7th November 1967

Singer Sharleen Spiteri is born

Sharleen Spiteri, lead singer of the band Texas, was born in Glasgow. Upon the birth of her daughter, Misty Kyd, in 2002 the BBC reported that she had “worked as a hairdresser before finding success with the band in 1986”.

An early review in the Sandwell Evening Mail of 20 January 1989 declared that “Texas are going to be one of THE bands of 1989 with sneaky slide guitar, sultry singing and honky tonk hearts.”

Rave reviews

The following month, the Dundee Courier of 9 February reminded readers that “in March last year we reviewed the first ever concert by Texas [at the Tav Bar at Dundee University Students Union] and that that they ‘made a very pleasant change from watching Clydebank white boys trying to play soul and fail miserably’.” The paper had predicted that “they will make loadsamoney, and you read it here first.” Why was it reminding readers of that fact? Because Texas’ debut single, I Don’t Want a Lover, had by then reached 32 in the charts. It peaked at number eight, but reached number three in Switzerland and number four in Australia.

The band’s third album, White on Blonde, was arguably its most successful – at least in the UK. Within a year of its release, said the Dublin Evening Herald of 15 February 2001, it “sold four million copies worldwide and in the UK alone had scored five top ten singles. The album stayed in the top 40 for over a year. The follow-up album, The Hush, was also a million-seller”.

Sharleen released her first solo album, Melody, in 2008. It peaked at number three in the UK albums chart.