
01:45:43,118 --> 01:45:45,163
It's just in Sparks's DNA
2421
01:45:45,207 --> 01:45:48,385
to rip up the rule book and start over.
2422
01:45:48,429 --> 01:45:50,518
They've reinvented
themselves several times,
2423
01:45:50,560 --> 01:45:52,215
but Lil' Beethovenwas, I think,
2424
01:45:52,257 --> 01:45:54,695
phase three in the Sparks genre.
2425
01:45:54,738 --> 01:45:56,740
It's almost as if they erased
2426
01:45:56,784 --> 01:45:59,917
the chalkboard, you know,
and started over again.
2427
01:45:59,962 --> 01:46:03,704
♪ I am the rhythm thief
2428
01:46:03,747 --> 01:46:06,707
♪ Say goodbye to the beat
2429
01:46:06,751 --> 01:46:10,145
♪ I am the rhythm thief
2430
01:46:10,189 --> 01:46:13,149
♪ Auf Wiedersehen to the beat
2431
01:46:13,192 --> 01:46:14,759
♪ Oh, no...
2432
01:46:14,802 --> 01:46:16,369
It was a really interesting variation
2433
01:46:16,412 --> 01:46:18,109
on everything they had done before.
2434
01:46:18,154 --> 01:46:20,677
It was almost like a... you're combining
2435
01:46:20,721 --> 01:46:23,332
Steve Reich and his repetition
2436
01:46:23,377 --> 01:46:26,118
with Sparks and their comedy.
2437
01:46:26,162 --> 01:46:29,512
♪ You'll never get it back,
you'll never get it back ♪
2438
01:46:29,556 --> 01:46:32,777
♪ The rhythm thief has got it
and you'll never get it back ♪
2439
01:46:32,820 --> 01:46:35,997
♪ You'll never get it back,
you'll never get it back ♪
2440
01:46:36,041 --> 01:46:37,608
♪ The rhythm thief has got it
2441
01:46:37,652 --> 01:46:39,567
♪ Lights out, Ibiza...
2442
01:46:39,609 --> 01:46:41,132
There's all these group vocals and chants
2443
01:46:41,176 --> 01:46:42,699
that are almost like raps,
2444
01:46:42,743 --> 01:46:45,877
kind of neoclassical feel to the music.
2445
01:46:45,921 --> 01:46:49,011
-♪ I am the rhythm thief.
-♪ Rhythm, rhythm thief ♪
2446
01:46:49,054 --> 01:46:52,362
♪ Auf Wiedersehen
to the beat. ♪
2447
01:46:53,581 --> 01:46:55,974
What they remind me of with that album
2448
01:46:56,018 --> 01:46:56,975
is how important it is
2449
01:46:57,019 --> 01:46:58,890
to stay on your toes
2450
01:46:58,934 --> 01:47:01,283
and be alert
and be challenged as a listener
2451
01:47:01,327 --> 01:47:04,417
and to move away from
nostalgia and comfort food.
2452
01:47:04,461 --> 01:47:07,681
♪ I married myself
2453
01:47:07,725 --> 01:47:09,900
♪ I'm very happy together
2454
01:47:09,944 --> 01:47:12,860
♪ Long, long walks
on the beach ♪
2455
01:47:12,904 --> 01:47:16,341
♪ Lovely times
2456
01:47:16,386 --> 01:47:19,780
♪ I married myself
2457
01:47:19,823 --> 01:47:22,783
♪ I'm very happy together
2458
01:47:22,827 --> 01:47:25,002
♪ Candlelight dinners home
2459
01:47:25,046 --> 01:47:27,310
♪ Lovely times...
2460
01:47:27,353 --> 01:47:28,877
They weren't trying to be
2461
01:47:28,920 --> 01:47:30,269
something to please a record company.
2462
01:47:30,313 --> 01:47:31,270
They were just taking
2463
01:47:31,314 --> 01:47:33,141
all their creative juices
2464
01:47:33,185 --> 01:47:35,012
and putting it into
something that they loved.
2465
01:47:35,056 --> 01:47:37,059
It's that ability and desire
2466
01:47:37,101 --> 01:47:38,800
to take risks
2467
01:47:38,842 --> 01:47:41,585
and to mess things up
that makes them Sparks.
2468
01:47:42,716 --> 01:47:45,023
I think we spent over a year
2469
01:47:45,067 --> 01:47:48,331
recordingLil' Beethoven,
not even knowing for sure
2470
01:47:48,373 --> 01:47:50,725
what the end product was going to be.
2471
01:47:50,768 --> 01:47:52,291
And I think, when you kind of
2472
01:47:52,335 --> 01:47:54,423
approach an album in that sort of way,
2473
01:47:54,467 --> 01:47:56,512
we tend to spend a lot of time on it.
2474
01:48:01,518 --> 01:48:03,954
It's you.
2475
01:48:05,827 --> 01:48:07,742
The albumLil' Beethoven,
2476
01:48:07,784 --> 01:48:11,484
in particular, was one where
the studio was essential.
2477
01:48:12,747 --> 01:48:16,445
Just creatively, you know,
we feel so energized
2478
01:48:16,489 --> 01:48:18,534
by working in this kind of way
2479
01:48:18,578 --> 01:48:20,449
where we don't have to feel foolish
2480
01:48:20,493 --> 01:48:21,972
if we do something foolish.
2481
01:48:22,016 --> 01:48:25,237
And we do quite a bit of foolish things,
2482
01:48:25,280 --> 01:48:27,675
but you'll never hear about 'em.
2483
01:48:30,154 --> 01:48:31,983
Not being dependent
2484
01:48:32,027 --> 01:48:34,985
on massive budgets and record companies
2485
01:48:35,029 --> 01:48:36,900
became a really liberating thing
2486
01:48:36,944 --> 01:48:38,467
that now we could record
2487
01:48:38,511 --> 01:48:41,731
on our own,
and then we just hand that off
2488
01:48:41,775 --> 01:48:43,167
to a... to a label,
2489
01:48:43,212 --> 01:48:45,387
and then, uh, take it or leave it.
2490
01:48:51,132 --> 01:48:54,310
♪ Home, my baby's
taking me home ♪
2491
01:48:54,353 --> 01:48:56,311
♪ My baby's taking me home
2492
01:48:56,354 --> 01:48:59,488
♪ My baby's
taking me home ♪
2493
01:49:00,445 --> 01:49:02,100
♪ Home...
2494
01:49:02,144 --> 01:49:03,667
"My Baby's Taking Me Home" is
2495
01:49:03,711 --> 01:49:05,842
one of my favorites off of that album.
2496
01:49:05,886 --> 01:49:07,541
It's an emotional song
2497
01:49:07,583 --> 01:49:09,324
that has lots of bumps and curves
2498
01:49:09,368 --> 01:49:11,675
and poetic images would have,
2499
01:49:11,719 --> 01:49:13,284
but it's only pretty much saying,
2500
01:49:13,328 --> 01:49:15,025
"Home, my baby's
taking me home."
2501
01:49:15,069 --> 01:49:16,854
♪ My baby's taking me home
2502
01:49:16,898 --> 01:49:19,335
♪ My baby's
taking me home ♪
2503
01:49:19,377 --> 01:49:22,033
♪ My baby's taking me home
2504
01:49:22,077 --> 01:49:24,426
♪ My baby's
taking me home ♪
2505
01:49:24,470 --> 01:49:26,908
♪ My baby's taking me home
2506
01:49:26,951 --> 01:49:29,387
♪ My baby's
taking me home ♪
2507
01:49:29,431 --> 01:49:31,782
♪ My baby's taking me home...
2508
01:49:31,826 --> 01:49:34,742
It was amazing to me
that you could repeat a lyric
2509
01:49:34,784 --> 01:49:37,613
and have it mean something different
2510
01:49:37,658 --> 01:49:39,136
as the narrator
2511
01:49:39,180 --> 01:49:42,966
starts saying it
over and over and over again.
2512
01:49:43,011 --> 01:49:45,274
It was almost like an acting technique.
2513
01:49:45,317 --> 01:49:47,015
♪ My baby's taking me home
2514
01:49:47,057 --> 01:49:49,408
♪ My baby's
taking me home ♪
2515
01:49:49,452 --> 01:49:51,889
♪ My baby's taking me home
2516
01:49:51,932 --> 01:49:54,457
♪ My baby's
taking me home ♪
2517
01:49:54,500 --> 01:49:56,850
♪ My baby's taking me home
2518
01:49:56,894 --> 01:49:59,375
♪ My baby's
taking me home ♪
2519
01:49:59,417 --> 01:50:01,203
Sing it!
