All You Ever Think About Is Sparks

Welcome to the rise of the machines! Ron and Russell Mael are at a bit of a crossroads with this 1984 LP, and briefly offer the reigns to producer Ian Little (Duran Duran's Seven and the Ragged Tiger, Roxy Music's Avalon), who in turn puts in the driver's seat that omnipresent mid-80s behemoth, the CMI Fairlight. It was the first time computerized, visual, grid-based composing was possible, and reduced the amount of friction between idea to product. Monte Mallin is riding shotgun again, and Mr. Christ-on-a-Bike John Ashdown returns to offer a fresh perspective on one of Sparks' lesser-loved albums.

Chris Sutton has appeared on this podcast before, and likewise Monte Mallin's YouTube channel Sparks: Entertainment and Art. This time, Chris and Christian go mano a mano in an interview about his (Chris') latest book On Track... Sparks 1969-1979

We chat about what it's like being a rock music journalist, and just how he managed to track down so many Sparks luminaries for his project. Also, if you happen to be in the neighborhood of Smethwick, just a bit west of Birmingham, stop by the Smethwick Heritage Center and say hello to the museum's Manager-cum-Editor of the museum's magazine! He just may look (or sound) a tad familiar!

Tally ho! We're going deep into the vaults today for this one, with an in-depth look at the never-officially-released soundtrack to the obscure 1984 teen gross-out film Bad Manners... Or is that Growing Pains? It seems Sparks didn't even know, so they recorded two theme songs, using both titles! After we flap our yaps about both the movie and the soundtrack, we take a little bit of time to explore the unusually high number of soundtrack-only songs Ron and Russ recorded in 1983-1984.

The great Monte Mallin returns, and I'm happy to introduce Mr. Chris Sutton to the show this time out! Besides being a true Sparks ride-or-die, Chris has written several books about various music legends. And his latest one is called On Track... Sparks 1969-1979. (PSST. YOU CAN BUY IT HERE:) 

Monte's Sparks: Entertainment and Art series is here:

Howdy, Sparks fans! As promised, here's another episode all about New Haven's finest, the inimitable Hilly Michaels! Monte Mallin and I wax poetic for a bit about just what made Hilly's powerhouse work on the skins so special on 1976's Big Beat. After that, I clock out, and pass the baton over to Monte for his one-on-one interview with Hilly, recorded a few weeks before our three-way convo with the rhythm savant, which was featured on the previous episode.

Don't sleep on Hilly's non-Sparks work, in particular his solo career! Aside from that early MTV staple "Calling All Girls," his first LP from 1980 simply roars from beginning to end. The sadly-out-of-print Lumia from the following year shows Hilly exploring a more technology-forward sound a la DEVO or Wall of Voodoo, and should've made more of a splash. As I mention in the episode, Hilly has dozens of unreleased songs in the vault, and you can actually hear them right here, on Hilly's YouTube channel!

Monte's Sparks: Entertainment and Art series is here: https://www.youtube.com/@montemallin2024

And Paul Barrett's MetaSparks at: https://www.youtube.com/@MetaSparks

Drop me a line at [email protected]

Coming up: We discuss that time in 1984 when Sparks showed Bad Manners!

Hilly Boy is back! Monte Mallin and I have a nice, in-depth chat with one of Sparks' most celebrated drummers, Hilly Michaels! We cover lots of ground that was left unexplored from the last time we talked, back in 2021. For thousands - if not tens of thousands - of folks of their generation, Hilly's smash hit "Calling All Girls" was the very first video they saw on the fledgling MTV! Hearing Hilly talk about his career is like reading a SparkNotes (see what I did there?) version of The Entire History of Rock n Roll from 1969 to today. Some very auspicious figures get mentioned in the Hilly Boy saga, like: Ron Wood, Michael Bolton, Rupert Holmes, Liza Minelli, and of course, the late, great Marianne Faithfull. Shake It and Dance, Goddammit!

Be sure to check out Hilly's YouTube and Bandcamp pages!

Monte's Sparks-themed YouTube channel at: Monte Mallin - YouTube 

And Paul Barrett's MetaSparks at: https://www.youtube.com/@MetaSparks

Drop me a line at [email protected]