Sharleen Spiteri está con nuevo disco y de promoción. Nos hemos encontrado varias entrevistas concedidas recientemente en texasindemand.com. En ellas habla de su nuevo álbum, la salud de Ally McErlaine y el futuro de Texas y también de su familia y raíces y sus proyectos como actriz. Incluimos algunas aquí, todas en inglés.
Sharleen Spiteri has got a new record and is on promotion. We've found several interviews she has given recently on texasindemand.com. She speaks about her new album, her family, Ally McErlaine's health and Texas's future and also about her family and roots and her acting projects. We include some here.
SHARLEEN SPITERI: "MY FAMILY VALUES"[Guardian (27-02-2010)]
My dad plays guitar and my mother was a singer. My whole family is very musical – pianos, accordions. We had big sing-songs at my gran's home in Glasgow. That's how I grew up. The first song I sang was an Olivia Newton-John number. My cousin used to sing this song that would have everyone in tears and I'd do Olivia Newton-John, and no one would give a toss. I'm a real mongrel – my dad's Maltese/Italian and my mum's side is Irish/German. Thanks to the European mix it felt classless in our family, which wasn't the norm in working-class Glasgow as I was growing up. On my dad's side, every two weeks or so we'd go to my nonna's, starting at lunchtime, and it would be big tables – you'd sit and eat lots of food and start conversations and arguments and fights. Dad was a merchant seaman and he'd be three months away and a month home. When he was home, he'd be there every day, every night, and we'd go out and buy records. When I was 12 or so and wanting to sleep in, my dad would be blasting music and I'd be wishing he'd go back to sleep. My mum was a window-dresser. In the evenings, my sister Corinne and I would help her put together things for the windows, or she'd teach us to jive. We had a real female-bonding thing going on when my dad wasn't there. When he was, all the attention was on him. My dad's crewed for me and done tours for my band, Texas. He's painfully proud of me. He's a very proud man and he enjoys his daughters and granddaughters. He's been surrounded by women all his life and he likes to grumble about it but really he loves it. I love being a mum. I laugh my head off; the funniest things happen. It's great to have such a lovely time with my daughter, Misty Kyd. I always thought I'd have more children, but the way my life panned out, I've got one. It's not until you have children that what you've been brought up with comes into your life. My thing is manners. They were drummed into me as a child, and I can't stand bad manners. I like to be able to sit at my table without kids jumping around. I want them to respect their elders. If an adult tells you to do something, you do it. The way I bring up my daughter is about balance. As soon as I step off that stage, my life is very normal. Sometimes it all goes a bit fantasy world, but I tell her that it's real to us, it's just not how everyone lives their lives. My sister has two daughters, aged 21 and seven. The 21-year-old moved in with me for a while and she helps me out. We're a very close family. I was in Glasgow a couple of weeks ago and my mum was like, "You want tea and toast, pet?" and bringing me a hot-water bottle. It doesn't matter what you do: you'll always be their child. And most of my family don't see me any other way from how I've always been. My ex and I get on fine: we have a child together, and the most important person in the world is the child. It's not really that hard. My daughter is happy with my new partner, Bryn, and when I first met him it wasn't "Here's my new boyfriend." You make sure you're definitely going to happen as a couple before you introduce them. But then it's OK.
