About Texas
Texas are a Scottish rock band from Glasgow, founded in 1986 by Johnny McElhone , Ally McErlaine, and Sharleen Spiteri . Texas, despite their name, has no connection with the state of Texas, USA. Texas made their performing debut in March 1988 at the University of Dundee. The band released their debut album Southside in 1989, along with the debut single "I Don't Want a Lover", which was a top-ten hit on the UK Singles Chart and peaked within the top ten of the charts in many other European countries. Southside entered at number three on the UK Albums Chart and number 88 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States, and sold over two million copies worldwide. Despite the success of Southside, the follow-up albums Mothers Heaven and Ricks Road were less successful, peaking at number 32 and number 18 on the UK Albums Chart respectively, but achieved moderate success on various European markets.
The band's fortunes changed in 1997 with the release of their White on Blonde album, which entered at the top of the UK albums chart and became their biggest seller. To date it has been certified six times platinum in the United Kingdom. Follow up album The Hush was also successful, entering at the top of the UK albums chart and certified triple platinum. The band's Greatest Hits album, released in 2000, was another big-seller, again entering at the top of the UK albums chart, and certified six times platinum. Texas would go on to release a further two studio albums, Careful What You Wish For in 2003, and Red Book in 2005, both of which were certified gold in the United Kingdom. After the release of Red Book and a tour to support the album's release, Texas went on hiatus. Lead singer Sharleen Spiteri launched a solo career, releasing her debut solo album, Melody, in 2008.
As of 2017, Texas' worldwide sales were 40 million records and they have had thirteen top-ten singles on the UK singles chart and three number-one albums and eight UK top-ten albums on the UK albums chart. Their ninth studio album, Jump on Board, released in May 2017, peaked within the top ten of the album charts in Belgium and France, whilst their tenth studio album, Hi, released in May 2021, became their highest-charting album in the UK since 1999's The Hush, debuting at number three on the official UK albums chart and number one on the UK independent albums chart, and entering at number one in their native Scotland.
Texas were formed in 1986 by singer Sharleen Spiteri, bass guitarist Johnny McElhone and guitarist Ally McErlaine. At the time, Spiteri was working at the Irvine Rusk salon as a hairdresser in Glasgow. In 1989, the band, now also featuring Tony McGovern, Eddie Campbell, Michael Bannister and Neil Payne, released their debut EP, Everyday Now.
The band's debut single, "I Don't Want a Lover", was released in January 1989. It peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and No. 77 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as top-40 positions in various countries worldwide. The band released their debut album, Southside, in March 1989, which peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Gold by the BPI. However, three further singles from the album all failed to make the UK top 40, with "Thrill Has Gone" reaching No. 60, "Everyday Now" faring little better at No. 44 , and "Prayer for You" stalling at No. 73.
The band's second album, Mothers Heaven, was released in September 1991. It was preceded by the single "Why Believe in You", but this failed to reach the UK top 40 stalling at No. 66 on the UK Singles Chart. This did not bode well for the album, which itself peaked at No. 32 in the UK. A second single, "In My Heart", fared worse and became Texas's lowest-charting single in the UK, reaching No. 74, making it their fifth single in a row to failed to break the top 40. A third single from the album, "Alone with You", was released in January 1992 and reached No. 32, giving them their second top-40 entry. Ironically, immediately following the disappointing performance of the album and its singles, Texas released a new cover version of the Al Green classic "Tired of Being Alone" in April 1992. The single, which was not included on the album, was more successful and returned the band to the UK top 20, peaking at No. 19.
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