The duo is noted for their quirky approach to songwriting;[1] their music is often accompanied by sophisticated and acerbic lyrics—often about women, and sometimes containing literary or cinematic references[2]—and an idiosyncratic, theatrical stage presence, typified by the contrast between Russell's animated, hyperactive frontman antics and Ron's deadpan scowling.

[5] The 2002 release of Lil' Beethoven, the duo's self-proclaimed "genre-defining opus",[6] fused repetitive song structures with orchestral arrangements, and brought them renewed critical success.

[10][11] Brothers Ron and Russell Mael grew up in Pacific Palisades, in west Los Angeles County, California,[12] during the "Golden Age" of the L.A. club scene, when the Doors, the Standells, and Love played the Whisky a Go Go on Sunset Strip[13] and the Beach Boys played in the late afternoon at Teen-Age Fair at Pickwick Recreation Center[14] in Burbank, California.

[18] Forming Halfnelson, named after a wrestling hold, in 1968, they soon came to the attention of producer Todd Rundgren, at whose urging Albert Grossman signed the band to his Bearsville record label.

With Adrian Fisher on guitar and Norman "Dinky" Diamond on drums, in the midst of power cuts and a threatened vinyl shortage,[25] they recorded their breakthrough Kimono My House in 1974, scoring a No.

Hits such as "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", "Amateur Hour" and "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth" led to many appearances on the BBC's flagship music show Top of the Pops.

In 1975, the revised band returned to the US to tour supporting the Kimono and Propaganda albums which had gained strong cult attention in New York City, Cleveland, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles primarily from FM radio play and a national TV appearance on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert.

Influential 1970s progressive FM radio station powerhouse WMMS in Cleveland and its famed DJs such as Kid Leo initially championed the band in America.

Sparks also performed on American Bandstand in 1975 with host Dick Clark mugging with Ron and on countless other TV shows in the US and abroad post 1977.

In 1976, Sparks made one of their first forays into the movie business, making a cameo appearance in the disaster-suspense film Rollercoaster, after Kiss turned down the roles.

Beginning in the late 1980s, Sparks attempted to make the Japanese manga Mai, the Psychic Girl into a musical, with interest from Tim Burton[30] and Carolco Pictures,[31] who purchased the film rights in August 1991.

[34] The release of The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman, a radio musical by Sparks, in August 2009, was informed by the six years the band spent trying to get their Mai, the Psychic Girl produced.

In 1994, the Maels released Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins, providing the hit singles "When Do I Get to Sing 'My Way'" and "When I Kiss You (I Hear Charlie Parker Playing)".

[2][12] In 1998 they recorded the soundtrack for the action film Knock Off, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, directed by the acclaimed Hong Kong-based producer/director Tsui Hark[3] (who had appeared on his own tribute song by the band on the album Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins).

After Balls, the band resurfaced in 2002 with the release of an album described as what they called their "genre-defining opus"[6] – Lil' Beethoven, featuring quasi-classical arrangements of strings and choirs.

Valentine's Day evening 2009 saw Sparks perform the same show featuring their Exotic Creatures of the Deep and Kimono My House albums played in their entirety before a sold-out hometown crowd at Royce Hall at the Mael Bros. alma mater in Los Angeles, UCLA.

In June 2011, as part of the Los Angeles Film Festival, Sparks presented the World Premiere live performance of The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood.

Canadian film director Guy Maddin provided directions based on the screenplay, with Ron and Russell reprising their recorded roles on stage.

September 2 marked the debut of the new theme songs that Ron and Russell had composed and recorded for NPR radio's Bookworm show, broadcast in Los Angeles on station KCRW.

For the encore of what may have been the final live date ever in America for Faith No More on December 1 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, Ron and Russell Mael were invited by Mike Patton and Co. to perform the Sparks' classic hit "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us".

The 18-city European tour titled "Two Hands One Mouth" began in Lithuania and followed in Latvia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Ireland and finished with a sold-out show at the Barbican Centre in London.

The landmark was celebrated with a performance the album in its entirety, along with a greatest hits set, at the Barbican Centre in London on 19 and 20 December with backing from the 35-piece Heritage Orchestra.

Before Kapranos's appearance in Los Angeles, Sparks and Franz Ferdinand had been collaborating and in late 2014 had recorded an album together, produced by John Congleton.

[10] The album's lead single, "The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte", features a music video released on March 3 with actress Cate Blanchett dancing to the song.

Latte was the best selling physical album in the UK on the week of release,[79] and the tour supporting it included some remarkable firsts for the band: Two shows at the Royal Albert Hall, Glastonbury Festival (featuring Cate Blanchett), the Hollywood Bowl with They Might Be Giants, and the Sydney Opera House.

They relocated to England during the glam rock era where, despite cutting an odd figure on this scene, they found success with their polished brand of intricate pop tunes and convoluted lyrics.

This led to the most dramatic change of style the band would attempt, when they teamed up with Giorgio Moroder, dropped the rock-group format altogether and produced the disco record No.

Joy Division's drummer Stephen Morris stated: "When we were doing 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', there were two records we were into: Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits and Number One Song in Heaven by Sparks.

[99] When they started playing music, singer Dave Gahan[100] and composer Martin Gore[101] of Depeche Mode cited them as one of their favorite bands.

[105] Smiths' guitarist and composer Johnny Marr said: "There's nothing better than commerciality crossed with an interesting mind" and named "This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us" as an instance,[106] qualifying it as one of these "Trojan singles".