Took a spur of the moment trip to the cinema to see The Sparks Brothers documentary today, which was an absolute delight. You came out uplifted and smiling, which is a nice way to leave anything, and glad they're finally getting the popular acclaim they deserve.
I didn't know much about Sparks before I went in, except for liking the only songs of theirs I knew, This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us and Beat The Clock.
Like the talking heads in the film, I also remember being utterly freaked out by Ron on Top of the Pops in 1974. I was seven, didn't understand why he looked like Hitler and stared like that, and nobody in my family could adequately explain it. It was a relief to find out today it wasn't just me who'd found him terrifying:
By the end of the film I still didn't know much about Sparks in a personal sense, except that they both seem like genuinely cool people. There wasn't a shred of ego to be seen in either of them, they work hard, they're smart, they're funny, they create unique music and what they do is more art than pop. It was an inspiring two hour twenty minutes. And of course now I'm a little bit in love with Ron.
I'd forgotten Sparks were referenced in Paul McCartney's Coming Up video:
Russell deadpanning 'well if Paul McCartney thinks my brother's good, then I'd better start respecting him' was a great moment.
A joyous film.
Photo du Jour: A Tweeter In Woofer's Clothing
PS: Mark Kermode wrote a wonderful review of it here.
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