Sparks Still Flying High!
- Cheryl Alterman | The Music Soup Editor
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
The band Sparks have been touring and recording for 55+ years and these two brothers are still going strong.
Ron Mael (80) and Russel Mael (77) have been performing together since 1968. They are on tour now and played San Francisco's Golden Gate Theater in September. The audience was filled with Sparks fans that knew every word to every song, even the new material. Which was very endearing for me to witness. It was apparent that the Mael brothers haven't lost their chops, or most of their fans in the last fifty years.
They began as the band, "Halfnelson" in 1968, and in 1972 changed their name to Sparks. And around that time, their recording career started. Soon after they released their first album their songs got spins on radio stations, and now - 28 albums later they are still playing music together. And their fans are still following them! I know that because every time I see a Sparks show I look around and nearly every audience member knows all the lyrics, wearing the merch and one can just tell that these are lifelong fans.... I love that!
I've also been a Sparks fan for life, since the late 70's when I used to see them play in LA in my youth. At one of their gigs at the Whiskey a Go-Go in Hollywood, (circa 1981), Russell jumped off the stage and asked me if I would get up onstage and kiss his dead pan brother Ron to make him smile....I gladly obliged and Ron broke into a giant ear to ear smile. Something he doesn't do onstage often or even at all really. That was a lovely memorable experience for me, as a young impressionable music fan girl.
I've been attending Sparks shows for decades and honestly they don't change much. Though they have added loads of new music as they now have 28 albums behind them. Click here to see and hear a short Sparks video on my You Tube channel...and please subscribe!
If you ask me what genre does their music fall into, I'd have to say it's somewhere between Glam, Punk, New Wave and Rock. I guess a little bit of all. And it works! The first song of theirs that I fell in love with was, "This Towns Not Big Enough for the Both of Us". The last time I covered a Sparks show was in March 2022, if you'd like to check it out. And if you do like a little quirky Glam music, you should definitely check out this band. Last but not least..."Life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, be kind to each other, apologize easily, have the hard conversations because it makes life better, and never regret anything that made you smile".... Last, but definitley not least...see live music - it keeps our brain firing and it keeps us young!
With peace, love, art and music,
Cheryl ☮ ❤️🎵
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Check out and SUBSCRIBE to my You Tube channel for video footage from the show. I'm adding new videos all the time, including videos and shorts from this Sparks show: youtube.com/@TheMusicSoupVideo?sub_confirmation=1
Here are a few affiliate links to some Sparks music and photo gear: Propaganda 50th Anniversary - https://amzn.to/3WAv4sM Kimono My House (my fave Sparks album) - https://amzn.to/4oAeVzR Sparks MAD (their newest album) - https://amzn.to/4h42PMy Canon R6 Mirrorless - https://amzn.to/3K6FoG8 Canon 70 - 200 2.8 lens - https://amzn.to/4mfGL2t Holdfast Camera Harness - https://amzn.to/3K9X6bG ©Cheryl Alterman Photography 2025
©Cheryl Alterman Photography 2025
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