The brothers Ron and Russell Mael are a unique duo. Ron, characterized by a beard like Charlie Chaplin, played keyboard like a madman, while Russell was singing songs that nobody understood. The audience was confused by the project, which was founded 1968 in Los Angeles and released ist first two albums in 1974, initially. Unusually high-pitched vocals were layered over a fundament of keyboards, while the ununderstandable lyrics had to be looked up to be understood. The magazine "Melody Maker" claimed that Sparks were the biggest musical hope for 1975. In reality, after one more release in 1976, the band went quiet for three years. Then everything changed with a contract with
Virgin Records, and Sparks reached cult status. The Mael brothers have not gotten tired to surprise their fans with their unique blend of
pop,
disco and
electronic music, even after almost 40 years and 20 studio albums. Meanwhile, they have never lost their wit and self criticism throughout their career.