2520
01:50:01,246 --> 01:50:04,728
♪ Home, my baby's
taking me home ♪
2521
01:50:04,771 --> 01:50:06,600
♪ My baby's taking me home
2522
01:50:06,643 --> 01:50:09,385
♪ My baby's
taking me home ♪
2523
01:50:09,427 --> 01:50:11,865
♪ My baby's taking me home...
2524
01:50:11,908 --> 01:50:13,215
I can remember playing.
2525
01:50:13,257 --> 01:50:14,650
"My Baby's Taking Me Home"
2526
01:50:14,694 --> 01:50:15,826
for a friend of mine,
2527
01:50:15,869 --> 01:50:17,958
and as the song keeps going,
2528
01:50:18,002 --> 01:50:20,047
her eyes just got wider and wider.
2529
01:50:20,091 --> 01:50:21,876
♪ My baby's taking me home...
2530
01:50:21,918 --> 01:50:23,659
Hearing it live, oh, man,
2531
01:50:23,703 --> 01:50:26,010
that is a hypnotic, great, great song.
2532
01:50:26,054 --> 01:50:29,578
♪ Home, my baby's
taking me home ♪
2533
01:50:29,622 --> 01:50:31,755
♪ My baby's taking me home
2534
01:50:31,798 --> 01:50:34,583
♪ My baby's
taking me home ♪
2535
01:50:34,627 --> 01:50:37,412
♪ My baby's taking me home
2536
01:50:37,456 --> 01:50:39,457
♪ My baby's
taking me home ♪
2537
01:50:39,502 --> 01:50:42,417
♪ My baby's taking me home
2538
01:50:42,461 --> 01:50:44,420
♪ My baby's
taking me home... ♪
2539
01:50:44,462 --> 01:50:46,247
There were a lot of critics out there
2540
01:50:46,291 --> 01:50:49,467
that wanted to be able to like
Sparks and wanted to be able
2541
01:50:49,511 --> 01:50:51,296
to rave about them and, you know,
2542
01:50:51,340 --> 01:50:53,385
run around shouting about them,
2543
01:50:53,429 --> 01:50:54,864
and Lil' Beethoven
2544
01:50:54,908 --> 01:50:56,561
enabled them to do that.
2545
01:50:58,868 --> 01:51:01,916
With the Lil' Beethoven
album, the last album,
2546
01:51:01,958 --> 01:51:05,310
we-we were able to do something
2547
01:51:05,354 --> 01:51:07,529
that woke up people in a certain way,
2548
01:51:07,573 --> 01:51:09,662
and we wanted to go to the next step
2549
01:51:09,706 --> 01:51:12,404
with the Hello Young Lovers album,
2550
01:51:12,448 --> 01:51:14,929
and-and we think we've accomplished that.
2551
01:51:19,194 --> 01:51:20,586
It was just a celebration.
2552
01:51:20,630 --> 01:51:21,979
This is fantastic.
2553
01:51:22,023 --> 01:51:24,981
We can just go mad now, and we did.
2554
01:51:25,025 --> 01:51:28,725
♪ All I do now is dick around
2555
01:51:28,769 --> 01:51:31,466
♪ All I do now
is dick around ♪
2556
01:51:31,510 --> 01:51:33,163
♪ Dick around
2557
01:51:34,338 --> 01:51:35,689
♪ Think about the recent past
2558
01:51:35,731 --> 01:51:37,167
♪ The cynics said
too good to last ♪
2559
01:51:37,212 --> 01:51:38,692
♪ But she could change
her mind again ♪
2560
01:51:38,734 --> 01:51:39,823
♪ Oh, no, this movie
said "the end" ♪
2561
01:51:39,867 --> 01:51:41,259
♪ So I will go about my day
2562
01:51:41,302 --> 01:51:42,695
♪ Just dicking round,
my métier ♪
2563
01:51:42,738 --> 01:51:43,957
♪ And realize
that life is change ♪
2564
01:51:44,001 --> 01:51:46,134
♪ And furniture to rearrange
2565
01:51:46,176 --> 01:51:48,091
-♪ Why the hell, why the hell.
-♪ Why the hell, why the hell
2566
01:51:48,136 --> 01:51:49,703
♪ Why the hell
did she desert you ♪
2567
01:51:49,746 --> 01:51:51,835
♪ When you were
so influential? ♪
2568
01:51:51,878 --> 01:51:53,750
-♪ Why the hell, why the hell.
-♪ Why the hell, why the hell
2569
01:51:53,793 --> 01:51:55,359
♪ Why did she desert you
2570
01:51:55,404 --> 01:51:56,840
♪ When you told her
she was so essential? ♪
2571
01:51:56,884 --> 01:51:58,363
♪ Pull yourself up
off the ground ♪
2572
01:51:58,407 --> 01:52:00,060
♪ You've started liking
being down... ♪
2573
01:52:00,104 --> 01:52:01,279
If you took a "Dancing in the Dark"
2574
01:52:01,323 --> 01:52:03,760
or a "Heroes" by Bowie
2575
01:52:03,804 --> 01:52:06,067
or a... you know,
any of the great ABBA songs,
2576
01:52:06,109 --> 01:52:08,155
"Dick Around" rips right through that
2577
01:52:08,198 --> 01:52:09,417
and just gives you
2578
01:52:09,461 --> 01:52:10,810
the underbelly of a pop song.
2579
01:52:10,854 --> 01:52:13,770
A 600-vocal-tracked
2580
01:52:13,814 --> 01:52:15,771
orchestral arrangement of vocal shouting,
2581
01:52:15,815 --> 01:52:18,688
"All I do now is dick around,"
right in your face,
2582
01:52:18,731 --> 01:52:20,734
it never lets you in slowly,
2583
01:52:20,777 --> 01:52:21,996
and it's just the saddest thing
2584
01:52:22,038 --> 01:52:23,127
in the world.
2585
01:52:23,171 --> 01:52:24,389
And it's so fucking catchy.
2586
01:52:25,608 --> 01:52:30,046
♪ All I do now is dick around,
dick around ♪
2587
01:52:30,091 --> 01:52:32,092
♪ Then I got
the late-night call ♪
2588
01:52:32,136 --> 01:52:34,921
♪ I really miss you after all,
I had a fling and that is all ♪
2589
01:52:34,965 --> 01:52:36,444
♪ A stupid fling,
then hit the wall... ♪
2590
01:52:36,488 --> 01:52:39,143
"Dick Around" is, uh,
incredibly demanding
2591
01:52:39,186 --> 01:52:41,231
on me as a... as a vocalist.
2592
01:52:41,275 --> 01:52:43,800
Ron has used Russell's voice
2593
01:52:43,844 --> 01:52:45,801
as an instrument
2594
01:52:45,845 --> 01:52:47,586
as much as he's used that keyboard.
2595
01:52:47,630 --> 01:52:50,414
♪ All I do now
2596
01:52:50,458 --> 01:52:52,243
♪ Is dick around...
2597
01:52:52,287 --> 01:52:53,375
If I was producing that song,
2598
01:52:53,417 --> 01:52:55,246
like a fucking idiot,
2599
01:52:55,289 --> 01:52:56,987
I'd, like, put a beat on it or something
2600
01:52:57,030 --> 01:52:58,684
and be like,
"Oh, my God, this is amazing.
2601
01:52:58,728 --> 01:53:00,121
"Everyone's gonna feel so sad about this,
2602
01:53:00,163 --> 01:53:02,557
and we're gonna sneak it
into them."
2603
01:53:02,600 --> 01:53:05,082
And then Sparks would have
been like, "No, you idiot."
2604
01:53:05,126 --> 01:53:06,997
Like...
2605
01:53:07,041 --> 01:53:09,042
"Let Queen do that."
2606
01:53:09,086 --> 01:53:10,435
♪ All I do is dick around...
2607
01:53:10,479 --> 01:53:12,394
If you don't like this, we don't care.
2608
01:53:12,436 --> 01:53:14,569
I think that that...
you know, that's kind of
2609
01:53:14,613 --> 01:53:18,617
the essence of what
popular music should be.
2610
01:53:18,661 --> 01:53:22,317
♪ But all I do now
is dick around ♪
2611
01:53:22,359 --> 01:53:24,841
♪ All I do now is dick around
2612
01:53:24,885 --> 01:53:27,452
♪ Dick around.
2613
01:53:29,541 --> 01:53:32,195
Ron and Russell toured comprehensively,
2614
01:53:32,239 --> 01:53:35,198
and they played the album
in its entirety, and then
2615
01:53:35,243 --> 01:53:37,592
the second set was greatest hits;
2616
01:53:37,636 --> 01:53:39,637
so, then withExotic
Creatures of the Deep,
2617
01:53:39,681 --> 01:53:41,292
we were thinking about,
2618
01:53:41,336 --> 01:53:42,685
well, how do you perform this live?