"SHARLEEN'S BACK WITH NEW ALBUM OF CLASSIC MOVIE SONGS"
[Evening Times (25-02-2010)]
She may have moved to London 15 years ago, but Sharleen Spiteri’s Glasgow accent still rings out with authority.“Producing great bands is in Glaswegians’ blood,” says the Texas frontwoman, reflecting on the city’s vibrant music scene.“There are always gigs on, bands getting formed at school, DJs – music is such a big part of culture here.“We’re poets from Burns right through to now, and that music is really relevant to the way we live.“I miss loads about Glasgow – my family, my friends – but I’m still there a lot. I’ve still got a studio up there so I’m up and down constantly.”It isn’t just her location that’s changed for Sharleen in the past 15 years.She’s been through the break-up of her long-term relationship with magazine editor Ashley Heath, given birth to a daughter and released her first solo album, Melody, with a second record on the way next week.Texas have always been there in that time, clawing their way up over the years to being true Scottish rock icons, having played nearly every venue in Glasgow along the way, while the likes of I Don’t Want A Lover, Say What You Want and Summer Son were rarely off the radio.Sharleen’s own mix of rock star feistiness and chic led to her becoming a style icon too.But the band’s future was in doubt last year, after guitarist Ally McErlaine suffered a sudden brain haemorrhage that left him fighting for his life.Thankfully, he pulled through, and according to Sharleen is on the road to recovery, with plans already under way for another Texas album.“He’s out of hospital and is doing really good,” she says.“He needs to go there once a week for rehabilitation but he’s doing really well, he’s walking round and still has that sarcasm and wit about him.“Everything’s good, so we’re all ready to make another Texas record – that’s in the pipeline at the moment.“We’ve got no dates or a timescale for it but we’ll hopefully get something out next year. I’ll always have Texas, whatever else I do.”For the moment, Sharleen has plenty of other things on her plate. On Monday, she will release The Movie Songbook, an album that ties her twin passions of music and film together.On the album, she tackles a string of classic film songs, from the Sound of Silence to What’s New Pussycat.And Sharleen is most pleased with the diversity it lets her embrace, from Top Gun’s Take My Breath Away to Oh Pretty Woman, as originally sung by Roy Orbison.“The thing I’m most proud is that it sounds together as a whole album,” she says.“I think, hell, who’d put Xanadu and God Bless The Child and Many Rivers To Cross on one album, because technically that shouldn’t really work as a complete record.“But because I put a lot of love and respect and honesty into it, it works – I love these songs.“It wouldn’t have occurred to me to make this sort of record 10 years ago. Back then, I didn’t have the opportunity to do the sort of things I’m doing now, like singing at the Proms with an orchestra. I sung at the classical Proms and by being in a different place like that it enabled me to make this record.”The cinema has always influenced Sharleen, to the extent that the Texas band name was chosen as a homage to Dutch director Wim Wenders’ classic 1984 film Paris, Texas.Yet the record itself appears to have been more of a happy accident than any grand plan to pay tribute to the movies.“After I did Melody I was asked to sing the Godfather theme tune at an anniversary concert and then I was asked to do a show about the 25th anniversary of Saturday Night Fever, where I did I Can’t Have You.“It was just such fun, and I remember Johnny (McElhone, Texas bassist) and I talked about doing other film stuff, and obviously we’ve been inspired by film stuff going back throughout the whole of Texas, right from naming the band.“So one thing led to another, and I thought why not do a film album – it was something I really fancied doing.”However, the collection of “amazing iconic songs” proved tougher to record than Sharleen expected.“It took a lot of respect and love to make the songs work, because you didn’t want it to sound like karaoke.“But at the same time you didn’t want to remove the songs away from what they were so much that it killed the song.”
