the idea we only like the music of our childhood because it was our childhood is silly, because what about all the great music of before we were born 60s/70s etc?
Whenever I hear this song it reminds me what contemporary music should be all about - original,fearless,totally over the top. No band ever did it better than Sparks. The contrast between manic Russell and deadpan Ron was a classic masterstroke. Unfortunately,this type of genius just emphasises the anonymity and mediocrity of the dross served up by the record companies today. Sparks ARE still producing material,but sales are low. I saw Ron interviewed on a chat show some years ago - he was great!
We worked with sparks Cleethopes winter gardens 1975. R.A.M disco ruled in those magic days. First time i'd ever seen fella with a handbag. What a eye opener from the begining to the end of the night . awsome.
@valeymac Same here. First time I saw them was on a TV show that featured mostly top-40. Sparks played this song, I believe. And when they had finished all I could think was: What the hell did I just see? Wasn't even sure they were a real band. I was about 14 at the time.
Heh, the facial expressions on this audience look very much those on the faces of people I might have tried to interest in this band in 1974: a general incomprehension, followed by a flicker of fear and disgust...
Another edition of this tv programme also had Horslips on playing an instrumental from The Tain. Despite the non reaction from the audience this song had a massive impact when it was released, even in Germany.
You cannot imagine how unusual this track was unless you were there at the time. It was truly strange - just look at the faces in that audience - and I LOVED it! Can you believe they were held off the #1 spot by the Rubettes' 'Sugar Baby Love'? A travesty!
@susiecam Agreed, Sparks came at you in a really off-kilter sort of way. People did not expect Russel's high-pitch falsetto and hyper-kinetic stage presence, nor his brother's dead-pan antics behind the keyboard. Looks like the audience is a disco crowd, and they just don't get it.
You're as much spoon-fed as your victims, whore. Funnily enough I figured at your age you would be more appreciative of any music-type over the years but you come across as a 12 year old with no actual sense-value of what REAL music is and only try to latch on to the sentimentality of your own disco-boppin' days. A lot of music now is the same as it has been this past 90 years or so. Pull ya thumb out Click.
@LianneTheGreb ... If it wasn't for the 'rubbish' my generation created, as you so ignorantly put it, the absolute shite your generation have to listen to these days wouldn't exist.
@LianneTheGreb It's so clear what you were saying. Ignore turd wankers like Chelmerfella who react before fully understanding, or in this case, with a lack of ability to read.
@Chelmerfella Suggest you re-read Lianne's post - she was referring to the rubbish her generation produces (she's 15). An apology would be in order here.....
@LianneTheGreb Thank you for: the sorry. We are all the same , you just have to kept trying and Not listen to the shit you are given by big business!!
@LianneTheGreb There's always one of you. And unless fifteen year olds have taken control of the music industry, your generation is not responsible for the current downfall of music. Think about it.
@rcwells27 I don't see your point to be honest, if it was meant as an offence, then I wasn't offended, and if it was intended to inform me about what I said, then, have you heard Rebecca Black, the 15 year old singer? oh wait yeah.. that would be my generation.
@LianneTheGreb Pardon me if I was being defensive but the point is that while Rebecca Black may sound like fucking clown shoes, she and the rest of her talent less pubescent co horts aren't responsible for the current fall of quality in Pop Music. No the blame is on the profit hungry record execs and the people at the top of the food chain in the Industry who make the decisions and pull the strings. The 15 year olds? Pawns.
@rcwells27 caw blimey, it was only meant as a joke -.- Why is everyone so defensive these days, I am sorry for causing any confusion or anger you may have experienced, i'm quite aware that it's not just my generation that has caused the sudden downfall in music, but that comment of mine for all I know could have made someone's day, and tbh, that's all I care about ^^
it's not rubbish. it's just most of the people who listen to this stuff remember it because they had nothing else to listen to. and as for the people who weren't in clubs then and pretend to appreciate 'music'. i think you will find a lot of them are unhappy, brooding people with nothing better to do than be sentimental when they, themselves have no clue about what the music was like back then except for a write up on Wikipedia.
@Mohrkai I'm kind of confused, but, I'm not saying that this music is rubbish, if I found it rubbish I wouldn't youtube it and write a comment saying it was rubbish :L, I was merely saying the stuff people listen to these days seem to suck, most of them don't even use instruments ¬¬ but yeah, I like this song, and this music, it makes me happy :L
ok, it wasn't about this song.. but it was about you comparing older music to more recent, saying that the most recent being rubbish and well.. i don't agree with that for the reasons stated in previous comments. I wasn't jumping down your throat young lass, I was merely expressing an observation that older music isn't greater because it's a nostalgic thing. 'oh man, i remember when we used to go down to the clubs and have a drink and a laugh'
but then they forget that to go out and party was/is halted at our own choices we make in life... normally one can say music was much better in my teens/late-teens and that is because at that time you as a person felt better about yourself and had no worries but as people get older we all start to worry too much about things and life gives us a better understanding of what we are listening to and unless it makes us feel how we did when we were younger then its crap
There are those who listen to sound and the sound of vocals mixed together, there are those who listen to the sound and try to relate it to something, there are those who listen to the vocals, trying to relate it to something in their own lives and there are those who seek original ideas.
