A biography for Russell Maelhasn’t been written yet.
“We think that we've gotten better over time editing ourselves, and when something doesn't feel right you kind of go, 'Let's put it to the side.'”
“Stamina is a huge thing when having a lengthy career like we have. Maybe it comes from the same place as having the physical and mental stamina of athletics.”
“We always say that we don't like looking back because we think it kind of paralyzes you.”
“There's no question that radio and especially television commercials were a big influence on our style. We love the idea of having only one minute to say everything you've possibly got.”
“We lived at the beach for three months every year when we were going to school. That was our whole thing.”
“Within pop music, within three-minute songs, the exciting thing is to see how you can reshape the formula and still come up with something provocative that hasn't been done.”
“There are still some people - it's hard to believe - that aren't aware yet of Sparks. So we still kind of go at what we're doing with the same spirit we had when we were first starting out: that we've got a point to prove; that we've got to do stuff that's not middle of the road pop music; and that has a voice and a stance.”
“Well, we've made 25 albums as Sparks, so at a certain point you want to find new ways to challenge yourself.”
“When you have done something that was really well received, it's a challenge to follow it up.”
“I think it's one of our strengths that we can put on blinders when it comes to our history and just focus on what's next, and what do we have to do to get the message out there that's vital for the next period.”
“We're quite traditional in that we prefer the idea that people can hear a song on the radio or television and then go out and buy it.”
“I don't drink or smoke and I look after myself.”
“Annette' came out I think the same week as 'Jungle Cruise,' and it's kind of almost working in two different mediums. They both get projected onto a screen, but I can't think of anything further apart. And there's nothing wrong with an entertainment movie - that's fine, too.”
“We're always working.”
“We always wanted to have a movie musical be made and be seen by a lot of people.”
“Well, it was a dream of ours to come to the U.K. in the 70s and be given a record deal with Island Records, as we were huge Anglophiles.”
“We loved the Beach Boys, bands like that, but our originality came out of our lack of ability as copiers. They did mostly complicated, hard stuff.”
“Ron doesn't write with me in mind, yet he knows that my singing will always work with whatever he chooses to write.”
“Being overtly political just seems, for us, too easy of a target to be doing. We like to channel our creativity in a way that's more through a spirit, and a sensibility, that runs through all of Sparks' albums.”
“We don't ever consider there's any sort of limitations to how we present what we're doing. That keeps things fluid and interesting, where it can be unexpected - but it would also be normal for Sparks to do something unexpected.”