Scotland has proven time and again that we can produce the fiercest of front women.
Shirley Manson, Annie Lennox, Manda Rin, Lauren Mayberry… the list is never ending. Tonight we get two of the best: Sharleen Spiteri with Texas, supported by KT Tunstall, playing the first of two sold out nights at the Hydro.
I remember when KT Tunstall first began to appear in the spotlight first time round. She was a girl from St Andrews with a guitar and a loop pedal (before Ed Sheeran made it cool) who landed a very lucky last minute spot on Jools Holland. Just under four minutes was spent upstaging Embrace, David Gray, and The Cure, with her now classic ‘Black Horse and the Cherry Tree’. It was so cool to see something so stripped back that sounded so full – and her deep, bluesy voice was spot on. As the fame grew and more band members joined her on bigger stages, that gritty, grass roots vibe was lost in the polish and production. Tonight she got that authenticity back.
KT is joined on stage only by Andy Burrows who you may know better as the drummer of Razorlight. If you forgot that he was in Razorlight, he reminds you by singing their hit ‘America’ as a mash up with ‘Other Side of the World’. I say this as a man who was never a Razorlight fan… Andy’s voice is on top form tonight. It’s an undeniable perfect match for KT’s voice as the harmonies fit flawlessly and the additional instrumentals don’t infringe on her parts in the slightest.
It’s a short set, but a great one. Little bits of ‘Sweet Dreams’ by The Eurythmics and ‘Walk Like an Egyptian’ by The Bangles are mixed with the sing along hits we know from KT. If we’re calling this a comeback, it’s a pretty triumphant one.
You can’t accuse Texas of being on a comeback here. Although they’ve not been at their peak for a while, they’ve never stopped putting out records that chart well. There’s something to be said about a sell out arena tour after thirty five years too, mind you!
Kicking off with signature hit ‘I Don’t Want A Lover’ is a bold choice but the perfect start to the set. If you’re starting this strong, there must something special in store, right? Sharleen’s voice is strong and has even more character and allure than the recordings had. The band are world class in terms of tightness and the added flourishes that make live performances special.
As soon as the first song finishes we’re greeted with “f*ck me, Glasgow!” from our front woman as her notorious potty mouth gets to work. KT Tunstall did warn us that no matter how much she swears on stage, Sharleen would always beat her and that was achieved in about four sentences.
Evoking the spirit of Billy Connolly, we’re hit with a stream of F words and C words, and it does make us feel at home in the company of the girl from Balloch.
As the set goes on, even a casual listener recognizes the hits and it happens with such regularity that no one is left out of the fun. ‘Summer Son’, ‘Black Eyed Boy’, ‘Say What You Want’, ‘Inner Smile’… I’m willing to bet we know people who could sing every word of these songs without even knowing they’re by Texas.
There’s a list of titles here that have transcended the group who wrote them which proves how good they are – and tonight they’re even better. A couple of covers thrown in too, but the best being ‘Suspicious Minds’ to finish the encore performed from on top of a speaker stack. Speaking of the encore, it saw Sharleen come back on the stage in her iconic 2001 leather suit and not only does she still fit inside it… she still looks stunning in it.
Tonight’s show is one that leaves you slightly breathless by the end. Not only have you been singing and dancing for three hours, but it’s overwhelming that we’ve been in the presence of two of the best musical exports that Scotland has produced. Texas has been going for thirty five years, but they’ve only got better live and tonight was a show that proves they’re not only worthy of legendary status, but they’re not going to loose it any time soon.
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