Texas (band)

Texas
Texas playing at Keroman fishing port in Lorient (France) during the 2011 edition of the Festival Interceltique
Background information
Origin	Glasgow, Scotland
Genres	Alternative rock, Britpop, pop rock
Years active	1986–present
Labels	Mercury, Universal
Associated acts	Kizzy Star
Website	www.texas.uk.com
Members	Sharleen Spiteri Ally McErlaine Johnny McElhone Eddie Campbell Tony McGovern Neil Payne Michael Bannister Ross McFarlane
Past members	Stuart Kerr Richard Hynd

Texas are a rock/pop band from Glasgow, Scotland. They were founded by Johnny McElhone (formerly of the bands Altered Images and Hipsway) in 1986 and feature Sharleen Spiteri on lead vocals. Texas made their performing debut in March 1988 at the University of Dundee. They took their name from the 1984 Wim Wenders movie Paris, Texas.

The band released their debut album Southside in 1989, along with the debut single "I Don't Want a Lover" which was an international hit, reaching the top ten in the UK and other high charting positions in Europe. Southside debuted at number three in the UK and eighty-eight on the US Billboard 200 album charts. Despite the success of Southside, the follow-up albums Mothers Heaven (1991) and Ricks Road (1993) were less successful, peaking at #32 and #18 respectively in the UK.

The band's fortunes changed in 1997 with the release of their White on Blonde album which entered the UK Albums Chart at number one and became their biggest seller. To date it has been certified six-times platinum in the UK,^[1] for shipments in excess of 1.8 million copies. Follow up album, The Hush (1999) was also successful, debuting at number one on the UK album charts and certified triple platinum. The band's Greatest Hits album, released in 2000, was another big seller, again debuting at number one and also being certified six-times platinum. Texas would go on to release a further two studio albums, Careful What You Wish For in 2003, and Red Book in 2005, both of which were certified gold in the UK. After the release of Red Book and a tour to support the album's release, Texas went on hiatus. Lead singer Sharleen Spiteri launched a solo career, releasing her debut solo album, Melody, in 2008.

In 2013, it was stated that Texas had sold 35 million albums to date.^[2]

History

1989: Southside

The band's debut single, "I Don't Want a Lover", was released in January 1989. It reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Charts^[3] and No. 77 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as Top 40 positions in various countries worldwide. The band released their debut album, Southside, in March 1989, which charted at No. 3 on the UK Album Charts and was certified Gold by the BPI. Despite this success, Texas spent much of the late 1980s performing as a support band for acts such as Foregone Conclusion and Silly Wizard. However, three further singles from the album all failed to make the UK Top 40, with "Thrill Has Gone" reaching No. 60,^[4] "Everyday Now" faring little better at No. 44 (though reaching the Top 30 in France), and "Prayer for You" stalling at No. 73.

1991–1992: Mothers Heaven

The band's second album, Mothers Heaven, was released in September 1991. It was preceded by the single "Why Believe in You", but this failed to reach the UK Top 40 stalling at No. 66 on the UK Singles Charts. This did not bode well for the album, which itself peaked at No. 32 in the UK. A second single, "In My Heart", fared worse and became Texas's lowest charting single in the UK, reaching No. 74, making it their fifth single in a row to failed to break the Top 40. A third single from the album, "Alone with You", was released in January 1992 and reached No. 32, giving them their second Top 40 entry.

Ironically, immediately following the disappointing performance of the album and its singles, Texas released a new cover version of the Al Green classic "Tired of Being Alone" in April 1992. The single, which was not included on the album, was more successful and returned the band to the UK Top 20, peaking at No. 19.

1993–1994: Ricks Road

Texas released their third album, Ricks Road in November 1993. It was preceded by two more Top 40 singles, "So Called Friend" (UK #30) and "You Owe It All to Me" (UK #39). The album peaked at No. 18 on the UK Album Charts. The music video for "You Owe It All to Me" was directed by Dani Jacobs, and was filmed in Arizona and features Spiteri and McErlaine filmed in the style of a road movie with the pair encountering another version of themselves along the way. A third single from the album, "So In Love With You", reached No. 28 in the UK in February 1994.

1997–1998: White on Blonde

Following an endorsement by then Radio 1 presenter Chris Evans on his Channel 4 show TFI Friday in 1997, Texas came back to the music scene with the international hit "Say What You Want". The song was released internationally on 6 January 1997 and became the band's highest peaking single to date on the UK Singles Charts, reaching No. 3 in its second week of release.^[5] In February, Texas released their fourth album, White on Blonde, which went on to become the band's most successful album to date. The album debuted at No. 1 on the UK Album Charts and returned to the top spot again six months later. It remained in the UK Top 75 for 91 weeks.^[6][7] A total of five singles were taken from the album, all of which were top ten hits in the UK. "Halo", released in April 1997, peaked at #10,^[8] "Black Eyed Boy", released in July 1997, peaked at #5, and "Put Your Arms Around Me", released in November 1997, also peaked at #10.^[9] In 1998, the song was featured in the film Ever After: A Cinderella Story, starring Drew Barrymore. The band then released a double A-sided single of "Insane" along with "Say What You Want (All Day, Every Day)" - a new version of the first hit from the album but now with additional rap vocals from the Wu Tang Clan. The single peaked at #4 in the UK.