"SHARLEEN LEAVES HER TEXAS ROOTS & LOOKS TO HOLLYWOOD FOR INSPIRATION" [Daily Mail (19-02-2010)]
Perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised that Sharleen Spiteri is looking to Hollywood for inspiration as she enters her third decade as one of our most enduring female pop stars.The Scottish singer and guitarist might be a poster girl for leather-clad rock chic, but her fixation with the cinema is a longstanding one. As front woman of Texas, she has appeared alongside several well-known actors in promotional videos, once dancing a memorable tango with Alan Rickman.Even the name of her group is taken from a movie - Paris, Texas - while the band's first single, I Don't Want A Lover, was loosely based on Ry Cooder's slide-guitar score for the same film.But Sharleen's latest project takes her passion for the silver screen to new heights. The Movie Songbook is a collection of her favourite film themes.'Doing this has taught me new things about my voice,' says Sharleen, 42, her Glaswegian brogue still evident despite 20 years in London.'In the past, I've tended to gravitate towards soul, but this has taken me away from that. I grew up listening to my mum's jazz records and that's one area I wanted to explore.' The idea for The Movie Songbook came about when Sharleen was promoting her previous solo album, Melody, in 2008. She was invited to make a series of cameo appearances, all of which involved film scores: she sang Yvonne Elliman's If I Can't Have You for a Saturday Night Fever tribute concert and duetted with Italian singer Mauro Gioia on the Love Theme from The Godfather. 'That led to this album,' she tells me. 'But I don't see it as a covers album - I didn't want it to sound like karaoke.' Among the highlights are the jazzy God Bless The Child (from Lady Sings The Blues) and a diva-like rendition of Simon and Garfunkel's Sound Of Silence (from The Graduate).There are also two fully fledged guilty pleasures in Take My Breath Away (from Top Gun) and Olivia Newton-John's Xanadu (from the film of the same name). 'Singing Xanadu reminded me of being a kid in Balloch Park, Glasgow, playing with my mates,' says Sharleen.'We all loved Olivia Newton- John because of Grease. I wanted a pair of those wooden clogs she wore, but my mum wouldn't let me.' The album also features some lesser-known gems, the best of which is the sublime Between The Bars, written for Good Will Hunting by Elliott Smith, an American singer-songwriter who died in 2003 aged 34.'He was a brilliant writer,' says Sharleen, 'and it's a beautiful, fragile song.' Despite its melancholic moments, The Movie Songbook finds Spiteri in a far better frame of mind than when she was making Melody.That album was written in the aftermath of 2004's separation from long-term boyfriend Ashley Heath, father of her daughter Misty Kyd, now seven. Sharleen admits that writing songs such as All The Times I Cried and I'm Going To Haunt You helped her to make sense of a traumatic time. 'Those tracks reflected what I was going through,' she says. 'In my day-to-day life, I didn't have any issues. I'd been through the heartbreak. But there were things I needed to let out.' The singer, who has a new man in her life - Welsh TV chef Bryn Williams - says she remains on good terms with Heath for the sake of Misty. 'She loves her dad to bits and spends every other weekend with him. It's all very amicable. I made this album last summer, so Ashley took Misty on holiday for the two weeks I was in Los Angeles.' Sharleen and Bryn, 32, met when the singer was dining at Odette's, the North London restaurant owned and run by Williams.'Bryn has a huge passion for what he does and he understands I'm the same about music, so things couldn't be easier. We understand each other. 'I don't know whether I'd want more children,' she adds. 'I'm not getting any younger. But it's not something that's on my mind at the moment.' Sharleen, who started writing songs while a hairdresser in Glasgow, is also looking forward to reuniting Texas for the first time since 2005.The band, who have sold 20 million albums and secured 13 Top Ten singles, are set to return to the studio this year.Reunion plans had been put on hold last year when guitarist Ally McErlaine, 41, was hospitalised after suffering a brain aneurysm. 'Ally is the most stubborn person I have ever come across, and I think his sheer pigheadedness is the reason he's still here! When he asked what was happening with Texas, I said it was up to him. He told me he wanted to get back into the studio.' A new Texas album will not emerge until 2011, but that, says Spiteri, might not be a bad thing. 'I'm painfully protective about Texas and singing in that band has come to define me. But it's good to have a break and to have a life outside the band. We'll be back when the time is right.'