hard beat - power
heavy guitar - power
vocals - love/power/loss/tragedy/bliss
strings -bliss, many in tears trying to understand
wow, i got the first two albums from when i was 10. just hearing it again for the first time in ages. if i remember right amatuer hour is the next track on the album. i'm going to find it now.
except i dont have a record player....oops. sparks still rule
The audience is all on mogadon. Except for one guy at about 1:06 in. The blond balding one with glasses and suit. He actually seems to get into it at one point, some body movement there.
Seriously though it's like they all turned up expecting to hear Frank Sinatra and instead got the Sparks.
This particular show, "Disco", which was on German TV, had dull audiences. sad but a fact. Check out the pub rock/ protopunk classic "Do Anything You Want To Do" by Eddie and the Hot Rods from "Disco', a full 3 years later in 1977. It's on here posted by someone named Fritz***. You can't blame that band's appearance for rendering the audience zombies. In England or America the sexy lead singer would, at least, have had the women visibly interested in what was going on. .
Making fun of Sparks misses the point:Ron was referencing Silent Comedy, specifically the adversaries of Chaplin, Keaton and Harold Lloyd, who often looked like this. Ron never spoke on stage. He never even opened his mouth. Like a silent film comedian he communicated with his expressions. Hitler was a frothing at the mouth, madly gesticulating loon..: Sparks weren't GLAM. Russ didn't wear a speck of make up, and the songs are aggressively heterosexual. This audience IS dull. .. see next post
Making fun of Sparks misses the point:Ron was referencing Silent Comedy, specifically the adversaries of Chaplin, Keaton and Harold Lloyd, who often looked like this. Ron never spoke on stage. He never even opened his mouth. Like a silent film comedian he communicated with his expressions. Hitler was a frothing at the mouth, madly gesticulating loon..: Sparks weren't GLAM. Russ didn't wear a speck of make up, and the songs are aggressively heterosexual. This audience IS dull. .. see next post
Making fun of the audience misses an important point: The band was so campy and weird that even fans would have been unsure of how to behave. I mean, glam rock tunes with Tin Pan Alley lyrics brought to you by a piano-playing Hitler-lookalike and his androgynous sister...er, brother. This was not a band to bring people together and inspire a throbbing, pogo-dancing mass. You were never sure if the whole thing wasn´t a big joke. A catchy one, though.
People are commenting on the audience reaction.This was in the days before Facebook, self obsession and 'it's all about me' mentality.The audience actually listened to the music. Probably told to sit quietly by the producers and in those days people actually did what they were asked, not just what they felt was right, regardless of others.
Yes, the music is prerecorded, and the band is miming:standard procedure in 1974. But, regardless, this song is blasting out of the sound system. 3 takes would make them this dead? I've heard it 100 times and I am rocking as I write this.
I think the German audience are just tired from doing a day's work. The British were full of energy after standing outside their factories all day doing nothing apart from the occasional placard wave, shout and warm their hands on a burning oil drum.
I deffo recall that when they did this on TOTP the audience was bopping along as usual. All these Geman Disco shows I see on here have an audience that seem to be oblivious to what is going on around them. Very odd.
@lewisner It sounds like you're saying this song blew all the others way with it's shitness :D But I assume, that since you're in the top comments, you meant that this song was a gem in a pile of manure.
@lewisner I'd agree with that. I'm no expert on songs from 1974 but this song is brilliant and it is not difficult at all to understand why this song would topple all songs of that year, no matter what they were.
@QullVideo It was one of the first songs that was played on a synth but also had a hard edged rock element to it. "Dreamer" by Supertramp was a similar song.
In defense of German audiences and Sparks. Check out "Something For The Girl With With Everything (in the studio + live)" here. But, still there's something very odd. The moms and dads placed down in front are chatting amongst themselves, some with their backs to the band, as though they were listening to an oom pah band. And how could they even hear each other, with the band blasting away a few feet in front of them ?In any event, none seem to have any Hitler Problem here. All applaud nicely
Re:My Earlier Comment. I had no idea this was a German audience, thought it came from British TV. The Hitler excuse doesn't convince. The Girl and guy behind the guitarist are smiling and laughing, and so are others. Mom and dad at 2:25 are staring at Russell, not Ron, the guy in blue sitting below the bassist and closest to Russell looks as though he's unhappily waiting for a bus (and he can't see Ron so he can't be thinking of Hitler). I have no anti German bias, but this audience is DEAD.
