Sailor on the Seas of Sparks

supposed to be a doodle of this photo but i got carried away. +bonus ron

All the happenings in Glasgow were so fun!! The Sparks adventure started with a meet-up the evening before the show. It was lovely to see a bunch of friends and all be in a room together for a couple of hours: immediately got me in the right mood and mindset for seeing Sparks. This queue the next day was going to be amazing! We tried to agree to not start queueing too early but in the end seemed to have kinda failed at that, as the next day me and @dinkydiamond got a message saying there were "millions here already!" quite some time before we'd planned to arrive. We were still at our hotel at that point which was situated at quite a bit of walking distance from the venue.

We got to the venue and it was fine: we were still among the first 20 people. The weather was AMAZING! Quite sunny for Glasgow standards, not too hot, and not too cold either! The mood in the queue was just so good. Everyone was very cheery and excited. At some point two huuuge vegan pizzas arrive that were shared by all.

My favourite memories of this queue are when the soundchecks started, and we were all clapping, dancing, singing and cheering after each song/fragment of a song. Everyone around me was aware that I was avoiding spoilers and it turned out that was complicated during the soundcheck as the majority of what was played were songs that were new for this tour. And then at the start of another song, a friend just made a beeline for me and held my ears shut while going "LA LA LA LA" at me so that I wouldn't hear this particular song 🤣 (They knew it was one I wanted to hear live that I thought would never happen.) I had recognised the synthline already (LET'S GET FUNKY!?!?!) but I was cracking up so much at the people around me who just kept talking at me, as now multiple people were going "LA LA LA I need to keep saying things to you so you can't hear this song". Between my laughter and the people talking at me I had ended up hearing almost none of it! It was amazing! (This is simultaneously one of the funniest and sweetest things to ever happen to me.) Other songs I remember being played during the soundcheck were Mickey Mouse, Porcupine, A Walk Down Memory Lane and So May We Start?.

When the doors opened all the people that had been there for hours managed to secure a spot where they wanted. Most people aimed for the barrier on Russell's side, we instead went for Ron side. We were a bit further to the side than hoped, but not something to complain about! This was great! The venue felt small and intimate and I think even the people who would've sat at the back would've had an amazing view. Before Sparks came on there was a guy DJing, some people seemed to bop along politely. A guy working at the venue was handing out water bottles to the front rows. (Amazing!! Water that tastes great and we can close it up and have it for the whole show?! What a concept!)

✨ Time for Sparks!!! ✨

The entrance music came on (it was the same music as on the previous tour) and it turned out we were facing precisely where the door to the stage was. Max, Darren and Eli appeared to loud cheering. Then Ron appeared to more loud cheering. (Ahh it's happening!) I was taking in his outfit: a white shirt and a black tie (YES I LOVE THAT!) and he was wearing a beautiful black jacket over it, that was tied shut with a knot slightly to the side, giving it the feeling of a Japanese style garment. Russell made his appearance! People had accidentally spoilered parts of his outfit to me, but I hadn't known about the pink he was wearing underneath the suit! His black and white polkadot suit looked so good! It looked like it had the same cut as the suit he wore on Jools Holland last year and that cut looks so good on him! His pink shoes added a nice edge to the whole outfit, completing the look. (I cannot emphasise enough how great the pink shirt he wore underneath the jacket looked, it's a shade of pink that looks better in person than any photo can convey.) AND HIS NAILS! Alternating between painted black and painted white. ICONIC. They both looked so good!

