Ever walked into a place and had the palpable sense that there was somebody, perhaps multiple bodies, that didn’t want you there? Happened to me this weekend. I stayed, I danced, I talked to my real friends, I ate greasy diner food afterwards. But I’ve had this Sparks song going through my head ever since. Try it, it helps. The tune is “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us” and it is a roaring opening to their classic album, Kimono My House. This was actually a hit song if you can believe it. The video is from the UK program Top of the Pops and features the band pretending to play the song. Note that Russell Mael is particularly bad at lip-synching, and Ron Mael is, well, Ron Mael. Thanks to Beth in Chicago for turning me on to Sparks back in the day. Complete lyrics to this brilliant gem can be found here. Note also that they don’t actually finish the song before ToTP decides they’re done…
I remember this on Top of the Pops and being scared of the man with the moustache ever since. Number One All Over Heaven was a big hit over here too.
Got to give big credit to Sparks for just carrying on when the hits weren’t there after such a successful start to their career and concentrating on quality over sales.