I dunno -- this song terrifies me & leaves me frozen in my tracks until I can manage to shake it off 3/4s or so into it! Makes a good two-fer with Madness' "Cardiac Arrest" BTW... - 1b2s - 1b2s
@Jaymundo i guess you mean the woman with blonde hair in red, the person in red at the front looks more like a bloke! don't you think the paul weller lookalike on guitar is bored shitless?
Gotta be the dullest audience I have ever seen. Never mind dancing, no one was even tapping a foot. We really did need Punk to get the audience up on their feet again. Is it me, or do they seem more interested in the camera than in the music? Brilliant rocking song, played to a pack of dullards.
@Themanwhocameback2 That's probably because the audience are German and Adolf Hitler is on keyboards!!! Agreed though, totally brilliant song and the crowd barely look like they're alive! We're lucky though that German TV kept so many of their pop shows because the BBC and ITV have wiped so many of the gems they once had.
@Themanwhocameback2 this programme was mainly made for easy pop music and German Schlager-music. I think the audience was simply overstrained by the kind of music the Sparks played at that particular time. And perhaps they were indeed a bit irritated by Ron Mael's look....thinking some bogey man from the past sits there playing the electric piano.... ;)
@MUPJC "Bogey man from the past"? Do you mean Adolf Hitler? It's perfectly acceptable to say his name. Bogeyman is too nice of a term to use when describing Hitler. Satan would have been better. Or Evil monster. As a matter of fact, if you look up the word "evil" on wikipedia, there's a picture of Hitler right there on the entry page! Very fitting.
@wellesradio No, my simple friend. Don't you see the words "Brilliant, rocking song"? No, we needed Punk which told its audience to get up and move - Pogo, Scream, Yell!
What was the pre-eminent German group of the time? Nektar? Hardly the kind of music that this was.
@Themanwhocameback2 Yeah, I did see that. The first part of your comment just didn't match up with the second. Believe me, if this music couldn't get the audience dancing, then a good punk band couldn't do it either. Then again, you may have a point in that a lot of the early punk bands didn't really rock as hard as much as they simply antagonized the audience. In which case these Krauts wouldn't be dancing but throwing shit at the stage.
Bloody brilliant!
lluhsnimnyrhtak 10 minutes ago
it's annoying when you see loads of people replying to one comment but you can't see that original comment, yes im talking about you @LianneTheGreb
theoneandonlytony 2 days ago
nice song, but Hitler should have stayed in his bunker.
uil024 2 days ago
Yeah, there's a real rave up going on in the mosh pit. :) Genius record of course...
departments2006 2 days ago
2:26 audience can't contain themselves
Kydos37 2 days ago 2
I love his flowing white pants and white shoes too much.
hiinadequate 3 days ago
the idea we only like the music of our childhood because it was our childhood is silly, because what about all the great music of before we were born 60s/70s etc?
Todays music is shit and thats objective
chewymatty1 3 days ago
Love it
missfluffykitten1 4 days ago
Whenever I hear this song it reminds me what contemporary music should be all about - original,fearless,totally over the top. No band ever did it better than Sparks. The contrast between manic Russell and deadpan Ron was a classic masterstroke. Unfortunately,this type of genius just emphasises the anonymity and mediocrity of the dross served up by the record companies today. Sparks ARE still producing material,but sales are low. I saw Ron interviewed on a chat show some years ago - he was great!
purplepelican69 1 week ago
i was 7 when this came out. Ron would scare the shit out of me.... Fantastic song though
andrewhebron 1 week ago
I always loved this - not much has come close in 37 years!
BaggerTheVance 1 week ago
this is amazing what a great band
Gusdocs1 1 week ago
Got shown this song in my appreciation of music class at college :) I may listen to mostly metal, but damn, 70's glam has my respect.
ShigglySixPounder 1 week ago
Im only 16 as this music has left the biggest impact on me ever!! What the FUCK happened to music?!
SuperMario7Star 1 week ago
@SuperMario7Star South Central happened to music, that's what.
fjh1616 1 week ago
this is everlasting pop jewel,thank you sparks!
Myro45 1 week ago
GENIUS in every possible way
JimOfShatner 1 week ago
Do you think that if the audience tried a little harder, that they could possibly look even more bored?
A GREAT song ..... wasted on a bunch of RETARDS!
93jonesyjones 2 weeks ago
We worked with sparks Cleethopes winter gardens 1975. R.A.M disco ruled in those magic days. First time i'd ever seen fella with a handbag. What a eye opener from the begining to the end of the night . awsome.
meffylad 2 weeks ago
I love it!
bobdavidwright 2 weeks ago
Good old Hitler.
PilesDriver 2 weeks ago
one of the best songs ever !!!