CHEERING "Good evening Glasgow!" CHEERING "My name is Russell" WOO "here is Ron" YAAAA "We are Sparks" WOOOO "So may we start?" YEAAAAAAAAAAA

1 So May We Start? – while I personally had hoped just a liiiittle bit that the show would open with a different song after being the opener for multiple tours it remains a banger of an opener that got the crowd all reared up and excited! We were jumping immediately (what else is new). Russell’s voice sounded AMAZING and Ron’s grin was absolutely excellent 🔥

2 Do Things My Own Way – Russell's cute gestures are back and so was him rolling the dice! 😎

3 Reinforcements – OKAY YAY THEY KEPT THIS ONE FROM LAST TIME AS WELL, I AM VERY HAPPY ABOUT THAT! Russell came over to our side for the first round of us all yelling out "Reinforcements! Reinforcements!" and we were jumping, yelling and pumping our arms into the air. When Russell sang "I could use a strong rear guard" he slapped on his ass hahhaa what a guy. I loved his "YEAAH!" near the end where we all start clapping, it sounded particularly good!

After Reinforcements Russell addressed the audience, saying it's a pleasure to be back in Glasgow. Then he continued by congratulating on last nights’ win (Schotland had won a football match the previous night). "I woke up at 4am. Missed the entire match. Except for the part where they said 'Glasgow: 1, Haiti: nil.' [< Russell did a voice for that part] ...So. And then I went back to bed. So. Congratulations on your win." (This whole thing cracked me up. It also made me glad that we ourselves had stayed in a hotel where we hadn’t been woken up by the celebrations haha.)

4 Then boom! Sherlock Holmes – OH. THOM flashbacks washed over me as this had been the song to blow me away the most during the THOM era, it made me all nostalgic :) (I am sure that’s not the right response lmao.) Sherlock Holmes live is so beautiful though, I was really glad they were playing it and that new people get to hear this live! I decided to get my camera out to film it because I knew how beautiful this would be.

5 Beat The Clock – Russell announced the song with a little talk about Giorgio Moroder. So okay, they kept some things from the last tour that went down well – I am not at all against that! The falsetto parts of the song sounded so damn good (did Russell’s voice get better again within this last year???) Russell was on our side for a bit where we were all clapping along. It was so fun! At the end of the song when we were applauding we were still jumping around, and then Russell smiled at us and jumped as well! 💖

6 Mickey Mouse!!!!!!!!!! OKAY SO THEY ARE REALLY PLAYING IT!!!! (When it was being played during the soundcheck while we’re in the queue I firmly believed this could mean nothing as I’d overheard it in a soundcheck before but had never heard it live.) But this was a song I’d been VERY excited to hear at some point, and it’s happening!!! (The 21x21 performance of Mickey Mouse is so punk and I love it, also Mr.B reignited our love for that song with a passion in 2023 and we didn’t stop talking about it back then!) This was such a party! Whenever the line “Can you raise both your hands and clap ‘em” came up we were raising our hands and clapping them, as the song progressed I decided to throw in a big thumps up during “Sure, I’ll always try!” Also the part where Russell yells out the different animals he was sort of counting on his fingers which I loved, especially because it got a bit chaotic – there were obviously too many animals to count on one hand and it looked like it became a bit challenging to hold the mic at the same time. All this was very cute! We were jumping and yelling along like crazy for the whole song <3

7 Followed by Running Up A Tab At The Hotel For The Fab! I am so glad they kept this one as well because it's just AWESOME live!!!! Also the guitar sounded PARTICULARLY GOOD this time! (Possibly the best I've ever heard them play this one!) A lot of jumping was done :)

8 RON TIME!! Russell went somewhere, I don't know if he really left the stage entirely as I was looking at Ron now (SORRY RUSSELL). Immediately got my camera out, because who knows what’s going to happen! A little dance?!?! WAIT THIS IS DIFFERENT – this is not Suburban Homeboy or Shopping Mall Of Love – WAAAAITT THIS IS LET’S GET FUNKY??!??!?! OHHH YEAAHH! I now stood there grinning the biggest grin I could fit on my face, I was smiling SO MUCH. Could not have loved this more!!! Even if the soundcheck had spoiled this one just a little bit, nothing could have prepared me for a Ron vocal version! I never though this would happen! AND OH MY GOD RUSSELL'S BACK? WHAT!! THEY HAVE A COORDINATED DANCE?!??!?! HOLY FUCK ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just kept watching in awe with the BIGGEST GRIN on my face while filming this whole thing that was unfolding in front of me, it was THE BEST!!!! OMG now they're stepping in opposite directions?!?! This performance just kept giving!!! (My thanks again to the people in the queue who helped preserve this massive surprise!!! Talking to people for the past year and mentioning that I think Let’s Get Funky live would be the coolest thing and them then playing it was an absolutely insane thing to happen!)

