Longevity is clearly a Sparks forté. During their four-decade career the Maels have been both leftfield chart-toppers and avant-pop outsiders. But even in the lean years they attracted critical acclaim and famous fans, from Andy Warhol to Beck, Björk and the Pet Shop Boys. Erasure and Justin Hawkins, formerly of the Darkness, have covered their songs. More recently, Franz Ferdinand suggested collaborating.
Not forgetting Morrissey, of course, a longtime champion of Sparks who used to pop over when he lived in LA. “Our only disappointment was that he didn’t draw up in a horse and carriage,” Russell sighs. “It was a Jaguar XKE.”
“I’m sure his horse and carriage was just being reshod,” Ron dead-pans. “It was in the blacksmith’s that day.”
Morrissey invited Sparks to join his Meltdown festival lineup in 2004. Now the Maels have belatedly repaid the compliment, in a backhanded way, with a song called Lighten Up, Morrissey on their shiny and sardonic new album, Exotic Creatures of the Deep. Despite its arch title, the song is really a plea for a potential girlfriend to cool her obsession with pop’s most famous celibate vegetarian.
“We gave it to Morrissey about two weeks ago and he’s in love with it,” says Russell. “We wanted him to hear it before it got out there.”
“It could have gone either way!” laughs Ron. “There is some humour in telling Morrissey to lighten up, but I would hate it if he ever did, because then he wouldn’t be Morrissey. He would just be . . . one of us.”
