Russell Mael

Russell Craig Mael (born October 5, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer best known as the lead singer and occasional songwriter for the band Sparks which he formed in 1971 with his elder brother, keyboardist and main songwriter Ron Mael. Mael is known for his wide vocal range (in particular his far-reaching falsetto). He is also known for his flamboyant and hyperactive stage presence which contrasts sharply with Ron Mael's deadpan scowling. The band also released an album with Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand, as the supergroup FFS, titled FFS, released in 2015. The Mael brothers are the founders of Lil' Beethoven Records.

Early life

Russell Craig Mael was born on October 5, 1948, in Los Angeles, California. The Mael brothers grew up in Pacific Palisades - a relatively affluent suburb of Los Angeles - with their father, Meyer (of Russian and Austrian Jewish descent), who was a graphic designer and caricaturist for the Hollywood Citizen-News, and their mother, Miriam (née Moskowitz), a librarian. After being educated at Palisades High School (where Russell, in the "Class of '65" alongside Michael Medved and David Wallechinsky, played as quarterback for the Palisades High School Dolphins), both brothers enrolled at UCLA; Ron began a course in Cinema and Graphic Arts in 1963 while Russell studied Theater Arts and Filmmaking between 1966–1968.

Sparks

Mael is known for his wide vocal range, and his most notable vocal trait is a far-reaching falsetto. He is also known for his flamboyant and hyperactive stage presence which contrasted sharply with Ron Mael's deadpan scowling.

He has recorded 23 albums with his band, Sparks. The band has a cult following around the world and are best known for the song "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart.

The pair appeared as themselves in the 1977 disaster film Rollercoaster, performing live. They also appeared in episode twenty-two of season six of the Gilmore Girls.

In June 2018, Edgar Wright announced he is making a documentary on the band Sparks. He had covered the band’s concert in London in May at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town. This concert will also be a part of the documentary.

Personal life

In 2017, a reviewer noted that while the brothers' biographies recount an LA childhood in which they surfed and were both models for mail order catalogues, their private lives are otherwise almost entirely unknown. "Well, we're in good company with Bob Dylan", was their reported response. "We feel the less you do know, it keeps the mythology and the image in a better position." Even to the question of whether they have partners or spouses, they refused to give an indication, insisting that "the vagueness is more interesting than the reality."

Discography

With Sparks

With FFS