"SCOTS SINGER SHARLEEN SPITERI LINED-UP FOR 2 ACTING PROJECTS"
[Sunday Mail (14-02-2010)]
TEXAS star Sharleen Spiteri has signed up to make her bigscreen debut. The singer revealed she has clinched a deal for a film being shot in Scotland later this year - and showbiz pal Peter Kay also wants her to co-star in his next comedy.Sharleen said: "The movie will be shot in Scotland and the producers have already got myself and another couple of actors in place."They're currently in talks with a big-name leading man, but I can't say who just yet."Peter Kay also wants me to appear in his new black comedy. For some reason Peter thinks I'm funny. I think it might be my face."Sharleen releases new album The Movie Songbook, a collection of her favourite film songs, next month, and the 42-yearold singer has jumped at the chance to try her hand at acting.She's even prepared to film a steamy love scene - on one condition."I don't mind rolling around naked in bed," she said. "But I would insist on a body double."Sharleen has costarred with actors Alan Rickman and Jean Reno in videos for Texas hits.She's also worked with Olivier Dahan, director of Oscar winning Edith Piaf biopic La Vie En Rose, in the promo for her solo hit, All The Times I Cried.Sharleen even paid tribute to the famous morning-after the Oscars shot of Faye Dunaway for a photoshoot in 2001.She said: "A French director cast me in crime thriller Three Blind Mice in 2001. I was to play a detective and the plot was full of murder and sex."I got as far as script readings with US actor Ed Furlong, who was in Terminator 2 and American History X. "Then the 9/11 terrorist attacks took place and the world changed overnight. Finance was then pulled from the movie."It was such a low budget film I thought, 'If it's rubbish it will disappear but if it's good it will be an art house hit'."Either way, I thought it would be a good place to start."I was confident I could do it. I'd love to act."
"SHARLEEN SPITERI REVEALS HER NEW ALBUM OF MOVIE COVERS"
[Daily Record (23-01-2010)]
TEXAS singer Sharleen Spiteri has told how her new album of movie songs was really a "happy accident".After the success of her debut solo album Melody in 2008, which went to number three, the 42-year-old thought she'd go back to her old band and write another album with them.But she admits that after the success of the 60s retro sound on Melody, she found it hard to write soft rock tunes.In fact, she insists the way she's been singing on her second solo album, The Movie Songbook, will change the way Texas sound on their next record.She said: "When I did Melody I was in a certain place in my life, writing particular songs, so I knew the kind of record I wanted to make wasn't a Texas record."But it was never the plan to follow it with a covers album."The Movie Songbook is like a happy accident."The music on The Movie Songbook includes disco, folk, jazz and even bossa-nova."Making it has taught me that my true voice lies in this area and not to be scared of using it," she added."In the past I've always tended to go into a soul area but this experience has been great in taking me places I'd never normally go."I feel excited about taking that forward into Texas and wherever it is we go next."The Movie Songbook will be released on March 1. Here's Sharleen's track by track on her new album: 1. Xanadu (Xanadu) "I always wanted a pair of the wooden clogs Olivia Newton-John wore in Grease but my mum wouldn't let me - she called them Hooker Shoes."2. If I Can't Have You (Saturday Night Fever) "The film was huge when I was a kid and I remember me and my friends putting on loads of make-up to look older so we could see it at the cinema, because we were too young." 3. God Bless The Child (Lady Sings The Blues, a biopic of Billie Holiday) "I always loved girls with boys' names."4. Between The Bars (Good Will Hunting) "I went to visit Elliot Smith's shrine on the way to the studio the day we recorded this."5. The Sound Of Silence (The Graduate) "'Hello darkness, my old friend' - it makes me think of the first time I saw Bambi as a kid."6. What's New Pussycat (What's New Pussycat) "People think of this song as very camp because it sounds like the funfair but there's so much going on."7. The Windmills Of Your Mind (The Thomas Crown Affair) "I've always had a bit of a Steve McQueen infatuation. I even have the same pair of sunglasses he wore."8. Take Me With U (Purple Rain) "Purple Rain made me want to get a motorbike and stand by canals looking moody... that's how mad I was on Prince at the time." 9. Cat People (Putting Out Fire) "We made it sound like The Stray Cats, the full 1950s rockabilly swing. Suddenly it all clicked."10. Many Rivers To Cross (The Harder They Come) "There are a lot of crossovers in reggae and soul music and often one leads you to the other. This was just a joy to sing."11. Oh, Pretty Woman (Pretty Woman) "There shouldn't be any rules about what a man or woman can or cannot sing and woe betide anyone who tries to stop me."12. This One's From The Heart (One From The Heart) "Originally I was going to still do it as a duet and I had an idea of finding an actor who could sing and asking them to handle the Tom Waits part."13. Take My Breath Away (Top Gun) "To me it has that thing of fade out, end credits. It seemed the only way to end the record."
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