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The Sparks
Sparks is an American pop music, pop and rock music, rock duo formed by brothers Ron Mael, Ron (keyboards) and Russell Mael (vocals) in Los Angeles. The duo is noted for their quirky approach to songwriting; their music is often accompanied by sophisticated and wikt:acerbic, acerbic lyrics—often about women, and sometimes containing literary or cinematic references—and an idiosyncratic, theatrical stage presence, typified by the contrast between Russell's animated, hyperactive frontman antics and Ron's deadpan scowling. Russell Mael has a distinctive wide-ranging voice, while Ron Mael plays keyboards in an intricate and rhythmic style. Their frequently changing styles and visual presentations have kept the band at the forefront of modern, artful pop music. Career highlights include "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1974; the disco hit "The Number One Song in Heaven" in 1979, resulting from a collaboration with Giorgio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russell Mael
Russell Craig Mael (born October 5, 1948) is an American singer best known as the lead singer for the band Sparks (band), Sparks, which he formed in 1971 with his elder brother Ron Mael. Mael is known for his wide vocal range, in particular his far-reaching falsetto. He has a flamboyant and hyperactive stage presence which contrasts sharply with Ron Mael's impassive demeanour. The band released an album with British rock band Franz Ferdinand (band), Franz Ferdinand, as the supergroup FFS (band), FFS, titled ''FFS (album), FFS'', released in 2015. The Mael brothers are the founders of Lil' Beethoven Records. Early life Russell Craig Mael was born on October 5, 1948, in Los Angeles, California. The Mael brothers grew up in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades – a relatively affluent beach neighborhood of Los Angeles – with their father Meyer, who was a graphic designer and caricaturist for the ''Hollywood Citizen-News'', and their mother, Miriam (''née'' Moskowit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ron Mael
Ronald David Mael (born August 12, 1945) is an American musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is the keyboard player and principal songwriter in the band Sparks (band), Sparks, which he founded with vocalist, occasional songwriter and younger brother Russell Mael in 1971. Mael is known for his quirky and idiosyncratic approach to songwriting, his intricate and rhythmic keyboard playing style and for his deadpan and low key, scowling demeanour onstage often remaining motionless over his keyboard in sharp contrast to Russell's animated and hyperactive frontman antics. Ron Mael is also noted for his conservative clothes and distinctive moustache. The Mael brothers are the founders of Lil' Beethoven Records. Early life Ronald David Mael was born on August 12, 1945, in Culver City, California. The Mael brothers grew up in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades – an affluent beach neighbourhood of Los Angeles – with their father, Meyer Mael, who was a gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage. It is the venue for the BBC Proms concerts, which have been held there every summer since 1941. It is host to more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment, sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium spaces. Over its 153-year history, the hall has hosted people from various fields, including meetings held by suffragettes, speeches from Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, and Albert Einstein, fights by Lennox Lewis, exhibition bouts by Muhammad Ali, and concerts from regular performer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman "Dinky" Diamond
Norman Victor "Dinky" Diamond (15 December 1950 – 10 September 2004) was a British drummer who played with the rock band Sparks at the height of their fame in the UK in the early 1970s, playing on the albums '' Kimono My House'' (1974), ''Propaganda'' (1974) and '' Indiscreet'' (1975). In 1975 Diamond was voted Drummer of the Year in a poll held by Premier Drums. He committed suicide by hanging in 2004 after a long-running dispute with noisy neighbours. Early years Born in Aldershot in Hampshire, the son of Isabella (née Copland) and Albert Victor Diamond, Norman Diamond gained the nickname "Dinky" as a child because of his small stature. He had three sisters, Maureen, Daphne and Margaret and a brother, David and attended St. Michael's Church of England Secondary School in Aldershot. A self-taught drummer, Diamond played in a variety of local bands including Sound of Time in his native town while working in electrical distribution. Sparks 1973-1975 Founding members of S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sal Maida
Salvatore Maida (July 29, 1948 – February 1, 2025) was an American bass guitarist. Raised in Little Italy, New York City, he moved to London after completing college, where he played with Roxy Music, Milk 'N' Cookies, Sparks, Cherie Currie, Cracker, the Brandos, and a Lovin' Spoonful tribute band. He also authored the 2014 memoir ''Four Strings, Phony Proof, and 300 45s'' and co-authored the 2023 book ''The White Label Promo Preservation Society Vol 2: More Flop Albums You Ought to Know''. Life and career Maida was born in New York on July 29, 1948. He was raised in Little Italy and started playing in the local band The Ouija before joining The Five Toes. He graduated from Fordham University with a BA in economics. After Fordham, he traveled to London. He found a job there working in a record store. While working at the record store in London, he met Paul Thompson, the drummer of Roxy Music. He went on to join the band on their 1973 Stranded Tour. His contract with the ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Mankey