Uwirubi 2 weeks ago
WHAT CAN YOU SAY? JUST LOVE THIS CLASSIC!
hotchipco1 2 weeks ago in playlist GUILTY PLEASURES
As twenty cannibals have hold of you, they need their protein just like you do
paulbesterberg 2 weeks ago 2
The Mael bros were way ahead of their time. You can see most of the audience looking at them,thinking "WTF is going on here !!!" ha ha.
jonnylag 3 weeks ago
im responsible for 20% of the views
quiveringliverful 3 weeks ago
love this song , but my god these 2 gave me the creeps when i was a kid lol
valeymac 3 weeks ago
@valeymac Same here. First time I saw them was on a TV show that featured mostly top-40. Sparks played this song, I believe. And when they had finished all I could think was: What the hell did I just see? Wasn't even sure they were a real band. I was about 14 at the time.
mrsolofeo 5 days ago
Der Führer returns to Germany with a keyboard!
CrankCase08 3 weeks ago 6
you cant beat the seventies for the music
sparkie59 3 weeks ago
Heh, the facial expressions on this audience look very much those on the faces of people I might have tried to interest in this band in 1974: a general incomprehension, followed by a flicker of fear and disgust...
wsterbrg 3 weeks ago in playlist Favorite videos
Another edition of this tv programme also had Horslips on playing an instrumental from The Tain. Despite the non reaction from the audience this song had a massive impact when it was released, even in Germany.
LhodaKblerz 3 weeks ago
what antusiast public..... are they dead ?
maquettedecox 4 weeks ago
Heavens Gate's cover FTW!!!
Raistilus 4 weeks ago
why nobody stage dive or headbang?
Newzionis 4 weeks ago
Ok,they ran out of seats and had to seat people onstage?
Song fckn rules though.
bniblet 1 month ago
I think this recording was made in Germany. Can't help wondering what they made of Ron's moustache
olemuckspreader 1 month ago
fantastic...thanks very much for uploading this
larjanus 1 month ago
I can't stop listening. Ideal thing.
youwalski 1 month ago
kick-ass
WickedClownGrin 1 month ago
these guys were so ahead of the re time its ridiclulous The Mael bros
wattsy241 1 month ago
You cannot imagine how unusual this track was unless you were there at the time. It was truly strange - just look at the faces in that audience - and I LOVED it! Can you believe they were held off the #1 spot by the Rubettes' 'Sugar Baby Love'? A travesty!
susiecam 1 month ago 2
@susiecam Agreed, Sparks came at you in a really off-kilter sort of way. People did not expect Russel's high-pitch falsetto and hyper-kinetic stage presence, nor his brother's dead-pan antics behind the keyboard. Looks like the audience is a disco crowd, and they just don't get it.
mrsolofeo 5 days ago
right on !!
I love music that challenges me to listen and appreciate what the artist has created ! Sparks is awesome.
Too many people today are sucked into the crap that is disguised as art.
Also, too many are just too fukin' lazy to search and understand real music. (they enjoy being "spoon-fed" the pablum of Justin Bieber and his ilk)
Real music shall stand the test of time dispite the "horror" that surround us.
Long Live REAL MUSIC !
Agree? thumbs up to me. :-)
whoreratio 1 month ago 24
@whoreratio
"spoon-fed" did you say?
You're as much spoon-fed as your victims, whore. Funnily enough I figured at your age you would be more appreciative of any music-type over the years but you come across as a 12 year old with no actual sense-value of what REAL music is and only try to latch on to the sentimentality of your own disco-boppin' days. A lot of music now is the same as it has been this past 90 years or so. Pull ya thumb out Click.
Mohrkai 6 days ago
they gave the crowd something to be so sitting doing nothing hankster777
TheHankster777 1 month ago
The hell is up with the keyboard player at 1:08?
teenspeerit 1 month ago
Its a bit strange with all the audience sitting around not like TOTP
cuddlybear47 1 month ago
Kick-Ass didn't bring me here... but I was happy I finally found this song (by accident)
knotightul 1 month ago
fuckin wicked song and great footage. The lazy audience was spoilt! Seriously head-nodding rock music!
smutleybutcher 1 month ago
i have an original copy of this on the sparks label with picture cover. immaculate condition, anyone want to buy it.
soulfish61 1 month ago
38 people are crashing bores.
steeler77NO 1 month ago
I'm 15, and listening to this. I'm sorry for the rubbish my generation has created.
LianneTheGreb 1 month ago 97
@LianneTheGreb ... If it wasn't for the 'rubbish' my generation created, as you so ignorantly put it, the absolute shite your generation have to listen to these days wouldn't exist.
Chelmerfella 1 month ago
@Chelmerfella I think you missed the point here dude :L I was saying that my generation of music was rubbish, not yours, so gtfo :L
LianneTheGreb 1 month ago
@LianneTheGreb It's so clear what you were saying. Ignore turd wankers like Chelmerfella who react before fully understanding, or in this case, with a lack of ability to read.
