EP REVIEW – SPARKS: MADDER!

The biggest constant throughout over half a century of Sparks has been their willingness to try something new. In the case of ‘MADDER!’, it is one of their least revolutionary acts, merely their first ever EP, and acts as a companion piece to ‘MAD!’ which achieved their highest ever UK album chart position. What is […]
David Bowie’s 1972 appearance on Top of the Pops with ‘Starman’ is usually cited as the ultimate transformative performance on the show. As someone who was a couple of years too young for Bowie, Sparks’ debut with ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us’ seemed similarly iconic. Whilst the seven-year-old me might not […]

LIVE REVIEW – SPARKS: MANCHESTER APOLLO – 22/06/2025

BIT OF A CHAT: RUSSELL MAEL OF SPARKS

Some questions are easy to answer, some not so, but some are so easy to answer they are referred to as a no brainer, and this was the case when I was asked if I’d be interested in talking to Russell Mael, one half the sibling duo Sparks ahead of their first album in eight […]
With their new studio album Hippopotamus due Friday 8th September 2017, Sparks release ‘Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me)’, the new single from this highly anticipated record. Hippopotamus tracklisting: 1. Probably Nothing 2. Missionary Position 3. Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me) 4. Scandinavian Design 5. Giddy Giddy 6. What The Hell Is […]

SPARKS RELEASE NEW SINGLE ‘EDITH PIAF (SAID IT BETTER THAN ME)’ AHEAD OF NEW ALBUM & TOUR IN SEPTEMBER

LIVE: FFS – 25/08/2015

– THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – Musical collaborations are often viewed with scepticism and fraught with the apprehension that it’s the band that are getting more out of the project than the audience. The overall feeling is that something isn’t quite right and the sooner things return to normal the better. FFS must have had […]
Having released his debut album Ripe earlier this year SLUG – AKA Sunderland’s Ian Black, has plotted a brand new set of dates across the coming months. Coming up are appearances at UK festivals and a Manchester date supporting FFS and then on to a headline tour in October SLUG LIVE DATES 08 Aug – […]

SLUG ANNOUNCES FULL UK TOUR AND COVERS KATE BUSH’S ‘BIG SKY’

TICKET GIVEAWAY: FRANZ FERDINAND AND SPARKS SUPERGROUP ANNOUNCE MANCHESTER GIG

New supergroup FFS, comprised of members of Franz Ferdinand and Sparks, will play in Manchester on August 25. The two bands’ new side project will play at the Albert Hall (25th August), following gigs in Glasgow and London in June. Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks, and Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy and Paul Thomson […]