Texas - Sharleen Spiteri interview
Interview by BBC Online / Nov 10, 1999

Texas appeared live on Jo Whiley's show (10/11/99) and played for the first time an accoustic version of the classic soul song 'Tainted Love'.

Afterwards we sat Sharleen down and talked to her about 'The Hush', getting older and being a pin-up...

Why do a cover of Tainted Love?
We were sitting in the house last night and couldn’t think what to do (laugh). We were thinking of our favourite songs and it just came up as the one to do. My friend Sam also came up with the same song!

Have you done it before?
First time! First time I played it was last night! You could probably tell!

What do you think of ‘The Hush’ now, 6 months after it was released?
I think the album is just starting. We’re just about to go on to the 3rd single, and it's got a lot of life in it. We’ve just about out on tour with it and it takes on another life altogether when you play live.

Do you get bored of playing the same songs?
No. Believe you me anyone who gets bored of standing in front of 10,000 people playing their songs is off their trolley…

Is it the best album you’ve done?
Yeah. So far so good, I mean hopefully we’ll make better ones. I’m very proud of it and we’ve now had two No.1 albums in a row in the UK, and that for me is something I’d always wanted to do.

You’ve done collaborations with Rae and Christian (trendy Manchester hip hop writers/producers who co-wrote the title track of 'The Hush') and the Wu Tang Clan, yet some people still see Texas as a safe, stadium band. How do you react to that?
I don’t give a shit. 10 million albums… call me safe if you want, call me whatever you want, I couldn’t care less. I don’t think the people who buy the records would say it was safe, just the press. I can’t suss out what the press say at all, I don’t even try, I take it all with a pinch of salt.

You took a different direction with Rae and Christian, more dancey, more of a hip hop feel. Is this something you’d like to do more of?
That’s the music that’s getting played on the radio and the music we hear when we’re out, so those kind of rhythms are gonna be very much part of our life and they’re gonna come out in our music of course.

Talking of those kind of rhythms, what do you think of the Gerogio Moroder remix of ‘Summer Sun’?
It’s amazing! I love it! When we had the discussion he said "So you want one of these new dance mix songs?" And I said no I want you to do a total old skool Moroder on it, the type of music I heard when I was growing up. He was really into it! When I first heard it, it was like "Wow!" It was really special for me, we’ve got something new out of it.

How do you feel about the pin-up image of the album sleeve and press photos?
Fine! I find it ironic that suddenly I’ve become a pin-up at 32 years old when I wasn’t one at 22! It’s good for my ego, I’m not complaining I assure you. I work with some of the greatest photographers in the world and they are very very good at making you look great.

Are the rest of the band ok with it?
Totally. We’d done the "we’re a band" thing and it was time to move on, and I assure you the rest of the band aren’t complaining about how it’s going with Texas just now.

What were musical differences that ended with your drummer (Rick) leaving just after 'The Hush' was recorded?
People deal with success very differently, and it was Rick’s first chance at it, and he dealt with it in his own way, and things weren’t working out, and he decided to move on. It’s good because we all remained friends and if he hadn’t left we probably wouldn’t have done. The last thing I’m gonna do is slag off someone who worked with Texas for a long time. It was best for us to go our separate ways and retain our memories of the good times we had.

What do the band squabble about?
Everything! You have no idea! We argue about everything, or at least I do because I’m a bit like that! When you get a lot of people with ideas you’ve got to have those fights to take it to the next level. Johnny and I fight constantly, and no-one backs down. It makes us what we are. Last night we were arguing over a chord for ‘Tainted Love’… we were just like kids!

Who was right?
Me! (laugh)

Texas have been around for ten years…
(interupts)When’s the time to stop? I don’t know. As long as I’m making good music I’m quite happy with that.

Do you still want to be still in a band making albums and touring when you’re 40?
No. Definitely not. I’ve other things I want to do. Ten years ago when people asked me if I thought I’d be doing this in ten years I remember saying "No way!". I think I’ll always write songs but in terms of getting on a bus with 6 guys… Nah, I’m not gonna do it! You’ve got to retain some dignity. I don’t think I’d have the energy…

1999, it’s been a big year for you. How was it?
It’s been a very fast year. You put out an album, and your normal life gets put on hold. It was nerve-wracking waiting for ‘The Hush’ to come out, with ‘White on Blond’ being so successful.

Do you divide your career into two parts? Pre and post ‘White on Blond’?
No, I see ‘The Hush’ as being our fifth album, not our second. It’s one career for me, not two. People talk about the "comeback" of Texas, but we didn’t go anywhere, it’s just people didn’t pay us any attention back then! We disappeared, and that makes a good story, and everybody wants a good story…

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