QullVideo 1 month ago
@Chelmerfella Suggest you re-read Lianne's post - she was referring to the rubbish her generation produces (she's 15). An apology would be in order here.....
scrabble58 3 weeks ago 3
@LianneTheGreb That's X-FACTOR & all the other TRASH TV we have to SUFFER now-a-days!!!!
hotchipco1 1 month ago in playlist GUILTY PLEASURES 3
@LianneTheGreb I'm sorry too.
jedimaster303 1 month ago
@LianneTheGreb This song was used by the British Army to back most of its training films for Northern Ireland duties.
SanginJTAC 1 month ago
@SanginJTAC yea can relate to that,Belfast in the 70s
schotte681 1 month ago
@LianneTheGreb cool comment kid :)
andymac6263 3 weeks ago
@LianneTheGreb
lol and so you should be .....lol :))))))
TheLaughingGnomes 3 weeks ago
@LianneTheGreb Thank you for: the sorry. We are all the same , you just have to kept trying and Not listen to the shit you are given by big business!!
onemaddog100 3 weeks ago
@onemaddog100 haha it's all right, and don't worry, I try and stay away from my generations music as much as possible, it's just so repetitive :L
LianneTheGreb 3 weeks ago
@LianneTheGreb The 70's did produce some great music, some crap too!
3799rookie 3 weeks ago
@LianneTheGreb im 15 as well and i bloody agree
mrchickenwow 3 weeks ago
@LianneTheGreb I'm 16, i'm listening to this too- I agree (well for stuff like beiber and rebecca black anyway)
tehPizzachu 3 weeks ago
@LianneTheGreb There's always one of you. And unless fifteen year olds have taken control of the music industry, your generation is not responsible for the current downfall of music. Think about it.
rcwells27 3 weeks ago
@rcwells27 72 people beg to differ.
LianneTheGreb 2 weeks ago
@LianneTheGreb Well, I guess 72 people can be wrong.
rcwells27 2 weeks ago
@rcwells27 I don't see your point to be honest, if it was meant as an offence, then I wasn't offended, and if it was intended to inform me about what I said, then, have you heard Rebecca Black, the 15 year old singer? oh wait yeah.. that would be my generation.
LianneTheGreb 2 weeks ago
@LianneTheGreb Pardon me if I was being defensive but the point is that while Rebecca Black may sound like fucking clown shoes, she and the rest of her talent less pubescent co horts aren't responsible for the current fall of quality in Pop Music. No the blame is on the profit hungry record execs and the people at the top of the food chain in the Industry who make the decisions and pull the strings. The 15 year olds? Pawns.
rcwells27 2 weeks ago
@rcwells27 caw blimey, it was only meant as a joke -.- Why is everyone so defensive these days, I am sorry for causing any confusion or anger you may have experienced, i'm quite aware that it's not just my generation that has caused the sudden downfall in music, but that comment of mine for all I know could have made someone's day, and tbh, that's all I care about ^^
LianneTheGreb 1 week ago
@LianneTheGreb I'm serious guiz, the internet is serious business.Confusion and anger?
I think you need to chill out luv, I was just making a point but that's coo, I hope people enjoy your comment and get their lives back on track.
rcwells27 1 week ago
@LianneTheGreb after these words of you, .....why don't say sorry for all crimes people did and are going to do?
enjoy music taste is personal and can't be argued. enjoy and enbrase.
phader075 1 week ago
@LianneTheGreb Don't feel too bad, you never had Bucksfizz
judgedredd123 1 week ago
@LianneTheGreb
it's not rubbish. it's just most of the people who listen to this stuff remember it because they had nothing else to listen to. and as for the people who weren't in clubs then and pretend to appreciate 'music'. i think you will find a lot of them are unhappy, brooding people with nothing better to do than be sentimental when they, themselves have no clue about what the music was like back then except for a write up on Wikipedia.
Mohrkai 6 days ago
@Mohrkai
She thinks it's rubbish so Who the F are you to tell them otherwise ??
whoreratio 6 days ago
@whoreratio
She? - let me guess, you are speaking in third-person?
Mohrkai 6 days ago
@Mohrkai
Why don't you fuck off goof.
I have better things to do than argue with a dipshit like you.
whoreratio 6 days ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@Mohrkai
Why don't you fuck off goof.
