Texas

Texas forges a distinctive lane through an intense passion for American R&B fused with the pop sophistication and rock drive that define their Scottish roots. Early on, the group aimed for expansive gestures comparable to 1980s arena acts like U2, yet their 1997 release White on Blonde sharpened those impulses, spotlighting fluid soul rhythms and the raw power of vocalist Sharleen Spiteri's delivery. Thereafter the band devoted itself to blue-eyed soul explorations, occasionally gliding into polished adult-contemporary territory while retaining enough versatility and flair for partnerships with hip-hop innovators the Wu-Tang Clan to register as natural. The initial Wu-Tang pairing, a reworking of “Say What You Want” titled “Say What You Want (All Day, Every Day),” surfaced in 1998 at the outset of nearly ten years of U.K. Top Ten singles that encompassed “Black Eyed Boy,” “In Our Lifetime,” “Summer Son,” “Inner Smile,” and “Getaway.” Their follow-up Wu-Tang track, “Hi,” served as the namesake single for the 2021 album, a reunion underscoring how Texas kept locating new vitality inside their core mixture of soul, pop, and rock, while the 2024 collection The Muscle Shoals Sessions—tracked at Alabama’s FAME Recording Studio alongside Spooner Oldham—highlighted their allegiance to vintage soul.

Adopting the group’s moniker from Wim Wenders’ film Paris, Texas, bassist Johnny McElhone assembled the lineup in Glasgow during 1986. A former member of Altered Images and Hipsway, McElhone recruited vocalist and rhythm guitarist Sharleen Spiteri, lead guitarist Ally McErlaine, and drummer Stuart Kerr. The Wim Wenders picture featured a Ry Cooder score whose slide-guitar approach left a strong mark on McErlaine, and Spiteri performed without any trace of a Scottish accent, lending the ensemble an unmistakably American tone. Texas played their first live show in March 1988 at Dundee University. McElhone’s prior ties to Mercury Records via Hipsway secured the label’s interest, and the band initially attempted sessions with Chic’s Bernard Edwards before enlisting Tim Palmer. Their debut single under this arrangement, “I Don’t Want a Lover”—the earliest Spiteri-McElhone composition—appeared in the U.K. via Mercury in January 1989 and climbed to number eight by March. Southside (named after a Glasgow district) followed the same month, reaching number three by month’s end. While the group toured Britain and the Continent, three additional singles from the album missed the Top 40; even so, Southside ultimately moved more than two million copies globally. Mercury simultaneously issued “I Don’t Want a Lover” stateside, where Southside arrived in July; the single registered on Billboard’s Album Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts before entering the Hot 100 at a peak of number 77 on September 30, with the album reaching number 88 the following week.

Texas maintained a heavy European touring schedule into 1990 before commencing work on their sophomore effort. Kerr departed and was succeeded on drums by Richard Hynd, while keyboardist Eddie Campbell, already performing live with them, joined as a full member. Mothers Heaven surfaced in September 1991 and underperformed commercially, peaking at number 32 in the U.K. on October 5. In America, “In My Heart” appeared on the Modern Rock Tracks chart as the band made its initial U.S. visit in November, yet the album itself did not chart. “Alone with You,” the set’s third single, restored the group to the British Top 40 at number 32 on February 15, 1992, but their first meaningful hit since “I Don’t Want a Lover” proved to be a standalone cover of Al Green’s “Tired of Being Alone,” which reached number 19 on May 9.

Following further European dates, Texas withdrew to compose and record once more, this time choosing Paul Fox as producer and working at Bearsville Studio in Woodstock, New York—the locale supplying the album title Ricks Road. Advance single “So Called Friend” arrived in August 1993 and peaked at number 30 in the U.K. on September 11; it later became the theme for the American series Ellen (1994–1998) and appeared in the 1996 film Last Dance. A second single, “You Owe It All to Me,” hit number 39 on October 30 before Ricks Road itself emerged in November and entered at number 18 on November 13. The album received no initial American release but surfaced in 1994 during several North American tours; despite these efforts, like Mothers Heaven, it failed to chart stateside and sold only 38,000 copies. The band subsequently abandoned the U.S. market and focused on Europe.