2619
01:53:42,728 --> 01:53:44,948
You know, what would be the concept?
2620
01:53:44,992 --> 01:53:48,082
And it was just a really
sort of seemingly stupid idea...
2621
01:53:48,125 --> 01:53:51,737
What if you perform every album
followed by the new album?
2622
01:53:54,609 --> 01:53:56,917
Sue Harris came up with the idea
2623
01:53:56,960 --> 01:53:59,570
to do 21 of our albums...
2624
01:53:59,614 --> 01:54:03,837
The entire catalog... one each night live.
2625
01:54:03,880 --> 01:54:06,926
By our nature, we said,
"Sounds great."
2626
01:54:06,970 --> 01:54:10,320
And then we realized
the enormity of the task.
2627
01:54:10,364 --> 01:54:12,715
♪
2628
01:54:14,672 --> 01:54:16,501
Russell said,
2629
01:54:16,545 --> 01:54:18,546
"We're thinking about playing
every song we've ever written
2630
01:54:18,590 --> 01:54:20,201
night after night in London.
What do you think?"
2631
01:54:20,243 --> 01:54:23,377
And I just laughed.
It's just impossible.
2632
01:54:23,421 --> 01:54:24,988
And Ron said, "We're even gonna do
2633
01:54:25,032 --> 01:54:26,597
the B-sides for the encores."
2634
01:54:26,641 --> 01:54:28,078
And I said,
"How many songs is that?"
2635
01:54:28,122 --> 01:54:29,122
There were approximately,
2636
01:54:29,166 --> 01:54:32,386
I don't know, I think 270 songs.
2637
01:54:32,430 --> 01:54:35,780
I think the final total was...
it-it was closer to 300.
2638
01:54:35,824 --> 01:54:38,567
♪
2639
01:54:38,609 --> 01:54:40,046
They rehearsed for...
2640
01:54:40,090 --> 01:54:43,440
I think it was
four months or so in-in L.A.
2641
01:54:43,484 --> 01:54:46,488
♪ Let the monkey drive,
we can have our fun... ♪
2642
01:54:46,530 --> 01:54:48,403
It was like boot camp.
2643
01:54:48,445 --> 01:54:49,578
We start with the first record, right?
2644
01:54:49,621 --> 01:54:52,189
And, well, okay, once you rehearse
2645
01:54:52,233 --> 01:54:54,016
the first record for the day,
2646
01:54:54,060 --> 01:54:55,627
it sounds pretty good,
and by the end of the week,
2647
01:54:55,671 --> 01:54:57,628
you feel great about the first record.
2648
01:54:57,672 --> 01:54:58,716
Well, now it's time to start
rehearsing the second record.
2649
01:54:58,761 --> 01:55:00,371
Okay, well, here's a new thing.
2650
01:55:00,414 --> 01:55:01,938
It's starting to sound good
by the end of the week.
2651
01:55:01,981 --> 01:55:03,721
Well, by the end of week two,
2652
01:55:03,765 --> 01:55:05,420
you've got the second record
sounding pretty good
2653
01:55:05,462 --> 01:55:07,377
and you've completely
forgotten the first record.
2654
01:55:07,421 --> 01:55:09,423
♪ Let him take the wheel
2655
01:55:09,466 --> 01:55:11,295
♪ Neath the setting sun...
2656
01:55:11,338 --> 01:55:13,689
Each day, the-the problem gets compounded
2657
01:55:13,731 --> 01:55:16,865
about retaining everything
that you had been rehearsing,
2658
01:55:16,909 --> 01:55:19,564
and it just starts
compounding and compounding.
2659
01:55:19,608 --> 01:55:22,262
As you get to album number 18, you go,
2660
01:55:22,305 --> 01:55:25,091
"Does anybody have a clue
about Big Beat?"
2661
01:55:25,135 --> 01:55:26,962
♪ While we have our fun...
2662
01:55:27,006 --> 01:55:29,182
It was a test of short-
and long-term memory.
2663
01:55:29,225 --> 01:55:30,706
I wouldn't advise it.
2664
01:55:30,748 --> 01:55:32,969
♪ Uh-huh.
2665
01:55:33,012 --> 01:55:35,319
♪
2666
01:55:35,363 --> 01:55:36,667
It was...
2667
01:55:36,712 --> 01:55:38,060
almost foolish.
2668
01:55:39,757 --> 01:55:42,283
And the day after we finished
recording the album,
2669
01:55:42,326 --> 01:55:45,154
we started in rehearsing,
so it's been four full months
2670
01:55:45,198 --> 01:55:48,070
of, uh... of work
to get to this point.
2671
01:55:48,114 --> 01:55:49,943
♪ Receiving favors
for what I am ♪
2672
01:55:49,985 --> 01:55:53,423
♪ Seems rather strange,
but I understand ♪
2673
01:55:53,467 --> 01:55:55,034
♪ 'Cause I am likable...
2674
01:55:55,078 --> 01:55:56,993
The middle of the night,
2675
01:55:57,037 --> 01:55:59,212
and I woke up, I'm thinking,
"I have to go see every show."
2676
01:55:59,256 --> 01:56:00,213
It was almost like.
2677
01:56:00,256 --> 01:56:01,867
God came to me and said,
2678
01:56:01,911 --> 01:56:03,912
"Tosh, you must see
every show."
2679
01:56:03,957 --> 01:56:06,046
♪ I'm just likable
2680
01:56:06,088 --> 01:56:08,135
♪ Night and day...
2681
01:56:08,177 --> 01:56:09,396
Let's face it,
2682
01:56:09,439 --> 01:56:10,876
you got to be completely crazy
2683
01:56:10,920 --> 01:56:12,661
to do 21 shows in a row
2684
01:56:12,703 --> 01:56:15,619
with a different album
every single night.
2685
01:56:15,663 --> 01:56:18,014
It's insane, but it's fantastic.
2686
01:56:18,057 --> 01:56:20,234
Number one!
2687
01:56:20,277 --> 01:56:22,018
Number two.
2688
01:56:22,061 --> 01:56:23,759
Number three.
2689
01:56:23,801 --> 01:56:25,282
They treated every
single one of their albums
2690
01:56:25,326 --> 01:56:26,805
with the same level of respect
2691
01:56:26,849 --> 01:56:28,458
and the same attention to detail,
2692
01:56:28,502 --> 01:56:30,373
regardless of how well it did
2693
01:56:30,417 --> 01:56:32,028
commercially or critically at the time.
2694
01:56:32,072 --> 01:56:35,030
♪ I'm just likable
night and day... ♪
2695
01:56:35,074 --> 01:56:37,990
So it went on for a month.
2696
01:56:38,033 --> 01:56:39,730
But it was fun.
It was just exhausting.
2697
01:56:39,774 --> 01:56:41,515
I think everyone lost a stone in weight
2698
01:56:41,559 --> 01:56:43,908
in the first week and couldn't eat.
2699
01:56:43,953 --> 01:56:45,780
It was nerve-racking.
2700
01:56:48,217 --> 01:56:49,479
♪ Ah...
2701
01:56:49,524 --> 01:56:51,091
It was hard.
2702
01:56:51,134 --> 01:56:52,787
Any time I was feeling sorry for myself,
2703
01:56:52,831 --> 01:56:54,050
I would look at Ron doing
2704
01:56:54,094 --> 01:56:55,791
a sliding knee dive across the stage
2705
01:56:55,833 --> 01:56:57,662
and Russell clapping
his hands above his head,
2706
01:56:57,706 --> 01:56:59,315
running like a crazy man,
2707
01:56:59,359 --> 01:57:00,622
and I'd just think,
"Yeah, I can do this."
2708
01:57:02,231 --> 01:57:05,365
I admire their stamina, but I admire
2709
01:57:05,408 --> 01:57:06,889
anyone who went to see 'em 21 nights.
2710
01:57:06,931 --> 01:57:09,283
I admire your stamina more.
2711
01:57:09,326 --> 01:57:11,980
♪ Just so you like me...
2712
01:57:12,024 --> 01:57:13,895
It's just the most ridiculous thing.
2713
01:57:13,939 --> 01:57:16,463
It was preposterous,
and it was extraordinary,
2714
01:57:16,506 --> 01:57:17,899
but it was a triumph.
2715
01:57:19,596 --> 01:57:23,036
There's often this, uh, terrible fate
2716
01:57:23,078 --> 01:57:27,604
which awaits bands either when
they keep going for too long
2717
01:57:27,649 --> 01:57:29,954
or when they re-form.
2718
01:57:29,998 --> 01:57:31,869
And that terrible fate is becoming
2719
01:57:31,913 --> 01:57:34,438
a tribute to the band that you once were.
