Sparks co-founder Ron Mael dished praise on director Spike Lee in the recent May issue of Hot Press Magazine.

Showing Hot Press’ Stuart Clark his prized collection of rare trainers, Mael revealed a gift he received from the Do the Right Thing director.

“I’ve got some Air Jordan 1s here including a pair from when we got together with Spike Lee,” the LA pop rocker chimed. “He sent us each a pair of autographed Air Jordans…Those are the best!”

Lee was head of the jury for Cannes Film Festival where Sparks’ documentary The Sparks Brothers premiered. As a friend of the brother duo, the elder Mael praises the director’s craft and artistic prowess, who has helmed over 24 films across his nearly 50-year career.

“[Lee] gives off this amazing energy—obviously as a filmmaker but also as a person,” Ron enthused. “You get the sense that if he was a plumber, he’d be one of the best plumbers in the world. He has such high standards”.

Sparks’ 28th studio album MAD! was released last Friday, and is the band’s first album of original material since parting with Island Records. The LP follows the self-released Annette – An Opera by Sparks (The Original 2013 Recordings, which dropped on the heels of their widely-praised soundtrack to the 2021 musical Annette, where they wrote both the music and the storyline.

• You can read the rest of Sparks’ absorbing interview with Stuart Clark in the May Issue of Hot Press Magazine, which is available to purchase below.