SPARKS ANNOUNCE BIGGEST NORTH AMERICAN HEADLINE TOUR IN THEIR MORE THAN 50-YEAR HISTORY
THE GIRL CRYING IN HER LATTE ARRIVES MAY 26 VIA ISLAND RECORDS
Sparks have announced a major world tour that will see the band playing some of the biggest venues in their more than 50-year history. North American dates get underway Tuesday, June 27 at New York City’s Beacon Theatre and then continue through a massive hometown finale in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday, July 16 (venue to be announced soon). Sparks Fan Club presales begin Tuesday, January 31 at 10:00 am (local); Maeling List presales follow on Wednesday, February 1 at 10:00 am (local). General on-sales begin Friday, February 3 at 10:00 am (local). For complete details and ticket information, please see allsparks.com/#tour.
“We are thrilled to be back on tour again and to be able to share our joy with so many Sparks fans around the world,” say Sparks. “See you all soon! It’s a Sparks show, a Sparks show, a Sparks show tonight!”
Sparks Tour 2023 – which includes a pair of sold-out headline shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall on May 29 and 30 – celebrates the imminent arrival of Sparks’ 26th studio album, The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte, due Friday, May 26 via Island Records – their first release on the venerable label in close to five decades. Described by brothers Ron and Russell Mael as a record that is “as bold and uncompromising as anything we did back then, or for that matter, anytime throughout our career,” the new album follows such classic Sparks releases on Island as 1974’s landmark Kimono My House, highlighted of course by the indelible hit single, “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us.” Complete details and pre-order information for The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte will be announced soon.
Levels of interest in the work of Sparks are at heights unsurpassed in their more than fifty-year career, with the ultimate cult band now centerstage in the full beam of the spotlight
Most people, with even a passing acquaintance with Sparks, will know the basics by now. How Californian brothers Ron and Russell Mael, both students at UCLA, began making music together in the late Sixties, originally under the name Halfnelson. How their Top Of The Pops debut with “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us” stunned a generation and nearly scored them a UK #1. How their career moved through many phases, including (but not limited to) art rock, glam, big band swing, electro-disco, new wave and synthpop, taking in collaborations with Todd Rundgren, Les Rita Mitsouko, Tony Visconti, Franz Ferdinand and Giorgio Moroder.
How keyboardist and songwriter Ron’s intricate staccato arrangements combine with the acrobatic vocals in which Russell delivers his brother’s always-on-point lyrics. How Ron’s stillness and stern, intimidating visage contrasts onstage with Russell’s hyperactivity. How their popularity has spiked unpredictably in different territories at different times: Britain, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Japan, and their homeland the United States. And how the influence of “the greatest band you’ve never heard of,” or “your favorite band’s favorite band,” has been recognized by successive generations of artists from Joy Division to Duran Duran to Depeche Mode to Bjork to Beck to The Darkness and beyond. Their influence on music cannot be overstated – as super-producer Jack Antonoff recently declared, “All pop music is re-arranged Sparks.”
Now into their sixth decade of making music, Sparks have never been more relevant, with studio albums Hippopotamus (2017) and A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip (2020) both reaching #7 on the UK Official Albums Chart amidst global acclaim. Released in 2021, the lauded career-spanning documentary film The Sparks Brothers, directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, Baby Driver), brought an awareness of Sparks to parts they previously hadn’t reached.
Sparks’ 2021 film musical Annette, directed by Leos Carax and starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, has been showered with awards, especially in France where the film won three Lumières Awards and five César Awards, including “Best Original Music” for Ron and Russell. In addition, the film’s “So May We Start” was shortlisted for “Best Original Song” at the 94th Academy Awards. Focus Features have recently announced plans to develop X-Crucior, a new musical epic written by Ron and Russell.
Tour Dates
MAY
23 – Oxford, UK – New Theatre
24 – Liverpool, UK – Philharmonic Hall
26 – Glasgow, UK – Clyde Auditorium
27 – Manchester, UK – Bridgewater Hall
29 – London, UK – Royal Albert Hall (SOLD OUT)
30 – London, UK – Royal Albert Hall (SOLD OUT)
JUNE
2 – Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Sound Barcelona *
8 – Madrid, Spain – Primavera Sound Madrid *
10 – Porto, Portugal – Primavera Sound Porto *
13 – Paris, France – Le Grand Rex
14 – Utrecht, Netherlands – Grote Zaal
16 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Store Vega
18 – Berlin, Germany – Tempodrom
20 – Brussels, Belgium – Cirque Royal
27 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre
28 – Philadelphia, PA – Keswick Theatre
30 – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre
JULY
1 – Boston, MA – The Wilbur Theatre
3 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
5 – Chicago, IL – Copernicus Center
6 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater
8 – Kansas City, MO – Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland
9 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater
12 – Dallas, TX – Texas Theatre
13 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theatre
16 – Los Angeles, CA – Venue TBA
24 – Osaka, Japan – Namba Hatch
25 – Tokyo, Japan – Line Cube Shibuya
* Festival Appearance
Artist Links
Main Photo Credit: Munachi Osegbu | Background Photo Credit: Anna Webber
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