NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON MOTHER EARTH

“Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth” from Sparks fourth album “Propaganda” is a single from 1974. It is probably one of the first songs to be mention ecology and the need for respect of Mother Earth. I received this single as part of my 21st birthday present.




I continued following Sparks, purchasing most, although not all, of their following albums, continuing on vinyl, then cassette and lastly Compact Disc. They were quiet for a few years in the late 1980’s/early 90’s, only releasing one album in eight years until the release of “Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins” in 1994.

I hadn’t seen Sparks in concert at this time, but in 1995 I randomly met them on a Shuttle flight from London Heathrow to Edinburgh. On the bus taking us to the plane from the airport terminal, I looked up from my seat and noticed two guys standing right in front of me. It was Ron and Russell Mael - couldn't believe it! On boarding the plane, I found it was only about a third full, and Ron and Russell were sitting about four rows in front of me, on their own, but on opposite sides of the aisle. After an aborted take-off where it looked as though the brothers may leave the plane (but didn't), we did take off and half way through the flight, I plucked up enough courage to approach Ron and Russell and ask for their autographs. They were very happy to do this and after a brief chat about their Old Grey Whistle Test TV appearance, I went back to my seat with their autographs. It turned out that Ron and Russell were on their way to Edinburgh, and to a radio show, where they were promoting the "Gratuitous Sax" album.



There is a bit more to bring the story up to 2023 and I'll update that in the next post in a day or two.



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