I have better things to do than argue with a dipshit like you.
whoreratio 6 days ago
@Mohrkai I'm kind of confused, but, I'm not saying that this music is rubbish, if I found it rubbish I wouldn't youtube it and write a comment saying it was rubbish :L, I was merely saying the stuff people listen to these days seem to suck, most of them don't even use instruments ¬¬ but yeah, I like this song, and this music, it makes me happy :L
LianneTheGreb 5 days ago
@LianneTheGreb
ok, it wasn't about this song.. but it was about you comparing older music to more recent, saying that the most recent being rubbish and well.. i don't agree with that for the reasons stated in previous comments. I wasn't jumping down your throat young lass, I was merely expressing an observation that older music isn't greater because it's a nostalgic thing. 'oh man, i remember when we used to go down to the clubs and have a drink and a laugh'
Mohrkai 5 days ago
@LianneTheGreb
but then they forget that to go out and party was/is halted at our own choices we make in life... normally one can say music was much better in my teens/late-teens and that is because at that time you as a person felt better about yourself and had no worries but as people get older we all start to worry too much about things and life gives us a better understanding of what we are listening to and unless it makes us feel how we did when we were younger then its crap
Mohrkai 5 days ago
@LianneTheGreb
There are those who listen to sound and the sound of vocals mixed together, there are those who listen to the sound and try to relate it to something, there are those who listen to the vocals, trying to relate it to something in their own lives and there are those who seek original ideas.
hard beat - power
heavy guitar - power
vocals - love/power/loss/tragedy/bliss
strings -bliss, many in tears trying to understand
synth - bliss, many in tears trying to understand
Mohrkai 5 days ago
@LianneTheGreb
.......... Did you know: Over 80% of men in the world cry when listening to music?
Mohrkai 5 days ago
wow, i got the first two albums from when i was 10. just hearing it again for the first time in ages. if i remember right amatuer hour is the next track on the album. i'm going to find it now.
except i dont have a record player....oops. sparks still rule
chrisdavid4026 1 month ago
Adrian Fisher great guitar work, heavier than normal for the time
achtsieben87 1 month ago
Fabulous song.
stevenjackson1958 1 month ago
Ron Mael's facial expression. Hahahahaha
dirtynuke 1 month ago
WAYY BEFORE THEIR TIME... GREAT!!!!!!
footstomper1 1 month ago
check out Heaven's gate-this town ain't big enough for both of us on respone.. awesome cover..
GiwrgosKoklas 1 month ago
@GiwrgosKoklas Justin Hawkins does a great cover of this.
Godstud 1 month ago
crowd look German no emotion
Gusdocs1 1 month ago
@Gusdocs1
Man with small moustache,Rarely smiling,Perhaps their Grandparent's told them something!
jonkheere1 1 month ago
this is one of the most original songs of all time , what a great band any news of any new music from them in 2012?
Gusdocs1 1 month ago
Forever afraid of ron mael
munstersmasha 1 month ago
The audience is all on mogadon. Except for one guy at about 1:06 in. The blond balding one with glasses and suit. He actually seems to get into it at one point, some body movement there.
Seriously though it's like they all turned up expecting to hear Frank Sinatra and instead got the Sparks.
GamesFrontiers 1 month ago
Great song with hitler on keyboards that keyboard man used to have me and my Gran in stitches watching him pose and he was dying to laught I can see
Promoagent 1 month ago
MAD SONG - Awsome!
KoochyWoochy 1 month ago
38 People thought this town was big enough ...
TheElectricDoc 1 month ago
you can't put this under disco, couse this is a mix of pop and rock,
phader075 1 month ago
@phader075 "Disco" was the name of the show.
oliverecords 1 month ago
The audience? WTF? This song is brilliant along with demented tash on the keyboards. Love it! They were the days - brought right back thanks to this!
malahammer 1 month ago
@malahammer Let's blame the deadishness of the audience on the fact that it's a playback performance.
oliverecords 1 month ago
yeah I remember thgis programm on the German tv in the seventies, al lot of good music they played!
terschellingfilm 1 month ago
sparks were great -americans but more like english ecentrics
unclemort1960 1 month ago
sparks were great -americans but more like english ecentrics
unclemort1960 1 month ago
This particular show, "Disco", which was on German TV, had dull audiences. sad but a fact. Check out the pub rock/ protopunk classic "Do Anything You Want To Do" by Eddie and the Hot Rods from "Disco', a full 3 years later in 1977. It's on here posted by someone named Fritz***. You can't blame that band's appearance for rendering the audience zombies. In England or America the sexy lead singer would, at least, have had the women visibly interested in what was going on. .
