The UK Chart wasn’t big enough for Sparks & The Rubettes 40 years ago……..Sparks may have had the “No1 Song in Heaven”, but not on Earth in 1974 or anytime thereafter!!

June 2014 is the 40th anniversary of a Los Angeles ensemble called Sparks first gracing the UK Charts and the Record Press author is ashamed to say that I was partly responsible for them not having a No1 with their first hit single “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us”……..

My first record / vinyl single was the Rubettes “Sugar Baby Love”, which kept Sparks “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us” off the No1 spot. The benefit of hindsight gives you 20:20 vision, as Hollywood Director Billy Wilder once said and if I had my time again, I would have bought his fellow L.A. citizens’ single as my first record.

Alas I can’t turn the clock back, which is somewhat ironic as two of Sparks later hits were “Beat the Clock” and “Amateur Hour”!! As an 11 year old, it was “Amateur Hour” for me as I delved into record buying for the first time. As a 51 year old, I can see the merits of the dynamic and quirky “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us” as they tower over the saccharine sweet “Sugar Baby Love”.

“This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us” was Sparks best chance of a No1 and although they continued to have Top 20 chart success in the UK for the next five years, they never came close to a No1 again. Confession aside, I was immediately drawn to Sparks when they appeared on Top of the Pops in June 1974 singing “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us”. It wasn’t so much lead singer Russell Mael’s falsetto vocals, but his brother Ron Mael on keyboards that caught my eye.

As Russell Mael cavorted around the stage like a whirling Dervish, brother Ron Mael was the polar opposite as he sat behind his organ, totally passive and placid. What made Ron Mael stand out for the 11 year old Simon Sterland was that with his slicked back hair and postage stamp moustache, he was almost a caricature; a cross between Blakey from the TV series “On The Buses” and Adolf Hitler.

Of course what really made Sparks stand out as a band was not Blakey / Adolf Hitler on keyboards, but their idiosyncratic, quirky and highly inventive music. Lest we forget how good Sparks were, here is a Top 10 Best Sparks Songs –

Top 10 Best Sparks Songs

1) This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us ( No2 1974 )

2) Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth ( No13 1974 )

3) Amateur Hour ( No7 1974 )

4) Something for the Girl with Everything ( No17 1975 )

5) Get in the Swing ( No27 1975 )

6) The Number One Song in Heaven ( No14 1979 )

7) Looks Looks Looks ( No26 1975 )

8) When I’m With You (Non hit 1980)

9) Beat the Clock” ( No10 1979 )

10) Try Outs for the Human Race ( No45 1979 )

What are your favourite Sparks songs? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

Celebrate your love of Sparks in your home or office, by ordering your favourite Sparks song in a vinyl or CD format; single, album or album cover; framed and mounted as a picture disc souvenir. You can also personalise it with an inscribed / engraved plaque…… 

ORDER NOW…….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Framed vinyl records, framed CDs and framed DVDs with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration  / special occasion ie a Wedding ( Wedding First Dance Song ), an Engagement Party ( Our Song ), a House Warming Party ( New Home ), a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th Birthday ( How about the No1 song on the day of birth? ), a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!!  THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

For further information on Sparks and other merchandise or memorabilia, go to…….. www.allsparks.com/