Rock legends Sparks launch world tour in Oxford with amazing show spanning 50 years

PIONEERS of electronic music, Sparks are one of the most important and influential bands of the past 50 years.

Endlessly inventive, brothers Ron and Russell Mael emerged in the 60s as a quirky art-pop duo and have since kicked at musical boundaries and possibilities by embracing alternative rock, glam, new-wave, baroque experimentalism and – crucially – synth-driven electronica.

The Californian siblings’ cult appeal is fuelled by their iconic theatrical personas: the virtuoso-voiced, jet black mop-topped Russell engaging with the crowd in a storm of hyperactivity, while Ron – dapper in suit, tie, round-rimmed specs and Charlie Chaplin-style toothbrush moustache – sits motionless behind his keyboard, scowling at the audience like a disgruntled 1930s bank clerk.

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An enigmatic act worthy of the epithet ‘legendary’, they are ‘musician’s musicians’, cited as a formative influence by decades of artists. Rock royalty, their quirky, intelligent songwriting and stadium-sized tunes have a devoted fan base.

So what on earth where they doing last Tuesday, greeting an ecstatic crowd at Oxford’s New Theatre?

To the delight of fans, the brothers and their band chose Oxford for the first night of a major world tour which now sees them playing two nights at the Royal Albert Hall before heading across the Channel for shows in the likes of Paris, Berlin and Copenhagen, then back here for Glastonbury festival, onto Canada and the USA, and rounding off in Tokyo at the end of July.

So quite a big deal, then. And what an honour.

They played old-fashioned George Street venue as if it were a stadium. But while they may be musical gods, Russell came across endearingly humble as he welcomed the crowd before they burst into opener So May We Start.

Russell was every inch the athletic big top ringmaster while Ron sat ramrod-straight at his synth. Was he staring at me? Of course not, he was staring at us all – meeting all our gazes with a look of faux disappointment.

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He managed to stay in character throughout – until rising to his feet late in the show he burst into a frantic, hilarious, on-the-spot dance, before returning to his keyboard and continuing as if nothing had happened.

The tour comes as they release their 26th album The Girl is Crying in her Latte. It’s good, among their best work: poetic lyrics, humour, arch observation and pocket storytelling set to a propulsive wall of Deutsche-rock and hard electro-dance.

It came out this week on Island Records, the chaps having returned to the label that released their breakthrough album Kimono My House in 1974.

Sparks: Pictures by Tim Hughes

The title track comes early, in a gathering storm of dark, dancy electro and odd lyrics. A bright yellow-suited Cate Blanchett jerkily dances her way through it in the official video to the tune, which is well worth checking out.

We are taken on a rhythmic, rollercoaster ride through the decades, with Eaten by the Monster of Love, Angst in My Pants and Music That You Can Dance To, from the early 80s, right though to instant banger Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is, and Veronica Lake from the new record.

The audience had been getting itchy in their seats all night but the distinctive bubbling synth and angelic vocals of pop anthem The Number One Song in Heaven had much of the crowd springing to their feet and spilling into the aisles in a rolling Mexican wave of seat rows.

This was what we were here for.

The enigmatic lyrics of this most meta of songs (a collaboration with the godfather of electronica, Giorgio Moroder) still sparkle while Russell’s incredible voice and Ron’s rapturous disco synth sky rocket up the scale as if heading to the titular paradise itself, peaking on an impossibly high note which Russell effortlessly nails.

The buzz builds with their biggest tune, the eccentric This Town Aint Big Enough for Both of Us – Russell displaying his extraordinary operatic vocal range on this made slice of avant garde art-pop.

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They end on Gee That Was Fun – a perfect bookend to their opener. The place erupted and, of course, they obliged with an encore with another new one, A Love Story then ending on another banger – 2020’s All That. It is a strident love song, but its lyrics, pronouncing “All that we’ve done, we’ve lost, we’ve won”, are an everyman anthem.

Half a decade in, the band are as urgent and relevant as ever, and put the unimaginative crop of Top 40 charts botherers in the shade.

Russell seemed genuinely moved at the reaction to the show, which he said had given them confidence for the rest of the tour.

Oxford could be forgiven for some disbelief that we had been chosen for this debut gig, but the crowd did them proud. The love and respect was palpable – and seemed to be mutual.

Sparks @ New Theatre, Oxford

May 23, 2023

Score: 5/5