Themanwhocameback2 1 month ago
Making fun of Sparks misses the point:Ron was referencing Silent Comedy, specifically the adversaries of Chaplin, Keaton and Harold Lloyd, who often looked like this. Ron never spoke on stage. He never even opened his mouth. Like a silent film comedian he communicated with his expressions. Hitler was a frothing at the mouth, madly gesticulating loon..: Sparks weren't GLAM. Russ didn't wear a speck of make up, and the songs are aggressively heterosexual. This audience IS dull. .. see next post
Themanwhocameback2 1 month ago
Making fun of Sparks misses the point:Ron was referencing Silent Comedy, specifically the adversaries of Chaplin, Keaton and Harold Lloyd, who often looked like this. Ron never spoke on stage. He never even opened his mouth. Like a silent film comedian he communicated with his expressions. Hitler was a frothing at the mouth, madly gesticulating loon..: Sparks weren't GLAM. Russ didn't wear a speck of make up, and the songs are aggressively heterosexual. This audience IS dull. .. see next post
Themanwhocameback2 1 month ago
Making fun of the audience misses an important point: The band was so campy and weird that even fans would have been unsure of how to behave. I mean, glam rock tunes with Tin Pan Alley lyrics brought to you by a piano-playing Hitler-lookalike and his androgynous sister...er, brother. This was not a band to bring people together and inspire a throbbing, pogo-dancing mass. You were never sure if the whole thing wasn´t a big joke. A catchy one, though.
Chordrider 1 month ago
38 people were in this audience expecting ELP
Rodan100 1 month ago in playlist Liked videos
ahead of its time amongst the crap that was around at the time, excluding roxy music, kraftwerk etc
puttynose1 1 month ago
Они ГЕНИИ! GENIUS!
Nataljnka 1 month ago
Way ahead of its time. It took the New Wave 4 years to catch up!!
dharmashooter 1 month ago 15
@dharmashooter It took a few decades for darkness to copy it
fenthedog 1 month ago
People are commenting on the audience reaction.This was in the days before Facebook, self obsession and 'it's all about me' mentality.The audience actually listened to the music. Probably told to sit quietly by the producers and in those days people actually did what they were asked, not just what they felt was right, regardless of others.
rosiem100 1 month ago
@rosiem100 bit like now really!
gedd235 1 month ago
@rosiem100 so you think people would pay good money to go see a band and not enjoy themselves?
KroliggBloodhoof 1 month ago
I'm guessing the dislikes came from the people who were actually in the audience that night.
amoore2000 1 month ago
omg the audience robots dont know or see talent how boring they look standing there shame on you !!!
mrsdaipunk 1 month ago
this song is so amazing!!!!
aquamandrowning 1 month ago
Ron is intemporal.
zOOmzOOmzOOm911911 2 months ago
This song was a hit in 1974 the year i was born.
MsFanmail 2 months ago
Yes, the music is prerecorded, and the band is miming:standard procedure in 1974. But, regardless, this song is blasting out of the sound system. 3 takes would make them this dead? I've heard it 100 times and I am rocking as I write this.
Themanwhocameback2 2 months ago
Hitler on the synths...
SamuelHorler 2 months ago
@SamuelHorler lol thats why the crowd looked so gloomy!!! they thought he was taking the piss....
mspratz 1 month ago
they were before their time just look at the audience the don't know how to react so they all just sit there
sharpie531 2 months ago
Those poor phucks in the 'audience'.....
DrunkenPostie 2 months ago
I never noticed it before, but this song would've been an appropriate choice for the airplane intercoms on 9-11.
TheMagmagoblin 2 months ago
Tough crowd for one of the greatest pop songs in history.
Lagrangeify 2 months ago
Brilliant song, strangest audience I ever saw.
GamesFrontiers 2 months ago
i'll bet cindy & bert were PISSED!
MrPookah777 2 months ago
I think the German audience are just tired from doing a day's work. The British were full of energy after standing outside their factories all day doing nothing apart from the occasional placard wave, shout and warm their hands on a burning oil drum.
69waveydavey 2 months ago
Maybe in the wild west they should have made towns a little bit bigger, there's plenty of room.
69waveydavey 2 months ago
the answer to Roxy, isn`T ITß
MrPyjamarama 2 months ago
I deffo recall that when they did this on TOTP the audience was bopping along as usual. All these Geman Disco shows I see on here have an audience that seem to be oblivious to what is going on around them. Very odd.
BobTheMunificent 2 months ago
There was some shit music about in 1974 but this blew it all away.
lewisner 2 months ago 8
@lewisner Nah, diamond dogs.
RyanSwanSong 1 month ago
@lewisner It sounds like you're saying this song blew all the others way with it's shitness :D But I assume, that since you're in the top comments, you meant that this song was a gem in a pile of manure.
QullVideo 1 month ago
@QullVideo That would be a fair summation, yes
lewisner 1 month ago
@lewisner I'd agree with that. I'm no expert on songs from 1974 but this song is brilliant and it is not difficult at all to understand why this song would topple all songs of that year, no matter what they were.
QullVideo 1 month ago
@QullVideo It was one of the first songs that was played on a synth but also had a hard edged rock element to it. "Dreamer" by Supertramp was a similar song.
lewisner 1 month ago
2:33 Luke Skywalker
KickAssTR 2 months ago
OMG I haven't heard this since I was like 9ish!!! Awesome :D
Time to 'borrow' my dads vinyl!
