Roots of Sparks

Rupert Holmes is a British-born American dramatist and author, and formerly a composer, singer-songwriter and music producer. He is widely known for the hit singles "Escape " (1979) and "Him" (1980). He is also known for his musicals The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which earned him two Tony Awards, and Curtains, his television series Remember WENN, and his novel Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide.

Les Rita Mitsouko were a French pop rock group formed by Fred Chichin and Catherine Ringer. The duo first performed as Rita Mitsouko at Gibus Club in Paris in 1980. They went on to become one of the most acclaimed musical acts in France. "Marcia Baila", their debut single produced by Conny Plank, went to number 2 in the French singles chart in 1984. They then started a collaboration with producer Tony Visconti on two albums: the No Comprendo (1986) and Marc & Robert (1988). "Singing in the Shower", sung as a duet with Sparks, was a commercial success in France and was then heavily played on US dance radio stations in 1988. Iggy Pop also collaborated with them on 1993's Système D, duetting with Ringer on "My Love Is Bad".

Rebecca Lucy Taylor, also known professionally as Self Esteem, is an English musician and actress. First known as one half of the band Slow Club, she launched a solo career as Self Esteem with the single "Your Wife" in 2017, followed by the studio albums Compliments Please in 2019, Prioritise Pleasure in 2021 and A Complicated Woman in 2025. A multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter and theatre composer, she won the 2021 BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year Award and achieved a nomination for the Mercury Prize in 2022 with Prioritise Pleasure.

John's Children were a 1960s rock band from Leatherhead, England that briefly featured future T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan. John's Children were known for their outrageous live performances and were booted off a tour with the Who in Germany in 1967 when they upstaged the headliners. Their 1967 single "Desdemona", a Bolan composition, was banned by the BBC because of the controversial lyric, "Lift up your skirt and fly." Their US record label delayed the release of their debut album, Orgasm, for four years from its recording date due to objections from Daughters of the American Revolution.