Sharleen: Solo with soul
SHARLEEN Spiteri lets out a cackle.
“The whole Madchester scene? God, yeah. The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays and all that – I’ve been to see all of them. I’m a massive fan. Just look at the flowers on my album sleeve if you want proof.”
It’s been a good few years since the Glaswegian singer last strutted the stage with Texas, the outfit that shot her to leather-clad fame in the late eighties with hits like I Don’t Want A Lover and Inner Smile.
Having weathered the emotional turmoil of the break-up of her 10-year relationship to magazine editor Ashley Heath in 2004, Spiteri penned and released her first solo album last year.
She’s now gearing up to bring the Tamla Motown-influenced soul of Melody to venues across the country.
Despite the intimacy of the record’s sound and the personal nature of many of the songs, Spiteri seems fired up with enthusiasm – especially for her northern dates.
“I don’t think there’s any band out there of my age group that wasn’t affected by the whole scene there,” she says.
“Manchester audiences are a bit like Glasgow audiences – they know their music, they know their stuff, they’re there to be entertained.
“You’ve got to be good, but if you are they’ll carry you and lift you to heights you didn’t know you were capable of.
"It’s a tough audience, but if you manage to pull something out of the bag, they’re there for you.”
Crowds can expect the brass-filled harmonies of her new material, with a few Texas favourites cheekily reworked and thrown into the mix for good measure.
Peter Kay
Friends have been encouraging about the new tracks, she says, and long-standing comedian mate Peter Kay may be in the Mancunian crowd next month.
But does Spiteri feel nervous about her first outing without her veteran Texas bandmates? She takes a breath.
“It’s gonna be different,” she begins.
“But I’ve been rehearsing with the band and it’s been sounding really good. The north is a great place for me to start – I feel very at ease there, very comfortable – and that’s my audience, the people who like what I do.
“The only thing that was difficult was making the decision, saying, ‘Do I want people to see this side of me or don’t I?’. It’s funny because you don’t know what to expect, but I’ve got the record out there, it has been successful and people have been very supportive.”
Although she has ditched her leather jackets and trainers for dresses and stilettoes over the years, Spiteri denies having mellowed out musically. She believes she’s freer than ever before in her new incarnation.
“When you’re younger you’re kind of thinking, ‘I’m wild, I’m crazy and punk’, but you’re probably controlling it a lot more because you don’t want to look uncool,” she explains.
Abandonment
“Now I understand my own passion and how difficult it is to perform every night. Sometimes now I let the complete abandonment take me.
“I love being onstage. It’s such a contradiction of different emotions and feelings – I’m singing these very personal songs that mean a great deal to me lyrically – but at the same time it’s like standing on top of a mountain and screaming as much as you can.”
Times have undoubtedly changed since the days when Spiteri and the Texas crew would get down at the Hacienda after playing a gig in town.
The legendary club has since been transformed into luxury flats and Spiteri, now 41, has a six-year-old daughter by the name of Misty.
She still professes to love the Mancunian nightlife, though, and never rules out an aftershow adventure.
“When you play a gig, you’re on a high and the night takes you where it goes,” she says.
“You never know where you’re going to end up. But I’m taking my big old karaoke machine with me, just in case.”
Sharleen Spiteri plays Manchester Apollo on February 1. For tickets call 0844 4777 677.
Published: Wed, 30 January, 2008
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