James Andrew Mankey (born May 23, 1952 in Washington) is an American rock guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ..., most widely known as the co-founder and longtime guitarist of the band Concrete Blonde. Mankey was also the bassist with the band Sparks for their first two albums. He is the brother of musician and record producer Earle Mankey. In 2003, Mankey released ''J.A.M.'', a solo instrumental album. References External linksOfficial Concrete Blonde website 1952 births Living people American rock guitarists Sparks (band) members Concrete Blonde members {{US-guitarist-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earle Mankey
Earle Mankey (sometimes misspelled "Earl" in credits) (born March 8, 1947, in Washington, United States) is an American musician, record producer and audio engineer. He was a founding member and guitarist for the band Halfnelson, later called Sparks. He became a record producer, predominantly for Los Angeles area bands like The Pop, 20/20, The Runaways, Concrete Blonde, Jumpin' Jimes, The Long Ryders, The Three O'Clock, The Tearaways, The Conditionz, Adicts, Durango 95, Leslie Pereira and The Lazy Heroes, and Kristian Hoffman. He is the brother of Concrete Blonde guitarist James Mankey. Mankey's route into studio work began formally with the demo recordings he engineered for Halfnelson. Using two stereo reel-to-reel tape recorders (a Sony quarter-inch and a Panasonic quarter-inch) he painstakingly built up the tracks by recording onto the first recorder and then playing the results back into the second recorder along with a simultaneous performance either by himself on gui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FFS (band)
FFS (an abbreviation of Franz Ferdinand and Sparks) was a Supergroup (music), supergroup formed by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand (band), Franz Ferdinand and American art rock band Sparks (band), Sparks. Their formation was announced on 9 March 2015, but the two bands had been recording since at least the mid-2000s. The group's FFS (album), eponymous debut studio album was recorded in late 2014 and released through the Domino Recording Company in the UK on 8 June and in the US on 9 June 2015. History Pre-formation (2004) Franz Ferdinand (band), Franz Ferdinand and Sparks (band), Sparks originally began working on music together in 2004, shortly after the release of Franz Ferdinand's Franz Ferdinand (album), eponymous debut studio album, when it was discovered that the two bands were fans of each other. They had sent each other a few demos, one of which was "Piss Off", the twelfth track on ''FFS'', but the two bands were busy with other activities and they were not able ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transgressive Records
Transgressive Records is an independent record label based in London, founded in 2004. Its founders, Tim Dellow and Toby L, first met at a Bloc Party gig organised by Toby's Rockfeedback website. The label's debut release was "1am" by the Subways in September 2004, quickly followed by singles from Mystery Jets, the Young Knives and Regina Spektor. Artists on its current roster include Flume, Sophie, Arlo Parks, Alvvays, Julia Jacklin and Damon Albarn. The company also formed Transgressive Management, representing Johnny Flynn, Marika Hackman, Let's Eat Grandma and Wesley Joseph, alongside Transgressive Publishing, working with Black Country, New Road, Foals, Loyle Carner and more. In 2021, Transgressive released Arlo Parks debut album, Collapsed in Sunbeams, which was awarded the Mercury Prize. Artists Transgressive Records * Alvvays * The Antlers * Arlo Parks * Beverly Glenn-Copeland *Damon Albarn * Dave Okumu * Flume * Foals * Johnny Flynn * The Joy * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domino Recording Company
Domino Recording Company, or simply Domino, is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Domino Deutschland and a French division called Domino France. In addition, Stephen Pastel presides over the subsidiary label Geographic Music, which releases more 'unusual' music from Britain and outside of the Western world. In 2011, the company announced that it was beginning a book publishing division, The Domino Press. History Founded in 1993 by Laurence Bell and Jacqui Rice, the label's first release was the Sebadoh EP '' Rocking the Forest'', licensed from Sub Pop records for release in the UK. Many of the early releases were by American artists who in the US were signed to Drag City ( Smog, Will Oldham, Royal Trux), a relationship which continues to this day. Success was not immediate, as labels such as Domino, who were rel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as one of the most powerful independent metal labels of the 1980s and 1990s, it would eventually become a massive host of metal acts; most seen in ''Roadrunner United'' and the following live concert. Since then, the label had continued to put out major releases. However, by the 2020s, most major acts had left the label; it was also acquired by Warner, being relegated to something much smaller than before. History The label was launched in 1980 in the Netherlands. Roadrunner's initial business was importing North American metal-band recordings into Europe. In 1986, Roadrunner opened its US headquarters in New York City and later opened offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Denmark, Russia and Canada. Early success ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic Records. The label has released multiple genres of music, including pop music, pop, classical music, classical, rock music, rock, hip hop, afrobeat, electronic music, electronic, Contemporary R&B, R&B, blues, jazz, and country music, country. The label's name is derived from the initials of its now defunct parent company, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). After the RCA Corporation was purchased by General Electric in 1986, RCA Records was fully acquired by Bertelsmann in 1987, making it a part of Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG); following the merger of BMG and Sony in 2004, RCA Records became a label of Sony BMG Music Entertainment. In 2008, after the dissolution of Sony/BMG and the restructuring of Sony Music, RCA Records became fully ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
