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In 1984, the Thorn EMI name was dropped in favour of Creative Sparks as the company felt its "big corporate" associations were inappropriate for the video games market.[4] A budget label, Sparklers, was created in early 1985 to publish titles at £2.50.[5] Later in 1985, Creative Sparks, Sparklers and the distribution company, Creative Sparks Distribution (CSD) gained independence from Thorn EMI after a management buyout.[6]
In July 1987, six months after buying software company Mikro-Gen for a "substantial" sum,[7]
Creative Sparks went into receivership with debts estimated at up to £1.5million.[8]
The back catalogue of the company was acquired by Tynesoft, Alternative Software and Maynard International (Top Ten Software).[9]
The former management at CSD went on to form Software Publishing Associates, owners of the Crysys and Pirate Software labels.[10]
Many of the company's games listed below were issued on more than one label over the years. A typical example is River Rescue, first released under the Thorn EMI label,[11] then later sold (with updated artwork) under the Creative Sparks brand.[12] This was followed by a budget release on the company's own Sparklers label[13] then- after Creative Sparks' demise- another budget reissue by Alternative Software.[14]
^"News". Crash. No. 4. Newsfield. May 1984. p. 101. Archived from the original on 9 November 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
^"News". Home Computing Weekly. Argus Specialist Press. 19 March 1985. p. 4. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
^"Management Buy-Out at Thorn EMI". Popular Computing Weekly. Vol. 4, no. 47. Sunshine Publications. 21–27 November 1985. p. 4. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
^"Equinox may see the light of day". Popular Computing Weekly. Vol. 6, no. 38. Focus Magazines. 25 September – 1 October 1987. p. 11. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
^David Lester (10–16 December 1987). "Risen from the ashes". Popular Computing Weekly. Vol. 6, no. 49. Focus Magazines. p. 32. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
