The Birth of Sparks: From Beach Boys to Blighty

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The Birth of Sparks: From Beach Boys to Blighty  

6 Music Stories: The Birth of Sparks: From Beach Boys to Blighty - Episode 2

The Birth of Sparks: From Beach Boys to Blighty - Episode 2

BBC Radio 6 Music - 6 Music Stories, The Birth of Sparks: From Beach Boys to Blighty - Episode 2

Katie Puckrik quizzes Ron and Russell Mael from Sparks about their musical journey.

In this 2018 repeat, Ron and Russell Mael of the iconic group Sparks talk to Katie Puckrik about their coming of age journey from 60s LA to 70s London and beyond.

2018 repeat. Ron and Russell Mael are best known as the art pop geniuses behind the iconic band Sparks. What is less known is that they are born and bred California boys who came of age in the first flowering of 1960s rock'n'roll.

As LA teenagers, the Maels prowled the clubs of the Sunset Strip, witnessing first-hand early gigs by the likes of The Doors (Russell modelled his look on Jim Morrison's), The Byrds, Bob Dylan, The Ronettes, Love, Buffalo Springfield, Alice Cooper (whose song "No More Mr. Nice Guy" was inspired by Sparks' song of the same name), The Beach Boys and Todd Rundgren (who produced Sparks' first album, and whose girlfriend Russell stole as a thank you).

Too ahead of their time for the hippy trippy Los Angeles scene, a last throw of the musical dice (and a change of name) saw them dispatched to London where they found favour with an Art School rock crowd hungry for more of the kind of showmanship deployed by David Bowie and Roxy Music. 

Before too long this town wasn't big enough for the both of them...

In addition to making musical history themselves, Sparks have been present at the key points in rock's timeline and have collaborated with artists peers and fans to great success. Sparks on Sunset features the Maels in conversation with their long-time friend Katie Puckrik, who draws out vivid, never-before-heard anecdotes and insights, interspersed with key tracks from the iconic artists who all made their mark on Sparks.

The second part of this two act saga sees the brothers Mael swapping sun-kissed California for grimy early-70s London and their eventual rise to chart-topping success at the height of Glam. 

Despite their run of top ten hits in the mid-70s, their future success wasn't at all a given and after failing to gain traction in their homeland, their label boss suggested that swapping the Californian sunshine for the grey skies of London might be the way forward. Oh and they changed their name from Half Nelson to Sparks along the way. 

As part of the Art School/Glam scene they got swept up with Roxy Music, Queen and the frothy feather boa pop of The Sweet and finally found their niche five thousand miles from home.

Ron and Russell talk candidly to Katie Puckrik about their early struggles as beach boys far from home, finally cracking the market and the characters they met along the way.

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