2720
01:57:35,569 --> 01:57:37,136
They could rest on their laurels
2721
01:57:37,180 --> 01:57:38,703
and just come out and just
do some sort of, like,
2722
01:57:38,747 --> 01:57:40,530
"Now we're gonna do
a greatest hits show,"
2723
01:57:40,574 --> 01:57:42,967
but no, they're challenging
themselves and their audience
2724
01:57:43,011 --> 01:57:45,319
and they're doing, like,
you know, radio opera.
2725
01:57:45,362 --> 01:57:48,886
♪ Bergman, Bergman
2726
01:57:48,930 --> 01:57:51,020
♪ Bergman, Bergman...
2727
01:57:51,064 --> 01:57:53,543
Ron and Russell came up with the idea
2728
01:57:53,587 --> 01:57:55,806
of Ingmar Bergman, the film director...
2729
01:57:55,850 --> 01:57:57,765
What if he had been lured to Hollywood
2730
01:57:57,809 --> 01:57:59,202
with the promise
2731
01:57:59,246 --> 01:58:00,943
of big budgets and big bosoms?
2732
01:58:00,985 --> 01:58:04,729
And it was played
on Swedish national radio.
2733
01:58:04,773 --> 01:58:08,341
After that, they performed it
at the L.A. Film Festival
2734
01:58:08,385 --> 01:58:11,431
and, you know,
got a really good reaction.
2735
01:58:11,475 --> 01:58:14,826
They've always had the desire to push on
2736
01:58:14,869 --> 01:58:16,914
and create something new,
and I think that's
2737
01:58:16,958 --> 01:58:20,005
probably what appealed to...
to them about the FFS project.
2738
01:58:24,314 --> 01:58:26,141
For fuck's sake.
2739
01:58:26,185 --> 01:58:28,318
We had met the guys in Franz Ferdinand
2740
01:58:28,362 --> 01:58:31,712
12 or 13 years ago in Los Angeles.
2741
01:58:31,756 --> 01:58:34,802
We had, you know, like bands
tend to do, they say,
2742
01:58:34,845 --> 01:58:37,979
"Hey, we should try to do
something together sometime."
2743
01:58:38,023 --> 01:58:41,462
♪ I'm just a little guy
from the suburbs... ♪
2744
01:58:41,505 --> 01:58:43,246
Ten years later,
2745
01:58:43,289 --> 01:58:45,118
we're walking in the morning,
just taking a little stroll
2746
01:58:45,161 --> 01:58:46,814
in downtown San Francisco,
2747
01:58:46,858 --> 01:58:48,947
and we see this guy
walking by, and we go,
2748
01:58:48,990 --> 01:58:52,125
"That looks like Alex Kapranos.
Hey, it is Alex Kapranos."
2749
01:58:52,167 --> 01:58:53,822
So we say, "Hey, Alex."
2750
01:58:53,864 --> 01:58:55,345
He goes, "Hey, Sparks guys."
2751
01:58:55,389 --> 01:58:56,954
He was on his way to the dentist.
2752
01:58:56,998 --> 01:58:59,393
He had chipped one of his teeth.
2753
01:58:59,435 --> 01:59:01,786
So we said, "Remember we were
gonna do a project together?"
2754
01:59:01,829 --> 01:59:04,048
He said, "Yeah,
we got to do that."
2755
01:59:04,092 --> 01:59:05,963
So we talked about, "Well, let's just try
2756
01:59:06,007 --> 01:59:07,966
one song together,
see what happens."
2757
01:59:08,010 --> 01:59:12,100
In Ron's typically perverse way...
2758
01:59:12,145 --> 01:59:13,493
he sent over.
2759
01:59:13,537 --> 01:59:15,756
"Collaborations Don't Work."
2760
01:59:15,800 --> 01:59:18,238
♪ Collaborations don't work
2761
01:59:18,280 --> 01:59:19,935
♪ They don't work
2762
01:59:19,978 --> 01:59:21,893
♪ They don't work...
2763
01:59:21,936 --> 01:59:23,939
And it was so obviously a test.
It was like,
2764
01:59:23,981 --> 01:59:25,810
"All right, you think
you can collaborate, do you?"
2765
01:59:25,854 --> 01:59:28,725
♪ Collaborations don't work
2766
01:59:28,770 --> 01:59:31,207
♪ They don't work,
they don't work... ♪
2767
01:59:31,251 --> 01:59:33,382
We opened up the door for, uh,
2768
01:59:33,426 --> 01:59:34,863
any return ammunition
2769
01:59:34,905 --> 01:59:36,125
coming our way.
2770
01:59:36,168 --> 01:59:39,563
♪ I ain't no collaborator...
2771
01:59:39,606 --> 01:59:41,173
As a response to that,
2772
01:59:41,216 --> 01:59:43,654
Alex sent kind of a country groove.
2773
01:59:43,698 --> 01:59:44,872
So this song was
2774
01:59:44,916 --> 01:59:47,570
literally a strange little argument
2775
01:59:47,614 --> 01:59:49,617
that they were doing online.
2776
01:59:49,659 --> 01:59:51,662
♪ I ain't no collaborator...
2777
01:59:51,706 --> 01:59:53,447
We sent it over to Ron,
and then suddenly,
2778
01:59:53,489 --> 01:59:56,449
it came back with Russell
singing on top of it
2779
01:59:56,493 --> 01:59:58,452
and these new melodies.
We got this great buzz.
2780
01:59:58,494 --> 02:00:00,845
It was like,
"Oh, God, this is fantastic."
2781
02:00:00,889 --> 02:00:02,542
Everybody was tentatively
kind of going like,
2782
02:00:02,586 --> 02:00:04,675
"You know, this sounds like
it could almost be...
2783
02:00:04,719 --> 02:00:06,328
like, an album, maybe."
2784
02:00:08,025 --> 02:00:09,418
♪ I ain't no collaborator...
2785
02:00:09,462 --> 02:00:11,159
One day, I pull up Pitchfork,
2786
02:00:11,203 --> 02:00:13,118
and I read that Franz Ferdinand
2787
02:00:13,162 --> 02:00:17,078
has made an entire record with Sparks.
2788
02:00:17,122 --> 02:00:19,386
And it was just like, "What?"
2789
02:00:19,429 --> 02:00:22,345
It made me say, "Yeah, Sparks is back."
2790
02:00:22,389 --> 02:00:24,304
"Okay, yeah, let me pay attention
2791
02:00:24,346 --> 02:00:26,740
to what they've been doing
over the past ten years."
2792
02:00:31,788 --> 02:00:34,182
"Johnny Delusional"
became the first single.
2793
02:00:34,226 --> 02:00:36,315
One of my favorite lines...
It's kind of one of
2794
02:00:36,359 --> 02:00:40,319
the saddest lines, I think,
in a, uh, Sparks song is:
2795
02:00:40,363 --> 02:00:41,756
"I'm borderline attractive
2796
02:00:41,798 --> 02:00:43,887
from afar."
2797
02:00:43,931 --> 02:00:46,456
And that-that line, to me,
is really, uh, touching.
2798
02:00:46,500 --> 02:00:50,677
♪ Some might find me borderline
attractive from afar... ♪
2799
02:00:50,720 --> 02:00:52,548
"Some might find me
2800
02:00:52,592 --> 02:00:55,291
"borderline attractive from afar,
2801
02:00:55,335 --> 02:00:57,597
but afar is not where
I can stay, and there you are."
2802
02:00:57,640 --> 02:00:59,252
It's beautiful.
I mean, that's hilarious,
2803
02:00:59,295 --> 02:01:01,210
but it's also really beautiful.
2804
02:01:01,253 --> 02:01:03,256
♪ Though I want you
2805
02:01:04,518 --> 02:01:07,608
♪ I know I haven't
a chance... ♪
2806
02:01:07,650 --> 02:01:10,045
There's a real melancholic
vulnerability about it.
2807
02:01:10,087 --> 02:01:13,527
It's very sad, but it sounds celebratory.
2808
02:01:13,569 --> 02:01:14,528
It's, like, this meditation
2809
02:01:14,570 --> 02:01:15,963
on loneliness.
2810
02:01:16,006 --> 02:01:18,966
♪ Paging Mr. Delusional...
2811
02:01:19,010 --> 02:01:21,055
I often feel, with Ron's lyricism,
2812
02:01:21,099 --> 02:01:22,840
that he's metaphorically,
2813
02:01:22,884 --> 02:01:24,493
like, slicing his chest open
2814
02:01:24,537 --> 02:01:26,582
and kind of going like,
"Here's my heart."
2815
02:01:26,627 --> 02:01:28,932
♪ You're wanted
at the front desk ♪
2816
02:01:28,976 --> 02:01:30,369
"Here's my heart.
