Saw the film this evening at the nearest available theatre playing it. It was at a multiplex at Del Monte Center in Monterey. I was the ONLY person there for the film. A great experience; I was able to sing out loud along to the handful of tracks with which I was familiar. Was always a casual fan but the film definitely makes you thirsty for more. Highly enjoyable and will certainly buy it when it comes out for home release (whatever format that will be). So much great footage.

This was also featured on Macconie's show this morning.

I didn't catch the beginning but Macconie was positive about the song and quipped that Bernard didn't sound like he'd drunk two bottles of Pernod before the performance (presumably referring to some comment made before the song was played, which I missed; maybe referring to Mr Sumner's legendary 'performance' at the 1981 festival).

Thanks. That makes sense.

I bloody love that Glasto 1981 footage that was on the Glasgow DVD.
I remember reading about Bernard's excesses in (possibly) Mark Johnson's book back in the 80s. It was great to actually see Bernard playing guitar on the floor! Fab stuff!
The behind-the-scenes stuff is also wonderful. A moment in time from the early days of the festival.

I wonder if there's any more footage of the gig/event in the New Order Archives. Or, is the only footage what was included on the Glasgow extras?
Perhaps Johnny James would know?

Ffs https://www.nme.com/feat...ases-tony-wilson-2997590

^ Yes those of us who signed up were meant to get an email notification last Thursday. Only 100 T-shirts made, hand-numbered.
So you get the email then try to order one before they're gone, like buying tickets to a gig from Ticketshafter or something.
But the guy who runs the operation lost his dad last week so it all got delayed. I think until tomorrow.

Steve's blurb said:

'When it comes to fashion I have to confess I am what you might call sartorially challenged. Beyond jeans and a T shirt I am clueless.
I do love a good T shirt though, the quirkier the better - in fact I am an avid collector of the things.
Imagine my surprise and delight then, when I was asked by 1 of 100 if I would like to collaborate on a shirt design. I eagerly replied “of course, how hard could it be? I’ve been wearing T shirts for over 60 years so I must have picked up something".
Being a techno nerd at heart-I took my inspiration from 80’s Macintosh graphics specifically an interactive composition program called M and with the help of the very talented Warren Jackson came up with this……I quite like it and I hope you do too'

Stephen Morris

Though I had to work this morning, I stayed up until the 8am sale time (midnight here in California). I got t-shirt #28.

Band T-Shirt Etiquette:

GlobalNews.ca

Have recently watched this. As someone who owns 0 Sparks albums, the running time of 2hr 21min was perhaps a little long for me, but Edgar Wright (who I always have time for) clearly made this as a labour of love, and I came away from it thinking: imagine if every band had this work ethic; 25 studio albums and 49 singles to their name. So far.

I had an "Oh, I remember that" moment with When Do I Get To Sing My Way?, an "Oh I like this" moment with Dick Around and I really liked the live version of No1 Song In Heaven over the closing credits.
It seems their Franz Ferdinand collab album FFS re-invigorated them, so maybe the subsequent Hippopotamus album would be a good place to start(?). I wonder if Sparks fans can agree on their Top 5 or Top 10 best albums?

During the early days it was mentioned that they played a gig at London's Marquee (RIP), and the music press advert showed one of the support bands on the night as Queen, although their name wasn't spoken in the film. So I had a google, and yes apparently it was that Queen:

I actually caught Sparks live as part of the "all-the-albums" 21-night run in London back in 2008; the only time I've seen them live. Most of the gigs were at the Islington Academy (final night at Shepherds Bush Empire). I think I saw them doing the Propaganda album. I remember at the time thinking: they know all the songs from all the albums and are going to play all of them live over 21 nights? Watching the film you realise: oh it was a nightmare to rehearse them all! Well I hope it was worth it. Their manager described the project as a triumph. The night I went, the venue was barely half full. I've seen Hook & The Light play the same venue and it was packed out, though admittedly he might not manage 20 nights in a row.

I wold defo see them again if it could be a sort of hits/big songs gig. But they don't seem too keen on doing things like that.

Anyway it seems tomorrow is the official cinema release day in the UK (and I guess other European territories?), as per Steve's tweet below. I believe it's already on streaming services in the US (hence how I managed to watch it). And this is the photo mentioned above from the closing credits.

That live version:

Sparks were pretty big in UK around the late 70s/early 80s. Or at least that was the era when they had their big chart hits here. I do remember they and their videos were quite a regular fixture on Top Of The Pops around that time. Always liked stuff like Beat The Clock, Number One Song In Heaven and probably quite a few more I can’t remember the titles of but would instantly recognise them as Sparks if I heard them. But I never bought a single one of their records. They were just one of those bands I liked but never bought.

In a nightclub in Blackpool one night in the early 90s I saw a guy who was a dead ringer for Ron Mael. He was the spitting image with the moustache and weird glare. Maybe it was actually Ron himself?…

Martin Gore did a fairly faithful cover of Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth on his first EP. I remember hearing it at the time and thinking "this isn't the Sparks I know..."

The film really celebrates the depth of their catalogue and achievements. It is quite long but it's all essential and I appreciate that it covers all phases of their career. I've watched it a second time on Amazon and would purchase a physical copy if more content was added.

It's probably impossible to make a definitive list of the 100 Greatest Music Videos of all time. But all of us here probably agree that The Perfect Kiss belongs in the top 5:

RollingStone.com

Top 5?
Number One, no doubt!



And I’m not joking. The video, and song, is perfect in name and perfect in nature.

The band are coolness personified. Gillian especially.