Alex Sparrow - Never Be Friends

Buy Never Be Friends here (Amazon GB)

If you were to look up any of the following words in the dictionary, it is very likely that you will find a picture of Alex Sparrow in there. Singer. Songwriter. Producer. Dancer. Toe-tapper. Actor. All Round Good Egg. Cheekbones From The Gods. Snazzy Dresser. You get the picture. It means the fella has a whole host of ever increasing followers who can't wait to rave about his latest projects - and I'm on all on board for his dazzling new single, Never Be Friends. The delicious cover art looks like it belongs in a Wurlitzer Jukebox, setting the scene for the sumptuous, horn-driven jazz-pop bop which is contained within. Alex has crafted a story of unrequited love, a tale where he wears his heart on his sleeve only for it to be rejected over and over. He tells it with melodic seduction, leading that titular refrain to exhilarating highs whilst adding intriguing flourishes (the middle 8 is a particularly inspired bit of convivial fun, drawing you into his escapade and making you a willing accomplice). Its 50s club suave meets timeless pop energy, utterly charming but with an edge that makes it intriguing from beginning to end.

The acoustic version
I'll confess that I don't know what a loop pedal is, but from this alternate take on Never Been Friends (which you can view on YouTube here), I'm guessing it is the use of percussion and riffs played over and over again to craft a stripped back version of this beguiling tune. I've always believed that a well constructed song will always be able to be taken back to the blueprints of its original architecture and recreated in a brand new way. Alex does a rather splendid job here, using evocative guitar and shimmering drum rhythms to uncover the ecstatic agony of the situation he sings about with such passion and nuance. He gives an insightful balance to the narrative by sharing enough vulnerability to show his aching longing yet ensuring this is juxtaposed with his determined knowledge that this is fate - and, given a chance, will be a love affair for the history books. It is a lovely, languorous version of the sassy original and a fascinating insight into the creation of his music.

The video
I love that the whole concept for the video was thought up by Alex - it shows his tongue in cheek humour, his flair for unforgettable visuals and his ability to basically make a compelling story that could easily be the pilot pitch for a ten part Netflix series. While there is no substitute for watching the whole clip yourself (here on YouTube), here are my favourite moments...

• A lot happens back in the opening moments of the mini-movie. We travel back in time to 1956, meet the lady Alex is courting (lets call her Betty), see him invent the selfie and learn the most three most terrifying words in a relationship are actually "lets be friends".
• It all then takes a bit of a dark turn (cue set up for aforementioned Netflix show) and Alex is NOT HAVING his lady love be with anybody else. Before we get into his escapades, you see him throughout the video looking mighty fine in a suit and wooing an entire club by performing the song with his band.
• Date 1: Betty is out for a drive with a rather entitled chap who we'll call Justin Huffington-Smythe. Whilst getting gas (or petrol for us Brits), Alex rocks up on a motorcycle, chucks petrol all over Justin's Gap chinos and lights a match. In Alex's defence, he does look quite surprised at how quickly Justin's crotch catches fire but instead of helping the poor guy, he just steals his car.
• Betty, meanwhile, has been flirting with the cashier and has clearly improved upon his day by about 100% as she purchases an orange soda pop (for which, I'm pretty sure, she would have had to leave a nickel deposit until she returns that bottle. Ah recycling. Popular even in the 50s).
• Date 2: Betty is sick of the rich entitled folk so she has moved onto sweet nerds. I was a sweet nerd in high school whose style icon was Eugene from Grease so I can relate to the young man we'll call Dustin. Betty and Dustin go to a diner and, whilst Betty is ordering milkshake Dustin goes for a little bathroom break. Nerves probably. Alex, of course is two steps behind and has Machiavellian plotting in his eyes. Run, Dustin, run!
• Silly Dustin didn't run. Mainly because it is quite hard to run when you have been tied up in the toilets with a (hopefully clean but who knows?!) rag shoved in your mouth. Oh Alex. True story - this actually also happened to me in high school but just because I think the guys from the rugby team didn't like me. Oh and I was a mouthy little so and so...
• Date 3 and things aren't going great for Betty, are they? She's now out with a respectable looking gent who looks like you'd call him Sir. Sir leaves Betty in the car while he goes to make an urgent call (which is a bit of a dick move in itself but whatever). Alex becomes Alexa thanks to some goodwill clothes but has no goodwill when he clocks Sir in the face with a shovel, finds out that he's Detective Sir and then pretends to make out with his unconscious body to show Betty what a rogue Detective Sir really is. Sheesh. Not cool Alex (and yet, I'M STILL ROOTING FOR HIM)!!!
• Betty finally gets some alone time in a motel room with a jock we'll call Jason (who would be texting his friends with things like "Dude, totally hooking up right now" if texting existed in the 50s). Jason is clearly quite an eager sort, as he gets those trousers off with quite the speed. Alex is not down with this at all, but does wait for him to be solely in his boxers and doing muscle poses before he decides to do anything about it. One knock on the door later and its curtains for Jason...
• Betty runs out looking for her latest paramour, only to see Alex and realise it WAS him she loved all along. Hurrah! See? The title of the song is absolutely correct - their simmering passions boiled over and they go to dance their cares away. Meanwhile, poor Jason has experienced a little light bondage in the back of a truck at the hands of Alex. While this might actually be acceptable on date four, it should never be without a safe word and Jason's seems to be MMMPH!
• It might not be happily ever after though, as the last scene proves. Depends on how fast Alex can run. Now what a cliffhanger that would be for a season 2 pick up.