Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth

"Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth"
Single by Sparks
from the album Propaganda
B-side	Alabamy Right
Released	1974
Format	7", 45rpm
Recorded	1974
Genre	Rock, Glam rock, Chamber pop
Length	2:28 2:35 (re-recording)
Label	Island
Writer(s)	Ron Mael
Producer	Muff Winwood Tony Visconti (re-recording)
Sparks singles chronology
"Amateur Hour" (1974) "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth" (1974) "Something For The Girl With Everything" (1975)

"Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth" is a song by the American group Sparks. The song was recorded by the group's mid-seventies 'Glam' line-up. It was released in late 1974 as the first single from the group's fourth album, Propaganda.

Plagiarism re-recording

In 1997 Sparks recorded a new version of the song with producer Tony Visconti. The new version introduced strings and a choir. The song concludes their Plagiarism album where it segues from out of the previous track, "The Number One Song In Heaven".

Cover versions

Martin Gore, guitarist and songwriter of Depeche Mode recorded a cover version for his solo debut EP, Counterfeit in 1989.

Mary Hopkin recorded a version which appeared on her 2007 album Valentine.^[1]

Neko Case has a version on her 2009 album Middle Cyclone.^[2]

Track listing

1. "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth" — 2:28
2. "Alabamy Right" — 2:11

Personnel

• Ron Mael - keyboards
• Russell Mael - vocals
• Trevor White - guitar
• Ian Hampton - bass
• Norman "Dinky" Diamond - drums
• Adrian Fisher - guitar

Chart positions

Chart	Peak position
U.K. Singles chart	13
German Singles chart	40

External links

• Original Sparks version
• Depeche Mode demo version
• The Martin Gore version

References

1. ^ Amazon track listing for Valentine
2. ^ Amazon track listing for Middle Cyclone with audio clips