2817
02:01:30,412 --> 02:01:31,893
Has nobody noticed?"
2818
02:01:31,935 --> 02:01:34,243
♪ Wouldn't it be terrible
2819
02:01:34,287 --> 02:01:37,202
♪ If there's no music there?
2820
02:01:37,246 --> 02:01:40,728
TheFFS album, it-it
introduced them to a crowd
2821
02:01:40,770 --> 02:01:42,685
that maybe hadn't been
aware of them before.
2822
02:01:42,729 --> 02:01:45,122
We particularly noticed it
in Latin America
2823
02:01:45,167 --> 02:01:47,822
where Franz Ferdinand, uh,
were very popular there.
2824
02:01:47,864 --> 02:01:50,650
♪ Wouldn't it be terrible
if there's no music there? ♪
2825
02:01:50,694 --> 02:01:52,783
A lot of those people,
2826
02:01:52,827 --> 02:01:54,742
they've become Sparks fans and really
2827
02:01:54,784 --> 02:01:56,613
kind of hard-core Sparks fans,
2828
02:01:56,657 --> 02:01:59,877
and they had been introduced
via theFFS album.
2829
02:01:59,921 --> 02:02:02,402
♪ Though I want you...
2830
02:02:02,444 --> 02:02:04,141
Been watching you play live.
2831
02:02:04,185 --> 02:02:05,840
It seems to be more
2832
02:02:05,882 --> 02:02:07,623
of a kind of enjoyment thing.
It just seems to be fun.
2833
02:02:07,667 --> 02:02:08,668
Oh, we're faking it.
2834
02:02:10,365 --> 02:02:12,628
♪ Johnny Delusional here...
2835
02:02:12,672 --> 02:02:14,283
Does Franz Ferdinand know
how lucky they are
2836
02:02:14,327 --> 02:02:15,936
that that happened?
2837
02:02:15,979 --> 02:02:18,635
I hope that they were
grateful and psyched.
2838
02:02:18,679 --> 02:02:20,550
That's their most
exciting record they've done
2839
02:02:20,594 --> 02:02:23,247
in quite some time, and I
really think they learned a lot
2840
02:02:23,292 --> 02:02:24,814
from working with these
2841
02:02:24,859 --> 02:02:27,688
elder statesmans of-of pop, you know?
2842
02:02:32,997 --> 02:02:34,824
Hello.
2843
02:02:37,261 --> 02:02:40,743
♪ Historically, historically,
we make an appeal ♪
2844
02:02:40,787 --> 02:02:43,399
♪ To something greater
than we are ♪
2845
02:02:43,443 --> 02:02:45,358
♪ When we need to heal...
2846
02:02:45,400 --> 02:02:47,097
Doing the FFS project,
2847
02:02:47,141 --> 02:02:49,752
they fell in love again
with the pop song,
2848
02:02:49,796 --> 02:02:50,927
and because of that love
for the pop song,
2849
02:02:50,971 --> 02:02:52,842
Hippopotamus was born.
2850
02:02:52,886 --> 02:02:57,108
♪ What the hell is it
this time? ♪
2851
02:02:57,152 --> 02:02:58,719
Listening toHippopotamus took me
2852
02:02:58,761 --> 02:03:01,503
straightaway back toKimono My House.
2853
02:03:01,547 --> 02:03:03,287
The energy of that album
2854
02:03:03,332 --> 02:03:04,725
is just great.
2855
02:03:04,768 --> 02:03:06,421
When I put the headphones on
2856
02:03:06,466 --> 02:03:08,685
and listened to it
for the first time, I thought,
2857
02:03:08,729 --> 02:03:11,426
"Holy cow.
This is like when we were back
2858
02:03:11,470 --> 02:03:13,820
at Ron and Russ's
mom's house, you know?"
2859
02:03:13,863 --> 02:03:15,038
I loved that.
2860
02:03:16,737 --> 02:03:19,130
The reviews were incredible.
2861
02:03:19,173 --> 02:03:21,305
It was near four- and five-star
reviews across the board.
2862
02:03:21,350 --> 02:03:22,743
It was, um, included in
2863
02:03:22,786 --> 02:03:24,179
the "album of the year" lists,
2864
02:03:24,221 --> 02:03:26,006
you know, worldwide.
2865
02:03:26,050 --> 02:03:30,054
And the fact that Sparks
have had a top-ten record
2866
02:03:30,097 --> 02:03:34,231
is because they're not trying to be
2867
02:03:34,275 --> 02:03:36,496
what other people want them to be.
2868
02:03:36,538 --> 02:03:39,280
♪ I wish you were fun
2869
02:03:39,323 --> 02:03:42,371
♪ I wish you were fun
in every way ♪
2870
02:03:42,414 --> 02:03:44,939
♪ I wish you were fun
2871
02:03:44,981 --> 02:03:48,203
♪ To brighten the dark,
cold winter day ♪
2872
02:03:48,246 --> 02:03:52,989
♪ In every other way
I find you amazing but one ♪
2873
02:03:53,033 --> 02:03:58,082
♪ I wish you were fun,
I wish you were fun ♪
2874
02:03:58,126 --> 02:04:00,345
♪ La-la-la... Everybody.
2875
02:04:00,389 --> 02:04:01,868
♪ La-la-la-la-la...
2876
02:04:01,912 --> 02:04:03,347
Here they are,
2877
02:04:03,391 --> 02:04:05,262
playing to some of the largest crowds
2878
02:04:05,306 --> 02:04:06,743
in the last ten years
2879
02:04:06,787 --> 02:04:08,528
and playing to crowds that weren't around
2880
02:04:08,570 --> 02:04:11,444
for the first, second
and often the third phase.
2881
02:04:13,010 --> 02:04:15,796
The only part that...
that the public sees
2882
02:04:15,838 --> 02:04:18,755
is that 90 minutes onstage,
2883
02:04:18,798 --> 02:04:20,930
and they don't see all the other stuff.
2884
02:04:20,975 --> 02:04:24,282
They don't see, uh, security
opening up our suitcases
2885
02:04:24,326 --> 02:04:26,197
and having the guy, uh, you know,
2886
02:04:26,240 --> 02:04:27,981
taking out all your stuff
2887
02:04:28,024 --> 02:04:30,287
day after day after day
after day at the airport.
2888
02:04:30,332 --> 02:04:33,117
And, uh, they don't see the jet lag
2889
02:04:33,161 --> 02:04:35,292
that I currently have right now.
2890
02:04:35,337 --> 02:04:38,645
Uh, but obviously, we're doing all this
2891
02:04:38,688 --> 02:04:41,734
'cause we really are
passionate about our music.
2892
02:04:41,778 --> 02:04:45,302
It definitely outweighs
all of the downside.
2893
02:04:45,346 --> 02:04:46,913
"Viva México, cabrones."
2894
02:04:46,957 --> 02:04:48,916
-Okay.
-Viva México...
2895
02:04:48,958 --> 02:04:50,265
-"Cabrones."
-"Cabrones."
2896
02:04:50,307 --> 02:04:52,396
-Cabrones.
-Yeah!
2897
02:04:58,752 --> 02:05:01,015
Viva México, cabrones.
2898
02:05:03,016 --> 02:05:04,322
♪ La-la-la-la-la ♪
2899
02:05:04,365 --> 02:05:06,542
♪ I wish you were fun
2900
02:05:06,586 --> 02:05:08,805
♪ Fun in every way
2901
02:05:08,849 --> 02:05:10,764
♪ La-la-la-la-la ♪
2902
02:05:10,806 --> 02:05:12,765
♪ I wish you were fun
2903
02:05:12,809 --> 02:05:15,377
♪ Have some chardonnay
2904
02:05:15,420 --> 02:05:20,033
♪ In every other way
I find you amazing but one ♪
2905
02:05:20,077 --> 02:05:21,862
♪ I wish you were fun
2906
02:05:22,819 --> 02:05:25,082
♪ I wish you were fun.
2907
02:05:26,170 --> 02:05:28,128
Okay, I'm tired.
2908
02:05:28,171 --> 02:05:29,564
I'm going to go to sleep.
2909
02:05:29,609 --> 02:05:31,175
Good night.
2910
02:05:31,219 --> 02:05:33,176
♪ La-la-la, la-la-la,
la-la-la ♪
2911
02:05:33,220 --> 02:05:35,570
♪ I'm pushin'
on my lawn mower... ♪
2912
02:05:35,614 --> 02:05:37,659
The way they live their life
2913
02:05:37,703 --> 02:05:41,271
is just in service of the music.
