Ron Mael
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| Ron Mael | |
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| File:FFS (Franz Ferdinand & Sparks) @ Albert Hall, Manchester 25-8-2015 (20285490753).jpg
Ron Mael on stage with FFS in August 2015
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ronald David Mael[1] |
| Born | August 12, 1945 Culver City, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, musician, producer, director |
| Instruments | Keyboards |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels | Bearsville, Warner Bros., Island, Atlantic, Curb, Virgin, CBS, Elektra, RCA, Roadrunner, Lil' Beethoven Records |
| Associated acts | Halfnelson, Sparks, FFS, Franz Ferdinand |
| Website | www |
| Notable instruments | |
| RMI Electra Piano Farfisa organ "Ronald" Stage Piano |
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Ronald David Mael (born August 12, 1945, in Culver City, California[2][3]) is an American musician, keyboard player, songwriter and actor.[4] He and his younger brother Russell make up the pop duo Sparks.
Biography
Early life
The Mael brothers grew up in Pacific Palisades – a relatively affluent suburb of Los Angeles – with their father, Meyer Mael (of Russian and Austrian Jewish descent),[5][6] who was a graphic designer and caricaturist for the Hollywood Citizen-News,[7][8] and their mother, Miriam (née Moskowitz), a librarian.[9] After being educated at Palisades High School, both brothers enrolled at the UCLA;[10] Ron began a course in Cinema and Graphic Arts in 1963 while Russell studied Theater Arts and Filmmaking between 1966–1968.[11]
Sparks
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Ron Mael plays keyboard 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. His conservative clothes and unfashionable, Chaplin-like toothbrush moustache attracted much attention, as does his current pencil moustache. On stage, Ron alternates between playing the keyboard and engaging in comic mime routines, often in connection with projections on backdrop.
The pair appear as themselves in the 1977 disaster film Rollercoaster, performing live. They also appeared in episode twenty-two of season six of the Gilmore Girls.
Sparks is currently (2015) collaborating with the Scottish group Franz Ferdinand under the identity FFS. One of their first tracks is entitled "Collaborations don't work". Some of the other tracks will be reinterpretations of existing Sparks compositions. The supergroup was interviewed on BBC Radio 6 on April 27, 2015 and announced they would be appearing on "Live with Jools Holland" on April 30th 2015 and are to appear at Glastonbury Festival this summer.
References
- ↑ California Birth Index, 1905 – 1995, [1] (Birth Date: December 8, 1945, County of Birth: Los Angeles, Mother's Maiden Name: Moskowski)
- ↑ Family Tree Legends
- ↑ Ron Mael at the Internet Movie Database
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. [The author is a cousin of Russell and Ron; her father, Alvin, is listed as being Meyer's brother on the 1940 census]
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External links
- Ron Mael at the Internet Movie Database
- Ron Mael at AllMovie
- Ron Mael at AllMusic
- Official website
- Ron Mael and Russell Mael Biography
- The "Kimono My House" album files
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