As both a solo artist and a founding member of pop rock band Texas, Sharleen Spiteri has sold tens of millions of records across her almost 35-year career. Now 55, she’s still not stopping: in a few weeks, she will perform with the band at Glastonbury.
The foundations for Spiteri’s enduring musical career were laid early: she grew up in suburban Glasgow in a family where everyone played an instrument and sang. As a teenager she was obsessed with the Clash, Siouxsie Sioux and Prince and, while working as a hairdresser, she banded with Altered Images’ Johnny McElhone to form Texas. By the age of 19, she decided to quit her job to pursue the band full-time and within three years, they had broken into the UK Top 10 with the release of their debut single I Don’t Want a Lover.