9 Porcupine – I think I was still processing Let's Get Funky during this song hahahaha I don't know what to say about it, I'm sure it was good and that we were singing and jumping and clapping and having a good time!! (But you know, oh my god they played Let's Get Funky and had a cute dance. WHAT DO YOU MEAN!!) Did Russell slap his butt again when he sang "thick, thick hide"? Sparks shows be like, NO TIME TO PROCESS WE JUST KEEP DOING COOL THINGS! (I hope there's footage somewhere at some point so I can check.)

10 A Walk Down Memory Lane - THERE IT ISSS! I had a "moment" with this song somewhere in the past year or so where it started really hitting me hard, so this was exciting and it was so great to hear these lyrics live! I filmed most of it because I know @dinkydiamond especially *LOVES* this song 🌞

11 JanSport Backpack – I started filming because I wanted to capture the DOW's (best thing and I hadn’t captured it last year??). Yelling out "OH WHYYYY" is the other absolute best thing about hearing this song live, and Russell performed that part in our direction at one point which I particularly enjoyed 😁 The audience yelled along so loud, not hitting the note at all 😂👍🏻

12 MUSIC THAT YOU CAN DANE TO! You know what, I am not mad at all that this has been on the setlist for a fourth tour now. It is a banger and we all know it! Russell came over to our side quite a bit, too! A GOOD TIME. (Despite us standing in a prime Eli spot I feel like I should apologise to Eli for never noticing his moves. Sorry Eli!) I also really love those parts where Ron mouths along to the lyrics :D

13 When Do I Get To Sing My Way – A classic for a reason. I never tire of the “Hello, hello” *waves* and also particularly enjoyed Ron's THERE'S ONLY ONE SONG I KNOW *holds up his finger*. (And then Russell jumping and the crowd goes nuts.)

14 The Number One Song In Heaven – The crowd was so good!!! When Ron did the dance he started with facing us directly which was amazing!! Ron then dramatically threw his towel afterwards as well (what a guy). Before the song kicked back in again Russell held up his arm/finger longer in advance than what we're used to, looking around the audience, as if to make sure we all knew what we were going to have to do in a moment. He then counted down on his fingers first before counting down audibly. Also during that dun-dun-dun! bit where Russell claps (wow great description, well done me) Russell did some fun kicking onto the floor 🔥During the “ooooh la la la la la la la la la” (the ones that are the same as in the studio recording) Russell walked along the stage and pointed at a lot of people which was really fun and cute! He spent quite a bit of time with all the big fans that were standing on the left side of the stage which was really sweet to see. Then with the LALALALA LA LALA he made it back to our side as well and we all got to enjoy yelling out LA! LA! LA LA LA LA! A really great YEAAAH from Russell, then he skipped off 😎 His voice really was so so good, and the end of the song was so beautiful! Obviously Russell always sounds amazing and had sounded incredible throughout the show, but yeah that ending was just <3 It deserves a special mention. (In a way it's a bummer that everyone already starts cheering before he's stopped singing that final note, it's so beautiful :)) GOOD WORK RUSSELL! I don't know, this performance of Number One just felt particularly memorable! I've seen it a lot of times and it's always amazing! But this one was really something!! Might have been my favourite time seeing it out of all the times I’ve seen them??

15 This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us. This Town, and it's Glasgow, and a really good audience! The energy was truly great and Russell did a mic throw that both me and @dinkydiamond REALLY loved (it’s really something if we both have to remark on it immediately in the middle of the song 🔥) Ron was giving the ending of the song extra emphasis too by half standing up and sitting back down repeatedly while hitting the final notes on his keyboard.