CLdrums 2 months ago
one of the best GLAMROCKsongs ever !!!
Uwirubi 2 months ago
In defense of German audiences and Sparks. Check out "Something For The Girl With With Everything (in the studio + live)" here. But, still there's something very odd. The moms and dads placed down in front are chatting amongst themselves, some with their backs to the band, as though they were listening to an oom pah band. And how could they even hear each other, with the band blasting away a few feet in front of them ?In any event, none seem to have any Hitler Problem here. All applaud nicely
Themanwhocameback2 2 months ago
Re:My Earlier Comment. I had no idea this was a German audience, thought it came from British TV. The Hitler excuse doesn't convince. The Girl and guy behind the guitarist are smiling and laughing, and so are others. Mom and dad at 2:25 are staring at Russell, not Ron, the guy in blue sitting below the bassist and closest to Russell looks as though he's unhappily waiting for a bus (and he can't see Ron so he can't be thinking of Hitler). I have no anti German bias, but this audience is DEAD.
Themanwhocameback2 2 months ago
This song was way tooo big for this dull audience!
MySweetMM 2 months ago
I dunno -- this song terrifies me & leaves me frozen in my tracks until I can manage to shake it off 3/4s or so into it! Makes a good two-fer with Madness' "Cardiac Arrest" BTW... - 1b2s - 1b2s
1nceBitten2wiceShy 2 months ago
2:23:))
Romeo19971612 2 months ago
it's hitler on keys!
olfi500 2 months ago
Classic Sparks!
The Best.
cigarman2001 2 months ago
@jrmetmoi they are from the us and uk.
brighton43 2 months ago
2:24 The girl in red's horrified face
Jaymundo 2 months ago
@Jaymundo i guess you mean the woman with blonde hair in red, the person in red at the front looks more like a bloke! don't you think the paul weller lookalike on guitar is bored shitless?
alcamus1973 2 months ago
I thought the singer was a woman till I saw this vid!
BerserkBE 2 months ago
fucking audience is full of statues!
DrMichaelHfuhruhurr 3 months ago
a bit confused (lol) is this classed as a disco track? am a metal head myself and av got to admit for its time its not a bad guitar based track?
30078597 3 months ago
@30078597 Its disco (pop)..1974........
grabar20 3 months ago
Gotta be the dullest audience I have ever seen. Never mind dancing, no one was even tapping a foot. We really did need Punk to get the audience up on their feet again. Is it me, or do they seem more interested in the camera than in the music? Brilliant rocking song, played to a pack of dullards.
Themanwhocameback2 3 months ago 34
@Themanwhocameback2
My friend i couldn't better myself.
GeneralZod1966 3 months ago
@GeneralZod1966
Thanks. I was a kid and I saw Sparks in NYC several months after this, and we were jumping up and down like mad.
Themanwhocameback2 3 months ago
@Themanwhocameback2 That's probably because the audience are German and Adolf Hitler is on keyboards!!! Agreed though, totally brilliant song and the crowd barely look like they're alive! We're lucky though that German TV kept so many of their pop shows because the BBC and ITV have wiped so many of the gems they once had.
allanscot1 2 months ago
@Themanwhocameback2 this programme was mainly made for easy pop music and German Schlager-music. I think the audience was simply overstrained by the kind of music the Sparks played at that particular time. And perhaps they were indeed a bit irritated by Ron Mael's look....thinking some bogey man from the past sits there playing the electric piano.... ;)
MUPJC 2 months ago
@MUPJC "Bogey man from the past"? Do you mean Adolf Hitler? It's perfectly acceptable to say his name. Bogeyman is too nice of a term to use when describing Hitler. Satan would have been better. Or Evil monster. As a matter of fact, if you look up the word "evil" on wikipedia, there's a picture of Hitler right there on the entry page! Very fitting.
Cheers!
zoolzool1 2 months ago
@Themanwhocameback2 " We really did need Punk to get the audience up on their feet again." Wait, you're blaming the MUSIC for this?
wellesradio 2 months ago
@wellesradio No, my simple friend. Don't you see the words "Brilliant, rocking song"? No, we needed Punk which told its audience to get up and move - Pogo, Scream, Yell!
What was the pre-eminent German group of the time? Nektar? Hardly the kind of music that this was.
Themanwhocameback2 2 months ago
@Themanwhocameback2 Yeah, I did see that. The first part of your comment just didn't match up with the second. Believe me, if this music couldn't get the audience dancing, then a good punk band couldn't do it either. Then again, you may have a point in that a lot of the early punk bands didn't really rock as hard as much as they simply antagonized the audience. In which case these Krauts wouldn't be dancing but throwing shit at the stage.
wellesradio 2 months ago