Ron and Russell Mael are best known as the art pop geniuses behind the iconic band Sparks. What is less known is that they are born and bred California boys who came of age in the first flowering of 1960s rock'n'roll.
As LA teenagers, the Maels prowled the clubs of the Sunset Strip, witnessing first-hand early gigs by the likes of The Doors (Russell modelled his look on Jim Morrison's), The Byrds, Bob Dylan, The Ronettes, Love, Buffalo Springfield, Alice Cooper and The Beach Boys.
Too ahead of their time for the hippy trippy LA scene, a last throw of the musical dice (and a change of name) saw them despatched to London where they found favour with an Art School rock crowd hungry for more of the kind of showmanship deployed by Bowie and Roxy Music.
Before too long this town wasn't big enough for the both of them... https://hits-of-the-70s.blogspot.com/2016/08/in-1970s-sparks.html
