So may I start?
The most innovative, imaginative pop/techno/rock/electronic/dance band you’re ever likely to witness returned to Manchester for two nights to promote the recent release of their 28th album MAD! And what a glorious two nights it was. Over 50 years since they formed Sparks continue to be at the absolute top of their game. Helped along a little by 2021 documentary The Sparks Brothers, Ron and Russell Mael’s fanbase continues to grow. You know a Sparks show is going to be great. What you’re never really prepared for, no matter how many times you see them, is just how great an evening spent in the presence of this band is going to be and the two shows at Manchester’s Apollo Theatre were nothing less than superb. Before the brothers even walk on stage there’s a palpable sense of excitement in the air, a real buzz in the atmosphere. There’s fans here who have queued since lunchtime to make sure they’re on the barrier. Fans who have flown in from the far corners of the world, fans who are doing 13, 14, 15 of the Japanese/UK/European/US dates. That’s how good a Sparks show is and the roar that greets the Maels when the lights dim and they walk on stage is huge. It’s a reception the brothers never take for granted, the looks on their faces simply saying “Thank you”.
‘So May We Start’ opens the show to a euphoric response from the crowd and from this moment on we witness a live show that you feel genuinely privileged to be at. With 28 albums under their belts Sparks could choose to deliver 90 minutes of big hits. But they don’t. They never have. Every tour sees them pull out those little surprises that people haven’t heard played live for years. Backed by a mesmorising light show that serves to enhance rather than dominate the concert Ron and Russell Mael have lost none of their stage presence. Ron, sitting behind his ‘Ronald’ keyboard, pencil moustache and that trademark stare that scared us nine year olds back in 1974 when they appeared on Top Of The Pops, a mischievous grin slipping across his face at regular intervals telling us all that he’s having as much fun as the rest of us. Russell, despite approaching 77 years of age, still dominating every spare inch of stage. Dancing, leg kicking, jumping, clapping, pausing only to introduce some of the songs or, on night two, to ask “Where’s Ron gone?” and to ad-lib for a few minutes when his brother disappeared from the stage. The most agreed upon possibility was a toilet visit but it turned out he was getting his ear monitor fixed.
And what about that set-list? Spanning their 53 year output it included some glorious surprises. ‘Reinforcements’ from 1974’s ‘Propaganda’ album is huge, both sonically and in the accompanying crowd response. ‘Whippings And Apologies’ takes us right back to the glam/arty rock of 1972 album ‘A Woofer In Tweeters Clothing’. The slick, huge dance grooves of Giorgio Moroder produced numbers ‘Academy Award Performance’ and the infectious ‘Beat The Clock’ appear early, split either side of an ecstatic foot tapping ‘Goofing Off’. There’s a subtle change to the lights as the pace slows for ‘Please Don’t Fuck Up My World’, even more relevant now than it was five years ago – the red, square graphics changing to give the impression of bombs dropping. Or maybe I’m reading too much into it and they could simply have represented A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip. Despite new album ‘MAD!’ achieving the band’s highest ever chart position (2) only five of it’s songs make an appearance. The slicing guitar riff driven ‘Do Things My Own Way’ followed immediately after ‘So May We Start’. A statement as well as a cracking song.. The pounding thrum of ‘Running Up A Tab At The Hotel For The Fab’ and the melancholic ‘Drowned In A Sea Of Tears’ are just two of the many highlights of the evening.
‘Suburban Homeboy’ is given the Ron treatment, a wonderful spoken word version, Ron standing centre stage as he delivers his deadpan vocals, Russell joining in for just the final chorus. ‘Music You Can Dance To’ starts a glorious run of massive dance groove numbers that sees the place bouncing. ‘When Do I Get To Sing My Way’ is as wonderfully catchy as it always is. Only Sparks could bring Sinatra and Sid Vicious together in one song. Both songs receive standing ovations with most of the balcony on it’s feet joining those below in their appreciation for what they’ve heard. But little compares to the response given to ‘The Number One Song In Heaven’ which, quite simply, is complete joy. Ron still does his dance even if it’s a little shorter than it once was. Russell’s voice soars. It’s an emotional, uplifting , sublime, perfect four minutes. By the time ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us’ follows the whole place has exploded into a sea of waving arms, people swept up and immersed completely in a concert so good it’s hard to put the experience into words. The set ends with a rousing, anthemic ‘Lord Have Mercy’, the fifth and final number from ‘MAD!’
They return for just a two song encore. ‘The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte’ is the only song from the 2023 album of the same name before the reflective, emotion tugging ‘All That’ closes what has been, once again, two nights that have been masterclasses in how to deliver a concert.
Backed by a band of quality musicians the Mael brothers have proved beyond doubt (again) that no matter how long you’ve been going it’s possible to deliver gigs that bring in the classics but that are also completely unique and full of surprises. It takes the brothers an age to leave the stage such is the adoration from those present. There’s no arrogance from them, no pop star antics, just complete appreciation of the response they’ve received from the Manchester crowds on both nights.
Sparks – always fresh, always pushing boundaries, always brilliant.
Sparks ‘MAD!’ tour continues around Europe into July including two dates in Dublin (15th/16th) and one in Edinburgh (18th) and Wolverhampton (19th).
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