Sparks belong in a category of euphoric pop music all by themselves, that is why they need no support act at tonight’s last show of their triumphant Mad! tour. They just make their audience happy, it’s as simple as that.
28 albums into their career Ron and Russel Mael (Sparks) have developed everything since they first arrived in the early 70’s – they have charisma in bucket-loads, humour, irony, an abundance of pop songs and melodies to make you melt all, of which they bring to Wolverhampton on a wet Saturday evening. And boy, don’t the audience love every minute of it all. The front rows are filled with Sparks fans who have travelled far and wide, a mini community of glee who understand the magic that is Sparks. But taking their place on the stage all eyes are on Ron, sat bolt upright behind his keyboard, and Russel, the flamboyant, energetic and youthful, even at 76, singer in his stunning floral suit who cavorts and pirouettes across the stage for the next two hours in such style.
The set commences with the appropriately, and ironically, named ‘So May We Start’ stamping the band’s intent to have fun throughout the show whilst poking fun at issues such as celebratory culture, environmental issues, and the white suburbanites adopting black culture. Sparks have a way of taking serious societal issues and just having fun with them. Next they perform the opening track from current album, Mad!, ‘Do Things My Way’ the title of which sums Sparks up nicely.
The set bounds along; they never slow things down or change the pace. The new album is well represented, and the tracks are as well received as, almost, anything performed tonight. ‘Running Up a Tab at the Hotel for the Fab’ and ‘Drowned in a Sea of Tears’ proving highlights of the show. ‘Please Don’t Fuck Up My World’, from 2020’s A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip, is introduced with an explanation that it was written five years ago when the world seemed imperfect, but now it feels even more appropriate.
For a band in their mid to late 70’s they burst with energy and positivity putting younger bands to shame. Flamboyant singer Russel makes full use of the Wolverhampton stage, only really stopping his strutting to allow his older brother, Ron, to step back from his legendary sombre keyboard playing personae for a show-stopping dance routine. This thirty second burst of energy and grinning over, Ron duly returns to the serious duties of keyboard playing and looking sombre – for many this is the highlight of the show.
Despite stemming from the 70’s, almost half of tonight’s set comes from the band’s last four, post-Covid, albums. Sparks are no retro band and despite a huge back catalogue the set is current and forward-looking. Sure, towards the end we get ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us’, the track that broke them in the UK back in ’74, but the set had plenty to keep the audience going. This wasn’t an audience desperately waiting for the “big hit”. In fact, it is slightly thrown-away coming directly on the heels of the uplifting double whammy of ‘When Do I Get To Sing “My Way”’ and ‘Number 1 Song in Heaven’ by which time the crowd was already in rapture.
The band return for a short encore of ‘The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte’ and a truly euphoric ‘All That’ which has the entire venue arms aloft and swaying. Too quickly the show, and European tour, is over and a joyous crowd leave knowing they have witnessed a magnificent experience from the legends that are the Mael brothers. We need more bands like Sparks, which is ironic because there can be only one Sparks.
