#71: Beat The Clock by the Sparks
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: January 1980
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #4
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 Singles ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Beat The Clock”
Lyrics: “Beat The Clock”
The Sparks were formed by two brothers in 1971 in Pacific Palisades, California. Ron Mael was born in Culver City, California, in 1945. Brother Russell Mael was born in Pacific Palisades (CA) in 1948. After high school, Ron began a course in cinema and graphic arts in 1963 while Russell studied theatre arts and filmmaking during 1966–1968. Ron Mael plays the keyboards and synthesizers and writes most of the songs for Sparks. When the band hit the peak of its popularity in the 1970s, he was well known for his strange appearance, often remaining motionless over his keyboard in sharp contrast to Russell’s animated and hyperactive frontman antics. Ron’s conservative clothes and unfashionable, Charlie Chaplin-esque toothbrush moustache attracted much attention. In 1972, they released their debut single “Wonder Girl”. The single stalled beneath the Billboard Hot 100 at #112.