Celebrating the 45th anniversaries of the Sparks album No.1 In Heaven and the Sparks written-and-Produced album Is There More To Life Than Dancing by Noël, the two albums are now being released on colored vinyl, white and green respectively.
Released worldwide on April 20, 2024 through Lil’ Beethoven Records, in America this special double LP release will be exclusively available in independent records stores for Record Store Day (US). Both albums will also be released worldwide on CD, with bonus tracks, on May 17th, 2024.
In 1979, Sparks’ No.1 In Heaven introduced new Synth-Pop to the world that is still relevant 45 years later.
Recorded with Giorgio Moroder, Ron and Russell Mael took Rock into an Electronic world.
Ron and Russell Mael comment:
One of the few things that we’ve learned over time is that putting ourselves in a frightening situation with no clear view of the result can be the way to achieve a result that was both unforeseen and beyond one’s wildest creative expectations. That was the case with the No.1 In Heaven album. Even putting ourselves in the hands of a great producer such as Giorgio Moroder and relinquishing complete control over the outcome was a leap of faith. What can seem like an obvious move in hindsight can be not nearly as obvious at the time. We’re glad we dove in!
No.1 In Heaven would go on to provide Sparks with their biggest hits since the Island years: the near title song “The Number One Song In Heaven” went top 20 and “Beat The Clock” went top 10.
They add about working with Noël and releasing his album on their own label, Lil Beethoven:
Noël is a great singer and we’re so pleased to re-release this singular and timeless record. We hesitate to produce other artists, knowing that we have a moral responsibility to put them in a musical setting that they’re comfortable with, but also allows some shaping by us. Screwing up our own records (in a good or bad way) is easier for us. However, it was inspiring to work on this album and inspiring to work with Noël. We hope that people will rediscover what a lost gem this record is.