White On Blonde became the pinnacle of the band's success, and was certified 6 x Platinum by the BPI for UK sales in excess of 1.8 million copies. It was included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997", and voted the 86th best album of all time by Q Magazine readers in 1998. It also ranked #34 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime", as well being included in Q's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s". Many years later in 2010, it was nominated for the BRIT Awards "Best Album in the Past 25 Years".

1999–2001: The Hush and The Greatest Hits

In April 1999, Texas released the first single from their forthcoming fifth studio album. "In Our Lifetime" peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles Charts^[10] and was also was included on the Notting Hill film soundtrack that year. The band's fifth album, The Hush, was released in May 1999 and charted at No. 1 on the UK Album Charts in its first week of release.^[11] A second single, "Summer Son", was released in August 1999, reaching No. 5, the band's seventh UK Top 10 single at that point. A third and final single, "When We Are Together", was released in November 1999 and narrowly missed the UK Top 10 (peaking at 12). The album was certified 3 x Platinum by the BPI for UK sales in excess of 900,000 copies.

In October 2000, Texas released their first compilation album, The Greatest Hits. The album featured tracks spanning their career, from their 1989 debut to the current day and included three new songs. A new single, "In Demand" was released on 2 October 2000 and reached No. 6 in the UK, with a video that featured the actor Alan Rickman. When The Greatest Hits was released, it became the band's third consecutive album to debut at No. 1 in the UK. A second new single from the collection, "Inner Smile", was released at the end of 2000, also reaching No. 6 on the UK Singles Charts. The video for "Inner Smile" featured a homage to Elvis Presley (and specifically his '68 Comeback Special shows) with lead singer Sharleen Spiteri dressed and made up to look like Elvis in his famous black leather suit. In July 2001, a remix of "I Don't Want A Lover" was released which made the UK Top 20. By this time, The Greatest Hits album had become a huge success and was eventually certified 6 x Platinum by the BPI for UK sales in excess of 1.8 million copies.

2003: Careful What You Wish For

In September 2002, Spiteri gave birth to her daughter, Mysty Kyd, although motherhood did not prevent her from working on another album. In October 2003, Texas released the first single from their upcoming sixth album titled "Carnival Girl" which featured rapping vocals by Canadian artist Kardinal Offishall. The song reached No. 9 on the UK Singles Charts.^[12][13] Later that month, the album Careful What You Wish For was released. The album peaked at No. 5 on the UK Album Charts and was certified Gold by the BPI for sales of over 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.^[14] In December 2003, a second and final single was released from the album entitled "I'll See It Through", though this peaked at a lowly No. 40 on the UK Singles Charts.^[15]

2005: Red Book

The band returned in August 2005 with a new single "Getaway", which peaked at No. 6, becoming the band's tenth UK Top 10 single. It was followed by another new single, "Can't Resist", released in October 2005. The song reached No. 13 in the UK, and was followed by the band's seventh studio album, Red Book, released in November 2005. The album reached No. 16 in the UK Albums Chart, ending their run of Top 10 albums though was certified Gold by the BPI for sales of over 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.^[16] A third and final single from the album, "Sleep", was released in January 2006 and peaked at No. 6 on the UK Singles Charts. The song featured vocals from Paul Buchannan from the Scottish band The Blue Nile and the video featured comedian Peter Kay. On 21 February 2006, a promo only single, "What About Us", was released.

2007–2008 : The BBC Sessions and hiatus

On 24 September 2007 the band released The BBC Sessions, which included radio sessions spanning from 1989 to 2005, with extensive liner notes and interviews with Sharleen Spiteri. Cover songs include Elmore James's "It Hurts Me Too", The Beatles' "I've Got a Feeling", and Ashford & Simpson's "You're All I Need to Get By."

