Sparks have announced that they are to return to Island Records, the label that released their breakthrough record Kimono My House in 1974, for their 26th album, The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte, out 26 May.
“Funny how things work!” say the brothers Mael. “One of the most memorable periods for Sparks, the one that forever cemented our relationship with the UK and also exposed Sparks to a bigger audience around the world, was the 70s Island Records era. Chris Blackwell, Muff Winwood, and co. went all in on our album, Kimono My House, and released a truly non-conventional first single, This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us. Their belief (and ours) proved right: that there was a place for both bold creativity and commerciality in pop music.
“And here we find ourselves in 2023, almost 50 years later, re-signing with Island Records, again with an album that we all feel is as bold and uncompromising as anything we did back then, or for that matter, anytime throughout our career. We’re happy that after so much time, we’ve reconnected with Island, sharing the same spirit of adventure that we all had way back when, but with our new album, The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte.”
“Sparks have always been one of the most original, groundbreaking and creative groups in pop and their longevity is partly down to their ability to constantly reinvent themselves,” adds Island’s President, Louis Bloom. “It’s an honour and thrill having Sparks back on Island.
“Next year it will be 50 years since Island released Kimono My House. That album sounded like it came from the future and once again with The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte, Ron & Russell have created a pop masterpiece that sounds like no one else.”
To coincide with the album release Sparks will take to the road for a world tour that will include two sold out headline shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall and, in America, the soon-to-be-announced largest headline show of the band’s career.
- Read more: Sparks 2017 interview
- Read more: Making No.1 In Heaven
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