Sparks: The Number One Song In Heaven (1978)

Sparks: 'The Number One Song In Heaven' (@ Top of the Pops) (1978)

Long version | And even more versions

This one is for Cocó Cielo ("cielo" = "heaven").




The Best of Sparks compilation has been in my heavy rotation lately, and I seemingly can't get enough of this duo of the Brothers Mael, who started in the age of glam-rock but later gloriously turned coat and paved the way (alongside Suicide) to the whole electronic duo format that proved popular from the 1980s onwards, with such diverse acts as Yello, Soft Cell, Pet Shop Boys, LFO, Orbital, Altern-8, Coil, Pan sonic... you name it.

Actually this German collection covers only the years 1971 - 1984; their huge 1974 hit 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both of Us' is naturally included, but here the emphasis seems to be on their later electronic output (featuring some gems from Sparks' less known albums), including their excellent late 70s singles (such as 'Heaven...' above) they created together with legendary (oops, that word again, but I guess it can't be avoided here) Giorgio Moroder. Such albums as the wonderful Indiscreet (1975) are not covered here, nor is their latest output, so I think there's at least some potential for a more definitive "Best of" as a 2-CD (or a box set; with over 20 albums made in over 35 years, there's a lot to cover). Well, I guess I could rave on and on about them, but more perhaps later on...

This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us

"This town isn't big enough for both of us -- and I ain't gonna leave!"

The brotherly love of Russell and Ron Mael a.k.a. Sparks.


Sparks: 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us' (Top Of The Pops, December 1974) (+ @ Musikladen)


Sparks: '#1 Song In Heaven' (Top Of The Pops, May 1979) (Produced by Giorgio Moroder!)


Sparks: 'When Do I Get To Sing My Way' (1994)

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Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls by Sparks

Ugly guys with beautiful girls. You always know what the story is. Beautiful girls with ugly guys. What do they take us for anyway? What do they take us for anyway?

Ugly guys with beautiful girls. Ugly guys with beautiful girls.

As they walk down the street arm in arm, I see them and once again feel the need to ask myself the question, the question that has weighed heavily on me of late. How is it possible that a guy and a girl so dissimilar in physical appearance, there being such a disparity in how attractive each is, be nonetheless in what would appear to be some sort of relationship?

It ain't done with smoke and mirrors. It ain't done with smoke and mirrors. It ain't done with smoke and mirrors.

Ugly guys with beautiful girls. Ugly guys with beautiful girls. Ugly guys with beautiful girls.

How do we explain this? An attraction of opposites? No, that theory has been refuted by many experts in the fields of human psychology. A much greater attraction seems
to come from one more similar to oneself. Personality, perhaps? Without intending to sound judgmental, I would say that he doesn't look like what was once called a "live wire" or "the life of the party". He appears rather expressionless. His movements are stiff and even awkward. Perhaps he is a person of some intellect -- an expert in science, the arts, political theory. No, I think not. See how well-tailored his clothes are, how well cut his hair is.

It ain't done with smoke and mirrors. It ain't done with smoke and mirrors. It ain't done with smoke and mirrors.

Ugly guys with beautiful girls. Ugly guys with beautiful girls. Ugly guys with beautiful girls.

I must confess to you, my listeners, that I have been a little less than honest in pretending I had no answers to my previous questions. You see, I lost someone very dear to me, someone very beautiful, to someone much like him.

Ah, you ask, surely there must have been other areas where you were deficient and he was not. No, I don't believe so. My shortcomings were of an economic nature. He was rich. I was not.

You see, I underestimated the appeal to her of things -- imported things on wheels, large things with manicured lawns and Olympic swimming pools, things to wear around
her neck that would glisten in the night light. Things. Still, I am not bitter. Rather, I am an observer who saw firsthand how life may not be fair. Would things have turned out differently between me and her had I moved up the corporate ladder quicker, been born of more noble stock, or done better on one of our journeys to Las Vegas? Perhaps. In fact, I'm certain of it. Things would have turned out differently between me and her. I know this now. It ain't done with smoke and mirrors.

Ugly guys with beautiful girls. You always know what the story is.
- The Sparks (a.k.a. Ron Mael & Russell Mael)