16 Whippings and Apologies. I TRIED SO HARD TO KEEP UP WITH THE CLAPPING, IT'S SO HARD! I always especially love the bit that goes "she's got holy water running through her veins" *fun things happening with the guitar* Throughout the show I noticed there’s a new move Russell seems to do a lot now and it’s to slap on his hips (I love it so much) and he did more of that while singing "let's fool her!" Also, obviously all the things he does vocally during this song are just amazing! I feel like I can't write all too well about this song because everything that needs to be said about it is done by JUMPING REALLY HARD, singing along and using your arms to convey things, PAPAPAPAPAPA. Russell did a very cute thing with his arms for OVER AND OVER AND OVER. After the song Russell spoke about the song and said that he had forgotten the title of the song again, despite the title being part of the song and him having just sung it.

17 MY DEVOTION!!!! OHHH YAY IT'S HERE!!!! I'd wanted to hear this one so badly on the previous tour, all is right in the world!!! :) I love this song SO much. It was so warm and lovely and nice, I filmed the whole thing because I love it so much. (I figured that would turn out okay as a video as it’s a calmer song and I kept my arms on the barrier, but I couldn't stop swaying from side to side… as a result the video actually makes me nauseous XD) Anyway this was really sweet and it went down so well. Also THE WHISTLING! We couldn't actually tell if Russell was whistling it live or not, we discussed it later and we felt that he might have done?? No idea (probably not) but it looked impressive and I just love that we've heard a song with whistling :D This song fit so well with how the whole day had felt too, with all the friends there and the beautiful weather, it all just felt relaxed and lovely and sweet – everything was well. (I think we all needed a day like that for a looong time, I know I did.)

During the applause after My Devotion Russell waved at a lot of people, and then did a cute pose next to Ron to very loud cheering :) We got a little wave too 💕 The applause was good and long. (Even though it was an outdoor venue and that means not being able to hear the audience behind you all too well.)

They returned for the encore to more loud cheering, and Russell thanked us all and said they always love coming to Glasgow and that tonight was "beyond... Beyond." (Hell yeah!) He then proceeded by asking "Does it never get dark here?", looking at the sky, which already was really funny, but then he continued (with a thick accent): "Where we come from we'd be in bed by now. NAHTFALL. (...) Apparently not here." He also remarked they "lose all their mystique without having lights" but they'll "power through it anyway". We were absolutely losing it, iconic moment.

18 While we'd barely recovered from all of that they started the next song, AND OH MY GOD!! I screamed a scream that you sort of just observe coming out of you (it just kept going, and as my excitement kept growing it continued to go up in pitch too), IT WAS (BABY, BABY) CAN I INVADE YOUR COUNTRY!!!! This is funny actually because I had thought about how that song would've fit in with the last tour, AND HERE IT IS. I LOVE when Sparks get political about things, AND ALSO THIS SONG IS JUST SUCH A BANGER AND ONE OF MY FAVES FROM HYL. This live rendition sounded so jaunty too?! Love what they've done with it!!! I was just losing my shit!!! And all the millions of times of watching that One Really Cute Video from 2006 that we all love also resulted in my brain throwing the imagery of "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" at me, SO. THE TIME TO GIVE IT MORE THAN MY ALL HAS COME. The refrain started and I was just LOSING it!!! I have never jumped this high I don't think, and I was just screaming those lyrics. OH BABY BABY, CAN I INVADE YOUR COUNTRY!!! Russell was over on our side too and if there had been a way to give it even more than I was already giving I would've, because HOLY FUCK I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!!! God I love these guys, I love this song and I LOVE that they were playing it!!! Another one from my wishlist (that I always say I don't have because I don't really, but this song very much was on it)! At some point between singing the lyrics Russell also threw in a “Come on! Can I?” before returning to “Oh baby baby, can I Invade your country”.