One further single from Ricks Road, “So in Love with You,” reached number 28 in February 1994. By the close of their supporting tour in December, the members felt ready for an extended pause, during which they spent the next two years developing their fourth album under Mike Hedges. They resurfaced with a hometown performance in Glasgow on December 5, 1996, and the January 1997 single “Say What You Want” became their largest success to date, climbing to number three on January 25. That unexpected return preceded White on Blonde, which debuted at number one on February 15, 1997, remained on the charts nearly two years, sold 1.7 million copies in the U.K., and yielded three additional Top Ten hits: “Halo,” “Black Eyed Boy,” and “Put Your Arms Around Me.” The band toured Europe extensively that year and visited Australia for the first time in May. (They skipped U.S. dates, although White on Blonde eventually appeared on August 5, 1997, after “Say What You Want” featured in the comedy Picture Perfect; a brief promotional trip occurred in October. The album did not chart domestically, yet “Put Your Arms Around Me” surfaced in the 1998 film Ever After.)

On February 9, 1998, Texas performed “Say What You Want” alongside Wu-Tang Clan’s Method Man at the BRIT Awards. The collaboration produced a fresh version of the track, and the single “Say What You Want (All Day, Every Day)” by Texas featuring Method Man and RZA entered the U.K. charts at number four on March 21. The group played occasional shows throughout 1998 while preparing their next project. Lead single “In Our Lifetime” from the fifth album debuted at number four on May 1, 1999. For The Hush, released weeks later, the lineup consisted of Spiteri, McElhone, Campbell, and McErlaine; shortly afterward Mikey Wilson was introduced as the new drummer. The album opened at number one on May 22, 1999. Follow-up “Summer Son” reached number five in August, while “When We Are Together” stalled at number 12 in November, ending Texas’ streak of seven straight U.K. Top Ten singles. Touring persisted through 1999.

The subsequent single, “In Demand,” hit the Top Ten in October 2000 ahead of The Greatest Hits, which topped the British charts in November and introduced another new track, “Inner Smile,” that entered the Top Ten in January 2001; an extensive European tour followed. (Mercury had ceased issuing Texas records in the U.S. by this stage.) In July the band issued a remixed take on “I Don’t Want a Lover,” which reached the Top 20. Spiteri then paused for maternity leave, giving birth to a daughter on September 9, 2002. More than two years elapsed before the October 2003 arrival of their sixth album, Careful What You Wish For, introduced by the Top Ten single “Carnival Girl” featuring Kardinal Offishall. (The credits listed Neil Payne as the new drummer replacing Wilson and Tony McGovern as an additional guitarist.) The album peaked at number five and included the Top 40 hit “I’ll See It Through.” By November 2005, when seventh album Red Book appeared, commercial momentum had softened, yet the record still debuted inside the French Top Ten—the band’s strongest remaining territory. (Keyboardist Michael Bannister joined for the sessions.) “Sleep,” a duet between Spiteri and the Blue Nile’s Paul Buchanan, emerged as the third single in January 2006 and returned them to the U.K. Top Ten.

Spiteri’s debut solo album Melody in 2008 signaled the start of a band hiatus; she followed with The Movie Songbook in 2010. Reunion discussions paused after McErlaine suffered a brain aneurysm in late 2009, but the group resumed touring less than two years later. A new recording deal materialized, and Texas issued The Conversation through PIAS in 2013. Featuring contributions from Richard Hawley and Bernard Butler, the album reached number four in Britain and later earned silver certification. In February 2015 the band marked its twenty-fifth anniversary with Texas 25, reinterpreting earlier hits alongside production team Truth & Soul. Two years afterward their ninth studio album, the self-produced Jump on Board, arrived, led by the retro ’70s disco single “Let’s Work It Out.” Tenth studio set Hi followed in 2021; its title-track single reunited the band with Wu-Tang Clan members Ghostface Killah and RZA.

Entering a reflective phase in the early 2020s, Texas released the compilation The Very Best of 1989-2023 in June 2023, then revisited catalog highlights for The Muscle Shoals Sessions, recorded at Alabama’s FAME Recording Studio with veteran soul keyboardist Spooner Oldham.