Brothers Russell and Ron Mael—Sparks are undefinable. They fit into glam, new wave, vaudeville and opera almost at the same time. Music joyful and lyrics serious. Flamboyant and slightly camp, they write really catchy tunes that might be mistaken as pop songs, but they’re not. There’s a quirkiness (the non-irritable kind) and an edge that almost removes them from the mainstream. But saying that, they’ve had several chart successes during their enigmatic 54-year career, including their latest album ‘Mad’ which has reached No.2 in the UK Top 40. They have twenty-eight albums and over eighty singles. They’re a band that could sound equally at home sharing the stage with The Residents or Klaus Nomi, as with Queen or U2. This week they grace us with two brilliant nights at the National Stadium.
The bulk of their sets is pre-1979 and post-2020, a couple of exceptions being ‘All You Ever Think About Is Sex’ from ’83’s In Outer Space, and ‘When Do I Get to Sing “My Way”‘ from ’94’s Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins.
They start with ‘So May We Start’ from the 2021 Annette soundtrack and ‘Do Things My Own Way’ from their new album, followed by ‘Reinforcements’ from 1974’s Propaganda and ‘Academy Award Performance’ from 1979’s No.1 In Heaven. It’s remarkable how everything sits perfectly together, that genius Sparks thread that makes everything sound cohesive. If you’re not that familiar with the material, it’s impossible to figure out when it’s from. Not that it all sounds the same, because it doesn’t. Sparks just have a knack for a sort of timelessness.
‘Beat The Clock’ is big and bouncy, their workout with Giorgio Moroder, also from No.1 In Heaven.
Ron briefly leaves the keyboard to sing the robotic ‘Suburban Homeboy’ (2002), and again during the big and epic ‘The Number One Song in Heaven’ where he performs his insane Noel Coward routine. This is followed by the huge ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us’. Nice to hear it as part of the set rather than an encore.
Mid-way through the set on the second night Russell mentions that their new album Mad! has gone to No.2 in the UK charts. He pauses and adds “Who cares about them right?… No.1 in Ireland!” to a massive cheer from the crowd.
The encore is the amusingly titled ‘The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte’ with equally amusing lyrics (“Is it due to the rain, Or is she in some pain, She looks physically fine, Guess it’s something benign”), juxtaposed with the incredibly poignant ‘All That’.
Sparks have only played Ireland a handful of times, the first being 2006. They need to come more often. Russell assures us they will.
Sparks photos and set-list from 15.07.2025:
Set-list:
So May We Start
Do Things My Own Way
Reinforcements
Academy Award Performance
Goofing Off
Beat the Clock
Please Don’t Fuck Up My World
Running Up a Tab at the Hotel for the Fab
Suburban Homeboy
All You Ever Think About Is Sex
Drowned in a Sea of Tears
JanSport Backpack
Music That You Can Dance To
When Do I Get to Sing “My Way”
The Number One Song in Heaven
This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us
Whippings and Apologies
Lord Have Mercy
Encore:
The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte
All That
Sparks photos from 16.07.2025:
Photos & words Cormac Figgis @themasterswitch