2914
02:05:41,315 --> 02:05:43,100
♪ The mornin',
it's my lawn mower... ♪
2915
02:05:43,144 --> 02:05:45,101
I kind of have to force
myself to take this walk
2916
02:05:45,145 --> 02:05:47,278
'cause I've been doing it
2917
02:05:47,322 --> 02:05:49,585
for about 20 years
at this same park, and if...
2918
02:05:49,628 --> 02:05:52,805
I know, if I kind of
put it off for one day,
2919
02:05:52,849 --> 02:05:55,417
that it's all over and I'll just be
2920
02:05:55,460 --> 02:05:57,592
laying in bed extra long in the mornings.
2921
02:05:57,636 --> 02:06:01,640
♪ The neighbors look in awe
at my lawn mower... ♪
2922
02:06:01,684 --> 02:06:04,469
They love ritual.
2923
02:06:04,512 --> 02:06:06,079
They love repetition.
2924
02:06:06,122 --> 02:06:08,864
I mean, you can hear
their love of repetition
2925
02:06:08,908 --> 02:06:10,431
in their music.
2926
02:06:10,475 --> 02:06:12,912
You know, they have a hook,
they have a phrase
2927
02:06:12,956 --> 02:06:15,872
that's repeated
over and over and over again.
2928
02:06:15,916 --> 02:06:19,658
And in their life, even the way
their day is structured...
2929
02:06:19,702 --> 02:06:23,706
You know, wake up, work out,
go to the studio,
2930
02:06:23,750 --> 02:06:26,143
have your 4:00 p.m.
coffee break,
2931
02:06:26,186 --> 02:06:29,407
go back to the studio,
you know, power down.
2932
02:06:31,234 --> 02:06:32,715
They are rock stars
2933
02:06:32,759 --> 02:06:34,238
that go to breakfast at the same place
2934
02:06:34,282 --> 02:06:35,412
and get the same thing in the morning,
2935
02:06:35,457 --> 02:06:36,893
and then go work at...
2936
02:06:36,936 --> 02:06:38,502
You know, they just...
they figured out
2937
02:06:38,546 --> 02:06:40,984
what works for them and how to do it.
2938
02:06:41,028 --> 02:06:43,551
I come here religiously every morning
2939
02:06:43,595 --> 02:06:46,076
to get a little peace and quiet,
2940
02:06:46,119 --> 02:06:49,426
just to be by myself
before we start working.
2941
02:06:49,470 --> 02:06:52,430
And even once a week, Ron comes here.
2942
02:06:59,960 --> 02:07:02,179
They just keep going up musically
2943
02:07:02,222 --> 02:07:03,832
with what they're writing.
2944
02:07:03,877 --> 02:07:06,836
They keep finding
new ways to tell their stories.
2945
02:07:08,403 --> 02:07:11,145
Ron and Russell were in Cannes
2946
02:07:11,188 --> 02:07:13,842
and met the French
film director Leos Carax.
2947
02:07:13,886 --> 02:07:15,235
They got chatting,
2948
02:07:15,279 --> 02:07:17,150
and they were talking to him about
2949
02:07:17,194 --> 02:07:20,109
their screenplay calledAnnette.
2950
02:07:20,154 --> 02:07:22,591
We got along really well,
and when we came back to L.A.
2951
02:07:22,635 --> 02:07:24,375
after Cannes, we said,
2952
02:07:24,418 --> 02:07:26,681
"Let's send Leos this project,
Annette."
2953
02:07:26,725 --> 02:07:29,162
And then he said, uh,
"God, I really like this.
2954
02:07:29,206 --> 02:07:31,252
Let me think about it
a little bit more."
2955
02:07:31,295 --> 02:07:32,993
And he did, and he got
back to us, and he said,
2956
02:07:33,036 --> 02:07:35,298
"You know, I'd really like
to direct this."
2957
02:07:35,342 --> 02:07:37,387
We thought, "Oh, this is
amazing," but then we were also
2958
02:07:37,431 --> 02:07:40,087
thinking about our Tim Burton experience
2959
02:07:40,130 --> 02:07:42,305
and our Jacques Tati experience
and going,
2960
02:07:42,350 --> 02:07:44,091
"Please, dear God, we don't want
2961
02:07:44,134 --> 02:07:45,527
to have one more of those."
2962
02:07:45,569 --> 02:07:46,832
-Did you get it?
-That's a film project.
2963
02:07:46,876 --> 02:07:48,311
Historically,
2964
02:07:48,355 --> 02:07:50,618
they've, you know,
nearly had films made on,
2965
02:07:50,662 --> 02:07:51,967
you know, more than one occasion,
2966
02:07:52,011 --> 02:07:54,362
and you feel that now is the time,
2967
02:07:54,404 --> 02:07:56,319
and it will be amazing
for them to be able
2968
02:07:56,363 --> 02:07:58,539
to see their work on a big screen.
2969
02:07:58,582 --> 02:08:00,149
Oh, hello.
2970
02:08:00,194 --> 02:08:02,412
Welcome to the set.
2971
02:08:02,457 --> 02:08:05,981
After several attempts
to get a movie off the ground,
2972
02:08:06,025 --> 02:08:08,506
Annette has finally been the one
2973
02:08:08,550 --> 02:08:10,899
film project that's sticking,
2974
02:08:10,944 --> 02:08:14,729
and it's being shot here
in swinging Brussels, Belgium.
2975
02:08:14,774 --> 02:08:18,690
To get a movie made is a miracle.
2976
02:08:18,734 --> 02:08:21,083
We obviously feel good about the film,
2977
02:08:21,127 --> 02:08:25,567
but we also feel good in
a really personal kind of way...
2978
02:08:25,609 --> 02:08:28,177
This proves that we were right all along.
2979
02:08:28,221 --> 02:08:30,920
So, uh... so there.
2980
02:08:30,963 --> 02:08:33,140
Or voilà.
2981
02:08:34,618 --> 02:08:36,404
When you get a Sparks album, I feel like
2982
02:08:36,447 --> 02:08:38,536
that's where they are,
this is what they're into,
2983
02:08:38,579 --> 02:08:40,363
and they're not gonna be here for long.
2984
02:08:40,408 --> 02:08:42,149
Do you know what I mean?
Like, I feel like by the time
2985
02:08:42,192 --> 02:08:43,323
you get the album, they're already
2986
02:08:43,367 --> 02:08:44,760
on to something else.
2987
02:08:46,805 --> 02:08:49,895
Sparks have a certain
sensibility that we've had
2988
02:08:49,939 --> 02:08:51,548
through all of our albums,
2989
02:08:51,592 --> 02:08:54,421
whatever the shift in styles through time
2990
02:08:54,465 --> 02:08:57,207
or different producers
or different countries.
2991
02:08:57,251 --> 02:09:01,167
It's kind of something
that we really can't change.
2992
02:09:01,211 --> 02:09:03,997
♪ And all the holy places...
2993
02:09:04,039 --> 02:09:06,260
From the beginning of rock music
2994
02:09:06,302 --> 02:09:07,783
when, uh, Blackboard Jungle...
2995
02:09:07,827 --> 02:09:10,264
For them to go and start ripping up,
2996
02:09:10,306 --> 02:09:12,657
uh, movie theater seats...
2997
02:09:12,701 --> 02:09:14,442
That, to us, is like the essence
2998
02:09:14,484 --> 02:09:16,748
and the spirit of what music can be.
2999
02:09:16,792 --> 02:09:18,793
And I think that those sorts of things
3000
02:09:18,837 --> 02:09:20,752
have always been maybe
in the back of our minds.
3001
02:09:20,796 --> 02:09:22,929
We don't sit down and say,
"What can we do
3002
02:09:22,971 --> 02:09:25,408
to be provocative
or rebellious?"
3003
02:09:25,453 --> 02:09:27,890
But I think, just by our nature,
3004
02:09:27,934 --> 02:09:30,065
that's just inherent in what we do.
3005
02:09:30,109 --> 02:09:32,676
♪ All that we've done
3006
02:09:32,720 --> 02:09:36,072
♪ We've lost, we've won
3007
02:09:36,115 --> 02:09:39,466
♪ All that,
all that and more... ♪
3008
02:09:41,381 --> 02:09:42,774
I think their
creative process has sustained
3009
02:09:42,818 --> 02:09:44,297
their friendship and brotherliness,
3010
02:09:44,341 --> 02:09:46,865
and I think being brothers
has also sustained
3011
02:09:46,908 --> 02:09:48,475
their creativity over the years.
3012
02:09:48,519 --> 02:09:49,520
It's-it's unusual,
3013
02:09:49,564 --> 02:09:51,043
but they like each other
3014
02:09:51,087 --> 02:09:52,523
and they respect each other.
