You might not know of the band Sparks, but there are plenty of people who do. From the Sex Pistols to Red Hot Chili Peppers, many much more commercially successful artists have been influenced by brothers Messrs Ron and Russell Mael – even Sir Paul McCartney has given them a nod of approval. Now filmmaker Mr Edgar Wright has paid tribute with his first documentary feature, The Sparks Brothers. But just who are the duo behind the band – whom Mr John Lennon was once said to have described as: “Marc Bolan… playing a song with Adolf Hitler”? We aim to find out.

So, who are these guys?

Sparks.

And they’re… electricians?

Musicians.

With that ’tache, the one on the right looks like…

Er, Sir Charlie Chaplin – let’s go with him.

I was going to say Mr Terry-Thomas. And you say they’re comedians?

Musicians. Although the name is a nod to the Marx Brothers.

Well, I’ve never heard of them.

But plenty of people have.

Like who?

Like Beck.

I’ve heard of him.

And Björk. And New Order. And the Sex Pistols.

Oh.

And Sonic Youth, Duran Duran, Faith No More, The Human League, Mr Bernard Butler, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Squeeze, Franz Ferdinand, The Go-Gos, Mr Tony Visconti, “Weird Al” Yankovic and Mr Todd Rundgren.

OK, I’ve heard of some of them, too.

And Mr Edgar Wright.

Wait, he’s not a musician, he’s…

The director of Shaun Of The Dead, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World and the upcoming horror thriller Last Night In Soho, as well as The Sparks Brothers, a documentary about Sparks. So, yes, Sparks might not have sold a lot of records themselves, but have influenced a lot of artists who have. They’re a cult band – not to be confused, before you inevitably are, with the band The Cult.

I’m still drawing a blank. Can you name one of their songs?

“This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us”.

It was only a question.

No, that’s one of their songs. It got to number two in the British charts in 1974. And “The Number One Song In Heaven”.

Is it? Still?

No, that’s another single, this time from 1979. It only got to number 14 in the UK. But it marked a departure for the brothers – encouraged by the electronic sounds then coming out of Europe, they sacked their band (for the second time) and enlisted disco maestro Mr Giorgio Moroder to produce the record.

The one who talks over that Daft Punk album?

That’s the fella. He talks over this film, too, alongside input from the musicians mentioned above, plus live footage, animation and interviews with Ron and Russell Mael themselves.

Who are they?

Sparks. They’re the Sparks brothers. Never mind. Look, what you need to know is that the Mael brothers take humour very seriously, and this film about them is, in turn, seriously funny. It’s a long-overdue, and suitably off-kilter, tribute to a band that has inspired a legion of other acts to push themselves further – and not just Edgar Wright. As Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers puts it in the documentary, where other bands give you an outfit to wear, Sparks give you a sewing machine and needles.

**The same Red Hot Chili Peppers who rose to fame wearing **socks** on their…**

That does come up, as it were. OK, maybe the clothes analogy isn’t for you.

I’m willing to give the moustache another go.