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THE RAZZ: SPARKS FLY FOR JUSTIN Jul 16 2005 Darkness frontman has Mael brothers in solo single video By Rick Fulton DARKNESS frontman Justin Hawkins sweet talked Sparks brothers Russell and Ron Mael into taking cameo roles in the video for his debut single. It’s a cover of their hit This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us. Justin, 30, is due to release the cover of the 1974 classic next month and the video will be about his biggest obsession – darts. Sparks caused a sensation on Top Of The Pops more than 20years ago with Russell’s high voice and Ron’s stern sinister stare and Hitler moustache. They scared more Seventies kids than a hardcore episode of Dr Who. Justin said:’When I first saw Sparks perform This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us on Top Of The Pops, my jaw hit the floor. Who were these guys?’ Justin’s version is reckoned to be a hot contender for the No. 1 spot when it is released next month. So when he decided to make a tongue-in-cheek video of This Town, he invited his heroes to dinner. By the end of the evening, he’d persuaded Ron and Russell to make guest appearances on the video. The theme is a darts match between Justin and world champion Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor. Russell said: ‘We don’t know a lot about darts. ‘I got a red bow tie and play the announcer. Ron is the scorekeeper, doing his own unique scoring gestures which have apparently no recognisable similarity to what you’re supposed to do.’ Although the finer points of darts baffled the Mael brothers, they were thrilled by the set catering,especially one of Scotland’s favourite dishes, the onion bhaji, a delicacy unfamiliar to the Los Angeles-based brothers. The video was shot in one day in the middle of London’s big heatwave. ‘It was incredibly drippy-hot in the studio,’ said Russell. ‘And it got about20 degrees hotter on the stage as they filmed. ‘Hopefully, clever post-production will eliminate the sweat pouring down my face.’ Russell also got a chance to show off his method-acting skills. In one scene, a male streaker tries to break up the match by running on stage. Russell, a former quarterback, spontaneously tackled him and threw him out. The director liked it so much, he put it in the final film. While Sparks managed a No. 2 spot with the original, it’s not the first time This Town has been covered. It was done in 1986 by Siouxsie And The Banshees and in 1997 by Faith No More. And Franz Ferdinand are such huge fans of Ron and Russell that they are planning to record a new song in collaboration with the pair. Meanwhile, Sparks have just finished work on a new album due out later this year, a follow up to their much-praised Lil’ Beethoven [url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/therazz/daily/tm_objectid=15742781%26method=full%26siteid=89488%26headline=the%2drazz%2d%2dsparks%2dfly%2dfor%2djustin%2d-name_page.html ]daily record[/url]