In 2008, lead singer Sharleen Spiteri embarked on a solo career. Her debut album Melody was released in July 2008^[17] and debuted at No. 3 in the UK.^[18][19] Spiteri's second solo studio album The Movie Songbook was released on 1 March 2010, and peaked at No. 13 in the UK^[20]

2009–present: McErlaine's collapse, 2011 tour and new album

Texas performing live in July 2011

On 8 September 2009, bandmember Ally McErlaine was hospitalized after he collapsed with a massive brain aneurysm at the age of 40.^[21][22][23] By February 2010, he was recovering well as reported by bandmate Sharleen Spiteri in The Sunday Mail: "Ally is the most stubborn person I have ever come across, and I think his sheer pigheadedness is the reason he's still here! When he asked what was happening with Texas, I said it was up to him. He told me he wanted to get back into the studio."

After McErlaine survived his collapse - which kills in 80% of cases - Texas reunited for the first time since 2005. The band embarked on a tour in Summer 2011 and lead singer Spiteri appeared on Popstar to Operastar on 12 June 2011 singing a version of the band's hit "Say What You Want".^[24] Prior to this, Texas had played at the Den Fynske Landsby Festival in Denmark. At the festival, they debuted a new track "The Conversation" which marked the first time the track has been played outside their native Glasgow.^[25]

Spiteri was also invited to make a series of cameo appearances at different events, all of which involved film scores. She sang Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You" for a Saturday Night Fever tribute concert and duetted with Italian singer Mauro Gioia on the "Love Theme from The Godfather". Spiteri said "That led to this [forthcoming Texas] album...But I don't see it as a covers album – I didn't want it to sound like karaoke." The new Texas album was planned for release in November 2011, though has yet to materialise.^[26]

However, in February 2013, Music week ^[27] announced the band had signed to Pias Recordings and are to release their album The Conversation in May 2013. The album was released on May 20, 2013. Physical formats included a single disc and double-disc Deluxe Edition. The Deluxe Edition featured a bonus disc entitled "Live in Scotland"

2013 UK tour announced and album launched at two intimate gigs, one at King Tuts Wah Wah hut in Glasgow and the other at the 100 club on London's Oxford Street. Sharleen performed a cover of River Deep Mountain High at these gigs as well as a few of their established hits and tracks from "the Conversation" including a great high energy performance of "Detroit City"

Hiatus projects

Lead singer Spiteri on 20 February 2011

After the release of Texas's 2005 album Red Book the band members confirmed that they would enter a hiatus. Spiteri performed as guest vocalist on Rammstein's "Rosenrot" album. She began work on her debut solo album, working with some of her former band mates. She wrote the vast majority of the tracks on the album. She released her debut solo album Melody on 14 July 2008 with "All The Times I Cried" serving as the album's lead single. The song charted at No. 26 on the UK Singles Chart. Melody was proven popular in the United Kingdom, debuting at a high No. 3 on the UK Album Charts. In other European countries where Texas were popular like in Belgium, the album charted at No. 15 on the Belgium Flanders Charts and No. 13 on the Belgium Wallonia Charts. The song "Don't Keep Me Waiting" was released as a single in Switzerland only, in which it charted at No. 78 on the singles charts there. A further two singles were released worldwide, "Stop, I Don't Love You Anymore" and "It Was You" which were both unpopular in the United Kingdom, missing the UK Top 100, with "Stop, I Don't Love You Anymore" charting at No. 107 and "It Was You" at #178. By 2009, Melody has been certified Gold by the BPI (United Kingdom) with sales of over 100,000.^[1]

Spiteri released her second solo studio album The Movie Songbook which consists of movie covers chosen by Spiteri herself was released on 1 March 2010.^[25] The album's lead single "Xanadu" was released in February 2010, and charted at No. 71 on the UK Singles Chart in March 2010.^[28] As for the album, it charted at No. 13 on the UK Album Charts on 7 March 2010, thus becoming Spiteri's second UK Top 40 album as a soloist, and her seventh UK Top 40 album both as a soloist and a member of Texas. To promote the album, she performed in front of 55,000 fans supporting Paul McCartney on his Up and Coming Tour at Glasgow's Hampden Park.

Spiteri was a judge in the Sky1 show Must Be The Music.^[29]

Members

Current members

• Sharleen Spiteri – vocals, guitar (1988–present)
• Ally McErlaine – guitar (1988–present)
• Johnny McElhone – bass guitar (1988–present)
• Eddie Campbell – keyboards (1991–present)
• Tony McGovern – vocals, guitar (1999–present)
• Michael Bannister – keyboards (2005–present)
• Ross McFarlane – drums (2011–present)

Former members

• Stuart Kerr – vocals, drums (1989-1991)
• Richard Hynd – drums (1991-1997)
• Neil Payne – drums (2003–2006)

Discography

• Southside (1989)
• Mothers Heaven (1991)
• Ricks Road (1993)
• White on Blonde (1997)
• The Hush (1999)
• Careful What You Wish For (2003)
• Red Book (2005)
• The Conversation (2013)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Texas (band).

• Official website
• Red Sky July Ally McErlaine's other group