3015
02:09:54,220 --> 02:09:55,917
They are... first and foremost,
3016
02:09:55,962 --> 02:09:58,833
they're-they're gentlemen, and they are,
3017
02:09:58,877 --> 02:10:00,748
you know... they're polite
and they're considerate,
3018
02:10:00,792 --> 02:10:05,274
extraordinarily creative,
you know, and they're funny.
3019
02:10:05,319 --> 02:10:06,972
-Oh, did I not push the button?
-Yeah.
3020
02:10:07,015 --> 02:10:09,018
You got to push the button.
3021
02:10:09,061 --> 02:10:12,673
We're able to work kind of
without a lot of conversation.
3022
02:10:12,716 --> 02:10:14,762
The quieter it is, the better it is,
3023
02:10:14,806 --> 02:10:17,113
because we know
we're kind of onto something
3024
02:10:17,157 --> 02:10:19,724
and we can communicate with each other
3025
02:10:19,768 --> 02:10:22,510
in-in kind of nonverbal ways
3026
02:10:22,552 --> 02:10:25,207
just by having worked together
for so long.
3027
02:10:25,252 --> 02:10:26,862
It's some kind of magical
3028
02:10:26,905 --> 02:10:31,561
combination of brother blood
and, I don't know,
3029
02:10:31,605 --> 02:10:34,087
cosmic interference,
3030
02:10:34,130 --> 02:10:36,567
but I have loved them
for all these years,
3031
02:10:36,610 --> 02:10:38,351
and I'm really proud of it.
3032
02:10:38,395 --> 02:10:41,703
♪ All that we've done
3033
02:10:41,746 --> 02:10:43,878
♪ We've lost, we've won...
3034
02:10:43,922 --> 02:10:46,881
I can't imagine having
done a career as a solo artist
3035
02:10:46,926 --> 02:10:50,407
'cause I just think the two
of us are sort of inseparable
3036
02:10:50,451 --> 02:10:53,323
when it comes to our passion for music.
3037
02:10:53,367 --> 02:10:56,587
I think his songs and my singing
3038
02:10:56,631 --> 02:10:58,894
are one and the same.
3039
02:10:58,938 --> 02:11:01,722
I have that security
when I'm working with Russell.
3040
02:11:01,765 --> 02:11:04,639
If I were to work with myself,
3041
02:11:04,681 --> 02:11:08,685
I-I feel, you know,
really, really nervous.
3042
02:11:08,729 --> 02:11:11,123
It would put me in a position
3043
02:11:11,167 --> 02:11:14,823
where I-I just wouldn't
be able to-to take... take it.
3044
02:11:14,867 --> 02:11:17,912
To me, they've been
such an example of how to age
3045
02:11:17,957 --> 02:11:20,828
in this business with grace and dignity
3046
02:11:20,872 --> 02:11:22,962
and treat your band
and your crew, uh, kindly.
3047
02:11:23,005 --> 02:11:25,877
And not to reduce it to such crude terms,
3048
02:11:25,921 --> 02:11:27,009
but they're just cool as fuck.
3049
02:11:27,052 --> 02:11:28,358
Yeah.
3050
02:11:28,402 --> 02:11:29,793
Now that Ron isn't around,
3051
02:11:29,837 --> 02:11:31,970
I can finally tell the real story.
3052
02:11:32,014 --> 02:11:33,363
Uh, all of the songs are mine.
3053
02:11:33,407 --> 02:11:36,845
All 840 songs written by me,
3054
02:11:36,889 --> 02:11:38,846
sung by me, performed by me.
3055
02:11:38,890 --> 02:11:43,329
So, uh, anyway, I just thought
it should come out now.
3056
02:11:45,244 --> 02:11:47,681
Just between you and me...
3057
02:11:49,074 --> 02:11:50,989
Sparks.
3058
02:11:51,033 --> 02:11:52,860
He's just a singer.
3059
02:12:01,652 --> 02:12:04,960
♪ No, no use
in lecturing them... ♪
3060
02:12:05,003 --> 02:12:07,876
There's some comfort in the fact that
3061
02:12:07,920 --> 02:12:10,444
something this weird can survive
3062
02:12:10,487 --> 02:12:13,837
that long without being
corrupted ultimately
3063
02:12:13,881 --> 02:12:15,274
into something less weird.
3064
02:12:15,318 --> 02:12:17,145
♪ The plot is predictable...
3065
02:12:17,189 --> 02:12:18,756
I wouldn't really have seen how
they could've gotten any better,
3066
02:12:18,800 --> 02:12:20,149
'cause they were kind of unique,
3067
02:12:20,193 --> 02:12:22,150
but they're doing something right.
3068
02:12:22,194 --> 02:12:24,893
Nobody stays around that long
if they're making mistakes.
3069
02:12:24,936 --> 02:12:26,590
♪ No, no use in...
3070
02:12:26,634 --> 02:12:28,636
If they had been a band that just,
3071
02:12:28,679 --> 02:12:30,854
like, went and tried to make
hits that were sort of, like,
3072
02:12:30,899 --> 02:12:34,685
inorganic, outside of their
real natural inclinations,
3073
02:12:34,729 --> 02:12:37,122
they would've broken up by 1977.
3074
02:12:37,166 --> 02:12:38,993
♪ It's hard to be vain...
3075
02:12:39,037 --> 02:12:40,864
Some of the greatest artists in the world
3076
02:12:40,908 --> 02:12:42,519
just sort of had a period.
3077
02:12:42,563 --> 02:12:43,998
Sparks is way more prolific than
3078
02:12:44,042 --> 02:12:45,957
all of the artists we consider to be
3079
02:12:46,001 --> 02:12:48,307
the greatest in the world,
so it's overwhelming.
3080
02:12:48,350 --> 02:12:52,006
♪ So when do I get
to sing "My Way"? ♪
3081
02:12:52,051 --> 02:12:56,619
♪ When do I get to feel
like Sinatra felt? ♪
3082
02:12:56,663 --> 02:13:00,015
♪ When do I get
to sing "My Way"? ♪
3083
02:13:00,059 --> 02:13:02,234
♪ In heaven or hell...
3084
02:13:02,278 --> 02:13:04,149
You can knock us for not
3085
02:13:04,193 --> 02:13:06,716
having sold two trillion records,
3086
02:13:06,761 --> 02:13:10,939
but staying true to our vision
and being consistent
3087
02:13:10,983 --> 02:13:13,288
for this long a period of time,
I think that that's
3088
02:13:13,332 --> 02:13:15,639
the measure of success.
3089
02:13:15,682 --> 02:13:17,989
♪ In heaven or hell...
3090
02:13:19,904 --> 02:13:22,037
I don't think
they could be really massive.
3091
02:13:22,081 --> 02:13:23,604
They're too weird.
3092
02:13:23,646 --> 02:13:26,215
Which is great.
Who wants to be really popular?
3093
02:13:26,259 --> 02:13:28,564
You know, you just want to do your art
3094
02:13:28,609 --> 02:13:31,046
and love what you're doing
and be happy with that.
3095
02:13:35,877 --> 02:13:37,966
It's been an amazing evening for us.
3096
02:13:38,010 --> 02:13:39,271
Thank you very much.
3097
02:13:39,314 --> 02:13:40,925
We're deeply appreciative.
3098
02:13:40,969 --> 02:13:43,405
We don't... we don't take
any of this for granted,
3099
02:13:43,449 --> 02:13:46,365
and, uh, we'll be back soon.
3100
02:13:48,411 --> 02:13:49,978
Thank you.
3101
02:13:50,021 --> 02:13:51,675
A lot of times, people are trying
3102
02:13:51,719 --> 02:13:53,807
to find the key to Sparks somehow,
3103
02:13:53,850 --> 02:13:55,896
and I think that really
it's out in the open
3104
02:13:55,939 --> 02:13:59,030
with what we're doing
lyrically and musically.
3105
02:14:00,118 --> 02:14:02,381
Being Russell and being Ron
3106
02:14:02,425 --> 02:14:04,774
and being Sparks,
it's kind of one and the same.
3107
02:14:05,775 --> 02:14:07,734
That is what we are.
3108
02:14:07,778 --> 02:14:11,520
There isn't some thing
behind the curtain.
3109
02:14:11,564 --> 02:14:13,393
The mystique and that whole thing
3110
02:14:13,435 --> 02:14:17,091
is part of what makes them
cool no matter what.
3111
02:14:17,136 --> 02:14:18,746
They don't owe us anything.
3112
02:14:18,788 --> 02:14:20,355
They-they give us the music.
3113
02:14:20,399 --> 02:14:22,228
That's... We...
That's all we need.
3114
02:14:22,270 --> 02:14:24,055
It is symbiotic.
