Four years ago, the magnificent Royal Hospital Chelsea, home of the Chelsea Pensioners since 1692, opened its doors for a series of outdoor summer concerts, hosting the likes of Tom Jones and Simply Red. Thankfully, Live at Chelsea has returned, this time welcoming American pop and rock duo Sparks to one of London’s most distinctive concert settings.
Before frontman Russell Mael and his animated, hyperactive stage presence, alongside Ron Mael’s trademark deadpan scowl, entertained the crowd in the shadow of Sir Christopher Wren’s historic building, the 14-piece Chelsea Pensioners Singers, led by Elaine Hiller, opened the show.
The group were more than a choir. With ukulele, harmonica and other instruments woven into their performance, they became a warm and engaging folk ensemble, covering songs by artists ranging from Georgia Ku to Old Crow Medicine Show. They also brought an interesting twist to classics by The Beatles and The Who, as well as taking on songs by Sparks themselves.
For an international institution like Sparks, whose career now spans almost six decades, a rapturous reception was inevitable. Amid the applause, Russell repeatedly and almost meekly asked, “So, may we start?” The cheering only grew louder before Sparks, performing as a five-piece, opened with the piano-led gem from the 2021 Annette soundtrack.
With 28 albums under their belt, full back-catalogue representation was never going to be possible. Even so, Sparks impressively covered material from 16 LPs, moving through disco, pop, new wave, art rock and electronic experimentation with effortless eccentricity.
That longevity and experience proved useful when the power unexpectedly cut out during their 1979 classic “Beat the Clock.” Rather than allowing the moment to derail the show, the Mael brothers embraced, joked about how they should never have agreed to play at a hospital, and turned the technical mishap into one of the night’s most memorable moments. When the sound returned shortly afterwards, the interruption had somehow enhanced the atmosphere rather than broken it.
Sparks’ eighties classic “Let’s Get Funky” brought a fresh burst of energy, with Ron taking on vocal duties. The eighties splendour continued with “A Walk Down Memory Lane,” a song that felt naturally retrospective while also carrying an apocalyptic edge in its prediction that, in “10 million years, the sun’ll burn out.” The era was further represented by the timeless “Music That You Can Dance To,” which did exactly what its title promised, before the nineties dance classic “When Do I Get to Sing ‘My Way’” offered a knowing salute to Frank Sinatra.
Naturally, essential staples “The Number One Song in Heaven” and “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us” were performed, their timelessness once again undeniable. Yet, tellingly, they were not treated as final-song set pieces or encore bait. Instead, Sparks reserved those positions for more recent material, including 2023’s “The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte,” famously accompanied in its video by Cate Blanchett’s deadpan dance moves, and 2025’s “My Devotion,” which brought the main set to a close.
Interestingly, the Chelsea Pensioners Singers did not focus solely on early Sparks hits either, instead including newer material such as 2025’s “A Little Bit of Banter.” That felt significant rather than accidental. Sparks’ devotion to innovation has resulted in many of their more recent songs becoming just as central to their live identity as the classics.
Unlike so many legacy acts, there is no sense of Sparks being trapped by nostalgia or pressured into anniversary performances of early or mid-career albums. Their audience reveres them holistically, not simply as a band attached to a particular era of hits.
Despite Russell and Ron being 77 and 80 respectively, their fitness, wit and continued creative hunger remain remarkable. On this evidence, Sparks’ peak has no immediate end date.
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