Sharleen says
from Capital Online by Desmond Sampson / November 2000

She's been the face - and voice - of Texas for eleven years. But it's only recently that Sharleen Spiteri has been happy to be the band's resident sex symbol too, as we found out when Sharleen called into Capital FM recently...

As the only woman in Texas how much pressure has there been on you to be glamourous?
There's always been a certain amount of pressure, as a women in a band, for me to be glamorous, even when we emerged back in 1989. But that's why we went the opposite way and wore denim jackets. That became our trademark and we really stuck with that image because it was very important for people to see us as a band, not just me in front of some blokes. That's why I always played on the boy-girl, girl-boy thing.

So how come you've recently become a sexy, glamour puss?
Now that we've proved ourselves I can be anything I want to be. Also, I think I've just chilled out. I woke up one day and I'd gotten rid of all the teenage angst that had built up over the years. I suddenly realised I enjoyed life and I enjoyed being a woman, whereas before I was a girl who was uncomfortable with herself and shy in front of the camera over stupid stuff like having spots, a big nose, big mouth and mop of black hair! Now I like people thinking that I'm sexy and it's pretty natural for me to do sexy photographs, simply because I'm more comfortable with myself. It's funny though, because I couldn't do it at 18, when I had a slim body, and now I'm in my 30s, when I'm supposed to be getting too old for this kind of stuff, I'm happy to do it!

You have done lots of sexy photos recently, but you've refused to strip-off. How come?
I'll do sexy photographs, but I won't get my tits out because it's not in my personality. Anyway, I don't think I have the body, or the vital statistics to do them! Also, you can do something very, very sexy without taking your clothes off because sometimes what you don't see is sexier than what you do see. So, if a magazine wants me to pose nude, or something like that, then they won't get me because that look doesn't interest me at all.

What do you make of critics suggesting Texas' success is due to your change from waif to pin-up status?
I find that quite insulting. Sure, Texas aren't exactly press darlings, but people seem to want to live in this dream world that because I'm a woman and I've become a sex symbol that's what makes our songs so good now. The truth is, Texas's music has always been good, but now more people are buying it because we're writing the best songs of our career.

Do the guys in the band mind all the press attention focusing on you?
The guys are happy about it! They think it's great because they don't have to do photo sessions, promotion or videos. But I find it condescending when people say, "We only see you so that means the band doesn't exist". That's bullshit. The band do exist.

Does your boyfriend, Ashley, mind you being a sex symbol? No, because he trusts me and we get on really well - obviously - to be together for this length of time.

Are you planning to get married?
We've been living together for a long period of time but I don't know if we'll marry. To be honest, marriage isn't a major issue. It's just a case of writing your name on a piece of paper, isn't it? Maybe we'll do it, if and when we have children. But at the moment I'm happy with the way thing's are. The best thing is we have everything that goes on in marriage, including a lot of respect and trust for each other.

Who was your first love?
You know what? He's [Ashley] probably my first love. Honestly. I never really had any school crushes or many boyfriends when I was younger. Infact, guys at school always thought of me as their friend because I used to act as a matchmaker. I was the school pimp, sorting out dates for them with all my friends!

When was your 'first time'?
My first time was when I was 18 and all my friends had already done it by then. But before it happened my mum said to me that she knew I'd have sex with someone, sometime, and that's when I decided to do it, I should remember that it's something that's yours, which you're giving away to a boy, so you must make sure that when you give it to them it's something special. That's how I feel too. I wouldn't necessarily say wait for the 'right' one, but I would say make sure it's someone special.

Do you think the 'first time' is different for men and women?
Yeah, I think having sex for the first time is different for men and women. Men are a lot more sexually driven than women. At the end of the day women aren't so cut and dried about it. I mean, you don't ever hear women sitting in company boasting about who they've had sex with, or how many. It's just not in their make-up.

Do you see yourself as a role model for women?
You know, it'd be great if I was a role model for women. That's the biggest compliment - as is a woman saying our music's amazing. That's special because she's saying it's tasteful. Likewise, if a woman looks at a photo of me and thinks I look beautiful that's a real compliment too.

What do you think of 'Girl Power?'
I'm not into this whole 'Girl Power' thing. I think it's a crock of shit because I don't need a bunch of girls to make me powerful. I can be as powerful as I want, on my own. Instead, I believe in 'people power' and myself. I also believe in honesty and truth. As long as you live your life with those things behind you, you'll damn well succeed at whatever you want to.

What's you motto, then?
'Live and let live!' But I'm definitely not malicious. I've never done anything really bad to anyone because I'm not like that.

How come the address for Amnesty International is on all of Texas' albums?
Because we support it. I know that sometimes when you see bands put that on their sleeves you think; 'Oh, how PC.' But it's not like that. If we can make one person aware of these causes, just by putting their name on our record, then we've done something special and helped in a small way.

When you look back over your career, are you happy about what you've achieved?
I'm very proud of what we've achieved. We're now selling more records than we ever have and more people are listening to us, simply because we're making music people actually like. I'm really happy about that. But when things weren't going well for us, it would have been easy for me to say, 'OK, I'm going solo,' but I'm glad I didn't and that we stuck at it through the hard times, when no-one else believed in us. I feel lucky we've survived for so long - over ten years - unlike a lot of our contemporaries.

How come you've released a Greatest Hits album?
It's really because I think the time is right. I mean, there's nothing worse than putting out some 'Best Of' years after everyone's lost interest. Some people avoid doing 'Greatest Hits' records, because they think it's selling out. But I think that's rubbish. If there's a public demand for it, then you should do it. I'm not embarrassed in the slightest about repackaging everything again and adding new singles.

How come there are so few of your early singles on it - songs from before your last two albums?
That's because it's called 'The Greatest Hits', so technically they have to be hit records - which a lot of our early singles weren't. So, we've basically picked our biggest hits, then added a couple of remixes and new songs.

What about the future?
I don't sit down and worry about the future. I don't have a massive plan for Texas or my life, because the two pretty much mingle together. I mean, music's very much part of my everyday life and to be able to write songs you have to live. So, I don't separate my life from my work - they crisscross. But I'd never sell my soul for music. No way. I'd rather live.

Texas's Greatest Hits is out now, and you can catch them live on 11th December at Earls Court whent they play at Capital Christmas Live.

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