3115
02:14:24,099 --> 02:14:25,666
It's like the two of them make up
3116
02:14:25,708 --> 02:14:27,275
this whole that is Sparks.
3117
02:14:27,319 --> 02:14:28,886
You know, those of us
who've been lucky enough
3118
02:14:28,930 --> 02:14:30,627
to come and go in that, like, it-it...
3119
02:14:30,671 --> 02:14:32,802
it's an amazing and
very cool thing to be around.
3120
02:14:32,846 --> 02:14:35,109
♪
3121
02:14:35,154 --> 02:14:37,155
I don't feel
a kind of ownership with them.
3122
02:14:37,198 --> 02:14:40,594
I think it's really important
when people come along
3123
02:14:40,636 --> 02:14:43,204
20 or 40 years later, you don't say,
3124
02:14:43,248 --> 02:14:45,641
"Oh, I was there all along,
and where were you?"
3125
02:14:45,685 --> 02:14:48,993
You say, "Welcome aboard,
and here's more."
3126
02:14:50,168 --> 02:14:51,908
There's something to be said for the fact
3127
02:14:51,953 --> 02:14:53,389
that sleeper success
3128
02:14:53,432 --> 02:14:55,304
will keep people talking about them
3129
02:14:55,347 --> 02:14:57,914
a lot longer than artists
that are a lot more popular.
3130
02:14:59,177 --> 02:15:00,787
I think the fact that
they've always kept hungry
3131
02:15:00,831 --> 02:15:02,920
and consistently pushed the envelope
3132
02:15:02,963 --> 02:15:05,358
is exactly why I wanted
to make this film.
3133
02:15:06,750 --> 02:15:08,404
Their songs are worlds
3134
02:15:08,448 --> 02:15:10,841
that you really need to delve into,
3135
02:15:10,885 --> 02:15:13,582
but once you delve into 'em,
the rewards are incredible.
3136
02:15:15,323 --> 02:15:18,283
I wish I had that drive
or that commitment.
3137
02:15:18,327 --> 02:15:20,590
I'm just like, "Ah, fuck it.
I can't be bothered."
3138
02:15:21,635 --> 02:15:23,376
Some bands will give you
an outfit to wear,
3139
02:15:23,418 --> 02:15:25,769
and some bands will give you
a sewing machine
3140
02:15:25,813 --> 02:15:27,858
and some needle and some thread
3141
02:15:27,902 --> 02:15:29,817
and let you make what you want
but inspire you
3142
02:15:29,859 --> 02:15:31,470
and give you the energy to make stuff.
3143
02:15:31,514 --> 02:15:33,689
And that's the kind of band
that Sparks is to me.
3144
02:15:35,213 --> 02:15:38,130
There's several
kind of archetypes of bands.
3145
02:15:38,172 --> 02:15:40,435
There's the bands who are wildly popular
3146
02:15:40,479 --> 02:15:43,309
in their day and adulation,
3147
02:15:43,351 --> 02:15:46,268
and then there's bands
that sow all these seeds
3148
02:15:46,311 --> 02:15:50,837
and foment all these ideas
that grow up in other places.
3149
02:15:50,881 --> 02:15:53,710
And, uh, there's some
corollary in nature.
3150
02:15:53,753 --> 02:15:56,278
Like, we wouldn't survive
without the bees.
3151
02:15:56,322 --> 02:15:59,934
Sparks are part of
the ecosystem of music.
3152
02:15:59,976 --> 02:16:03,154
And they may have given birth
to other bands
3153
02:16:03,198 --> 02:16:07,854
who don't even know that
the lineage goes back to them.
3154
02:16:07,898 --> 02:16:10,726
They might not even be aware of it.
3155
02:16:10,770 --> 02:16:16,211
♪ This is the number one song
in heaven ♪
3156
02:16:19,213 --> 02:16:21,302
♪ Written, of course
3157
02:16:21,346 --> 02:16:25,524
♪ By the mightiest hand
3158
02:16:28,354 --> 02:16:30,659
♪ All of the angels are sheep
3159
02:16:30,703 --> 02:16:35,186
♪ In the fold of their master
3160
02:16:37,406 --> 02:16:43,237
♪ They always follow
the master and his plan ♪
3161
02:16:46,546 --> 02:16:52,159
♪ This is the number one song
in heaven ♪
3162
02:16:55,597 --> 02:17:01,474
♪ Why are you hearing it now,
you ask ♪
3163
02:17:04,693 --> 02:17:07,697
♪ Maybe you're closer to here
3164
02:17:07,740 --> 02:17:10,831
♪ Than you imagine
3165
02:17:13,746 --> 02:17:15,923
♪ Maybe you're closer to here
3166
02:17:15,966 --> 02:17:20,536
♪ Than you care to be...
3167
02:17:27,890 --> 02:17:30,546
We fear that, over the course
of the documentary,
3168
02:17:30,590 --> 02:17:32,721
we have revealed way more about ourselves
3169
02:17:32,765 --> 02:17:34,941
than we are comfortable with.
3170
02:17:34,985 --> 02:17:37,291
So, in an attempt to create
some further mystique,
3171
02:17:37,335 --> 02:17:39,728
we'd like to leave you
with a bunch of Sparks facts
3172
02:17:39,772 --> 02:17:42,470
that are all 100% true.
3173
02:17:42,514 --> 02:17:44,907
Russell has been
an uncredited voice actor
3174
02:17:44,951 --> 02:17:48,912
in 27 Hollywood animated feature films.
3175
02:17:48,956 --> 02:17:52,219
Ron briefly dated EÉdith Piaf.
3176
02:17:52,263 --> 02:17:56,658
Russell is not singing in
English on Kimono My House.
3177
02:17:56,702 --> 02:17:59,139
Ron has worn the same white shirt,
3178
02:17:59,183 --> 02:18:01,316
a shirt he purchased at Marks and Spencer
3179
02:18:01,360 --> 02:18:05,494
in December 1973, for the last 46 years.
3180
02:18:05,538 --> 02:18:08,844
Between 1989 and 1993,
3181
02:18:08,888 --> 02:18:11,847
Russell was a NASCAR driver.
3182
02:18:11,891 --> 02:18:14,459
Ron has written many novels
under the pen name
3183
02:18:14,503 --> 02:18:16,765
John le Carré.
3184
02:18:16,809 --> 02:18:18,550
After realizing he was too small
3185
02:18:18,593 --> 02:18:20,291
to compete in college football,
3186
02:18:20,334 --> 02:18:24,208
Russell trained
for nine months as a jockey.
3187
02:18:24,252 --> 02:18:29,039
26 days before every tour,
Ron goes on the alphabet diet,
3188
02:18:29,083 --> 02:18:31,737
eating foods in alphabetical order.
3189
02:18:31,781 --> 02:18:34,479
Day one: avocados or asparagus.
3190
02:18:34,522 --> 02:18:37,047
Day 26: zucchini.
3191
02:18:37,091 --> 02:18:39,701
In 1982, we started the first ever
3192
02:18:39,745 --> 02:18:43,575
seahorse rehabilitation ranch,
Back in the Saddle.
3193
02:18:43,619 --> 02:18:46,361
The tragic decline
in the seahorse population
3194
02:18:46,405 --> 02:18:50,364
has been a cause
we've long felt strongly about.
3195
02:18:50,408 --> 02:18:52,584
Sparks really only have two songs,
3196
02:18:52,628 --> 02:18:54,500
a fast one and a slow one.
3197
02:18:54,542 --> 02:18:57,023
We constantly rewrite
the lyrics for these songs
3198
02:18:57,066 --> 02:18:58,852
to give the appearance of having written
3199
02:18:58,895 --> 02:19:01,157
nearly 300 songs.
3200
02:19:01,201 --> 02:19:03,073
And finally, we would like to reveal
3201
02:19:03,117 --> 02:19:05,772
that Ron is really Russell.
3202
02:19:05,815 --> 02:19:08,730
And Russell is really Ron.
3203
02:19:12,518 --> 02:19:17,697
♪ This is the number one song
in heaven ♪
3204
02:19:20,568 --> 02:19:26,835
♪ Why are you hearing it now,
you ask ♪
3205
02:19:29,534 --> 02:19:32,667
♪ Maybe you're closer to here
3206
02:19:32,711 --> 02:19:35,888
♪ Than you imagine
3207
02:19:38,586 --> 02:19:40,807
♪ Maybe you're closer to here
3208
02:19:40,850 --> 02:19:45,333
♪ Than you care to be.
3209
02:19:45,377 --> 02:19:47,595
♪
3210
02:20:14,622 --> 02:20:16,930
♪
3211
02:20:41,649 --> 02:20:43,957
♪
3212
02:20:54,000 --> 02:21:01,000
⇒ PeradoxSRJ
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