Sharleen Spiteri

This article is about the Scottish musician. For the Australian sex worker, see Sharleen Spiteri (sex worker).

Sharleen Spiteri
Sharleen Spiteri at the Glastonbury Festival, 2023
Sharleen Spiteri at the Glastonbury Festival, 2023
Background information
Birth nameSharleen Eugene Spiteri
Born (1967-11-07) 7 November 1967 (age 57)
Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, Scotland
OriginFinnieston, Glasgow, Scotland[1]
GenresAlternative rock, pop, rock, jazz, soul
Occupation(s)Singer, musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1988–present
LabelsMercury, BMG, Pias, Vertigo
Member ofTexas

Sharleen Eugene Spiteri[2] (born 7 November 1967) is a Scottish singer–songwriter and guitarist who has a contralto vocal range,[3][4] best known as the lead singer of the rock band Texas, who rose to prominence in 1989 with the release of their debut single "I Don't Want a Lover". Their debut album, Southside (1989) was a commercial success, selling over two million copies.[5] Follow up albums were less successful, however, the release of their fourth album White on Blonde (1997) returned the band to prominence, spawning the internationally successful singles "Say What You Want", "Halo", "Black Eyed Boy" and "Put Your Arms Around Me".[6] Their commercial success continued during the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, with singles "In Our Lifetime", "Summer Son", "In Demand" and "Inner Smile". Following the release of their seventh album Red Book (2005), the band began a hiatus. In 2013, Texas's worldwide album sales were counted at 40 million records.[7]

Texas returned from their hiatus in 2013 with The Conversation, which debuted at No. 4 on the UK Album Chart, No. 3 on their native Scottish Album Charts as well as No. 8 in France. A 25th-anniversary album followed in 2015 entitled Texas 25, followed by the band's ninth studio album, Jump on Board (2017), which achieved mainstream chart success, topping the albums charts in Scotland and debuting within the top ten in France, the United Kingdom and Belgium. Their tenth studio album, Hi was released in May 2021 and became their highest-charting album in the UK since 1999's The Hush, reaching number three on the official UK Albums Chart, number one on the UK Independent Albums Charts and debuting at number one in their native Scotland.[8]

During the period Texas were on hiatus during 2005–2013, Spiteri released her debut solo album Melody which was released in 2008, followed by a second solo album, The Movie Songbook, in March 2010. During this time, Spiteri was a judge on the Sky music talent show, Must Be the Music.

  1. ^ "Singer and famous 'pensioner' in running for Greatest Glaswegian". Glasgow Times. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Biographies". Texas in demand. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Top Remixes of 2008 – According to Jason Shawhan". dancemusic.about.com. 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  4. ^ Edwardes, Charlotte (1 May 2013). "Sharleen Spiteri: Gwyneth Paltrow's great, just don't get me started on Liz Hurley..." London Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 March 2014 – via standard.co.uk.
  5. ^ "I Don't Want a Lover by Texas". Songfacts. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Texas – Album Launch Acoustic Show | The Tivoli Theatre". Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Album Bio: Texas – Jump On Board [Liberator Music/BMG] (Out Friday 21 April 2017)". mushroompromotions.com. 31 March 2017. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference occtexas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).