Sharleen Spiteri has revealed that she’s been hitting the studio with her Texas bandmates, to record material for a new album.
The frontwoman of the group, who has been embarking on a solo career while taking a short break from the band, told stv.tv that Texas will be releasing songs next year, if all goes well.
And she said the band has come back stronger than ever, with their short break away making them refreshed, and return more developed and rounded as artists.
She told stv.tv’s Gill Harvey: “We were never apart…it was a case of we’re doing this little project, we’re all doing a couple of separate projects, just to give it a bit of a break and a bit of a rest.
“It was 20 years ago last year that we put out I Don’t Want a Lover, so we kind of felt we were due a little bit of a break for our own inspiration and sanity, to be able to come back together and do something completely new. Sometimes you’ve just got to break something to put it together.”
Sharleen has recently been working on an album of movie covers called The Movie Songbook, which has seen her musical direction change from previous work. And after performing one of the covers Xanadu on the album, at a special Radio Clyde gig, it was clear her new material is a hit with audiences.
This type of music is something Sharleen has had an interest in for some time, and she finally decided to go for it, after being asked to perform in a number of movie-themed projects, including singing at the 30th anniversary of the iconic film The Godfather.
However, she admitted that creating the album wasn’t as easy as some might think. “It was one of those things, you think ‘oh just pick a few songs and do it’. And then suddenly when we came to do it …you actually realise it’s probably more difficult to do an album of covers.
“Especially of such iconic songs, because it’s a case of you don’t want to disrespect the song, you don’t want to do a karaoke version of it, so you’ve got to put a lot of love and attention into actually making these records. And it did prove quite difficult in some places but I think we managed to get there.”
And 24 years after Texas formed, the singer also said that she’s still loving performing on stage as much as she ever did.
She said: “All my work is play, that’s the truth. It’s not exactly the most difficult job in the world. And I’m luck to have a great time, have a great bunch of people that I work with. I get to travel around, stand on stages and sing my heart out. It ain’t exactly hard.
Sharleen added: “I really love it, it’s fun. It’s good, there’s nothing like singing.”
Are you a fan of Texas or Sharleen’s? Check out our chat with the singer during which she told us of her relief at bandmate Ally McErlaine's amazing recovery from a brain haemorrhage.
