As both a solo artist and a founding member of pop rock band Texas, Sharleen Spiteri has sold tens of millions of records across her almost 35-year career. Now 55, she’s still not stopping: in a few weeks, she will perform with the band at Glastonbury.
The foundations for Spiteri’s enduring musical career were laid early: she grew up in suburban Glasgow in a family where everyone played an instrument and sang. As a teenager she was obsessed with the Clash, Siouxsie Sioux and Prince and, while working as a hairdresser, she banded with Altered Images’ Johnny McElhone to form Texas. By the age of 19, she decided to quit her job to pursue the band full-time and within three years, they had broken into the UK Top 10 with the release of their debut single I Don’t Want a Lover.
Despite their initial hit, the band’s success was stunted by a string of releases that failed to reach the charts. Only after eight years did they catch on once more, with the 1997 release of White on Blonde, a sonically versatile album with nods to soul and trip-hop which became a repeat UK No 1. Their follow-up album The Hush, released two years later, was certified triple-platinum.
After the 2005 release of Red Book and its accompanying tour, the band went on hiatus. Spiteri embarked on a solo career in 2008 and her debut album Melody spent five weeks in the Top 10. But by 2013, Texas had reunited; they released their tenth studio album Hi in 2021 and it became their highest-charting record since 1999. This year, the band are marking 34 years since the release of their debut album with an extended compilation of their greatest hits, which also features two new songs.
As we prepare to sit down with the singer at Glastonbury’s Cabaret tent, we are inviting readers to post their questions below. Maybe you want to hear her stories from Glasgow’s music scene in the 80s or about coming up in a male-dominated industry. Or perhaps you’re curious about her songwriting process, from collaborating with the Wu-Tang Clan to recording an album via voicemail. Whatever the question, Spiteri will answer them live at midday on Friday 23 June.