Yelling out the lyrics while jumping with Russell right in front of us has ended up being my favourite memory from this show (and the next one too because honestly, what beats this?! I just keep thinking about it.) IT WAS FUCKING AWESOME. This gets all the hell yeah's from me! Sparks getting political is just always the shit. (It was worth ruining my voice over. It felt incredibly cathartic.)

After the song Russell spoke about how Ron was the writer of that song (lmao), and that Ron says it's a love song. Then Russell decided to make us vote on whether it is a love song or an invasion song by making us raise our hands. "Love song? Hands?" I raised my hand, as did many. (Ron also raised his hand hahaha.) "Invasion song?" I raised my hand again. "Wow! More hands. He loses. I mean, he's the writer. But he still loses." Then as if nothing happened they just started the next song.

19 The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte – Russell was with us for the first set of moves for Latte, which was awesome. Yeah! Sad! Wow! Bad!

Band intro! Russell introduced Max, Darren and Eli in that order, and Eli did some dramatic turn towards the audience upon being introduced hahaha. Then Russell did that face like, "hmmmmmmm" *thinks*. A Ron chant erupted which Russell then cheered it on in really cute ways, I particularly enjoyed his cheerful clapping along with the chant. He then introduced Ron while we all kept applauding and cheering. RON 💖 A little later a Russell chant erupted!!! (FINALLY! I tried so hard to make it happen in 2025 and no luck at all.) As we kept it up, Ron got up and took the microphone from Russell. "...you're going to hurt his feelings, so... On vocals, the irrepressible Russell Mael." Ron tried to give the mic back to Russell immediately, with no luck as Russell was busy smiling and taking it all in. Ron: "Now back to your host." Russell took the mic and Ron sat back down as we all continued to cheer :) Russell thanked the audience again and said they hope to come back to Glasgow as soon as possible.

20 All That 💖 It was as wonderful, as always. Lots of swaying. When Russell sang "I can't believe my luck in meeting you", he went "you", "you", "you", "you", while pointing towards different places in the audience which was really sweet. He also did the cute jumps near the ending of the song during the humming, yay! Always love those so much! (I saw on footage later that almost the whole audience was in sync with the arms this time! It makes me so happy!)

Ron signed for the band to stay for the photo. Russell and Ron were really cute asking for the photo as Russell said it "needed to be in panavision or something as this audience is really wide". Meanwhile Ron gestured with his hands, also indicating it was really wide while smiling. Ron looked over to the people at the edge of the stage and made a sign like we'd all have to squeeze in. So we tried! Really did not think we'd make it in as we really were quite far to the side. I decided to do something fun anyway, just assume you're in it - right?? (Next morning it turned out we were in it! We needn't have bothered with squeezing in, they clearly used a camera with a VERY wide angle lens :))

After the photo the band left the stage while the applause continued. Russell put the microphone in Ron's hand, smiling about it and walking away. Ron’s speech was really sweet! He remarked on how every band always says "oh this is the greatest reception we've ever had" (he did a voice and movements with it and everything) and said that they're sometimes guilty of that too, but that this evening really was something special and how they're "selfish people, and it means a lot to *us*", while grinning wide. He followed it up with more kind words of thanks, and a remark on how they feel when Glasgow is on the schedule :) As the applause continued Russell walked around to wave at lots of people, which was super sweet. Ron waved more in general directions than directly at people. They left the stage as the applause and cheering continued.

*****

WHAT A SHOW!!! We were ecstatic!!! (BABY, BABY) CAN I INVADE YOUR COUNTRY? THEY PLAYED MICKEY MOUSE????? AND LET'S GET FUNKY, WITH A SYNCED DANCE!!!! And My Devotion was now on the setlist yay! Russell smiled at us a couple of times and we got waves at the end! Russell had been really sweet to the large group on the other side as well! ^_^ This was all so nice! Also, I am pretty sure there were at least two Ron chants during the show, that I now don't know where to place. I think one must have been after Let's Get Funky.

We couldn’t stick around and talk to people for too long, as the next day many of us were going to be in Blackpool for the next show (including us woo!).