Wow a decent interview, those were the days. I don't think I have seen one with Ron this relaxed. Like "X", another group that never got what they deserved, Sparks is an original. That is what makes them great. They still sound good after all these years. And frankly, Ron IS a pleasant looking gent and looks quite dapper today.
I must have missed that interview on WNBC but man was Russell doing the New Wave thing! I just wished they'd left in the full Don Pardo line at the end.
Cool interview. It does bug me how their first 5 or so albums were terrific, yet got so little airplay on mainstream FM radio. It wasn’t until our boys “danced it up” that they received wider commercial attention. It’s as if they had to dumb down their music in order to be noticed by the masses.
Angel I'm not so sure about that! From all reports, Sue was a lesbian. Her dad was a jazz musician; she was a good interviewer when it came to music acts.
I like the way Ron tells her, with a real straight face, that they had a No 1 in Europe, knowing that she must be dumb enough to have not done her homework. 'This town ain't big enough for the both of us' was a huge hit in the UK in '74 but it reached No 2 while the Rubettes 'Sugar baby love' held them off the top spot for a couple of weeks. I know it's a very sore subject in the Sparks household but to lie to the America public that they had a No 1, when they hadn't, shows that Sparks aren't afraid to twist a little bit of history to show them in a better light, which is a bit naughty. They said the same thing in another interview at the same time too so it wasn't just a one-off mistake. Unless Ron is getting confused with their No 14 groundbreaking electronic hit in '79, 'The number one song in heaven' something ain't kosher!!....dementia setting in maybe? LOL. I love the guys, don't get me wrong, but it's no wonder they had 'Angst in their pants' cos actually their pants were LL on Fire Fire!!! I can imagine them laughing all the way out of that studio.
They had huge success all over western Europe also (for about two years). the German market was highly profitable. Never understood why they had such problems replicating the "Kimono" success , probably due to ditching the "Kimono" band.(apart from Dinky) "Propaganda" sadly wasn't as perfect. Apart from the occasional fluke hit, they became a somewhat gay niche (Scissor Sisters) outfit. Which might be the reason they survived that long without big record sales. "Kimono My House" lays at the base of their legend status.
@rsmith7912 Yeah, but does the sickly song Sugar Baby Love really count? I remember This Town being played constantly and thought it was number one anyway ...good as. Clearly a much better song. So many great songs have got to no.2, being pipped by something more commercial at the time. Just a fluke - on a different day and they would be no.1. Really not much in it.
