Efter at have fyret deres fremragende britiske band – farvel, Dinky Diamond! – og være flyttet tilbage til Los Angeles, udsendte brødreparret Russell og Ron Mael (stadig under navnet Sparks) i 1976-77 to skuffende blege MOR-albums, Big Beat og Introducing Sparks, der som sådan ikke gjorde meget væsen af sig. Skridtet derfra var en rejse til Musicland Studios i München, hvor Georgio Moroder’s samarbejde med specielt Donna Summer havde fanget brødrenes opmærsomhed. Moroder producerede hele Sparks-albummet No. 1 in Heaven, der blev udsendt i september 1979 og med en sound, der dengang lød langt mere moderne end i dag, bragte Sparks tilbage på de europæiske hitlister. Nogen stor Sparks-plade er det ikke, men hovedsinglen – den følger her – kan sin heliumslette euro-synthpop til punkt og prikke…
For sent! Dinky er ikke længere iblandt os:
From the London Times, 05/02/05.
The drummer with the chart-topping 1970’s group Sparks hanged himself because his neighbours played their music too loud, an inquest was told.
Norman Diamond had complained to police, his local council and his MP about noise from a resident in the same close in Sandhurst, Berkshire, but no action had been taken.
Mr.Diamond, who still received royalties for hits with the group, including “This town ain’t big enough for the both of us” and “Never turn your back on mother earth”, had recently taken a job he hated. On the morning of his death, on September 10th last year, he rang a friend to say he “won’t be around tomorrow”.
Later that afternoon his partner, Jane Gant, 50, found him hanging from the loft when she arrived home from work. He had more than four times the legal driving limit of alcohol in his blood, the inquest was told.
Peter Bedford, the coroner, returned a verdict of suicide.
Come back, Dinky!
Måske Dinky Diamond i virkeligheden var den afgørende forskel i Sparks. Det blev i hvert fald aldrig det samme igen, selv om de ind imellem har lavet ok musik de sidste 10 år.