Sharleen Eugene Spiteri[1] (born 7 November 1967) is a Scottish singer–songwriter and guitarist who has a contralto vocal range,[2][3] best known as the lead singer of the rock band Texas, who rose to prominence in 1989 with the release of their debut single "I Don't Want a Lover".

[5] Their commercial success continued during the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, with singles "In Our Lifetime", "Summer Son", "In Demand" and "Inner Smile".

[11][12] When she was young, the family moved from the Glaswegian suburbs to nearby Balloch, close to the shores of Loch Lomond, and she went to Vale of Leven Academy school there.

Spiteri's musical influences include the Clash (the main reason she plays a black Fender Telecaster), Blondie, Marvin Gaye and Prince.

Only four singles were released from Southside before going on a tour and return to the studio to start work on their second album Mothers Heaven.

Promotion had stopped for Mothers Heaven and again the band returned to the studio to work on their third album, Ricks Road.

Ricks Road was released in 1993, again, not as successful as the band and fans had hoped for, but chart and sales wise, the album did better than Mothers Heaven.

1 on the UK Album Charts and returned to the top spot in the United Kingdom three times (including its debut peak at number one).

In 1998, it was the lone vocal track for the Andy Tennant film, Ever After: A Cinderella Story, starring Drew Barrymore.

[7] The Hush received fair reviews with 'All Music Guide' stating the album was "Blessed with a stylish production and sharp commercial songs".

It had some black and white stills showing her in distinct situations (in one of them, Sharleen/Elvis proudly holds a belt with the word "SHAR" instead of "ELVIS", formed with diamonds).

Later in 2001, she collaborated with American DJ Roger Sanchez on the track "Nothing 2 Prove", which featured on his debut album, First Contact (2001).

[18] In September 2002, Spiteri gave birth to her daughter Mysty Kyd, although this did not prevent her from working on another album.

On 6 October 2003, Texas released their first single from their upcoming sixth album titled "Carnival Girl", which featured rapping vocals by Canadian artist Kardinal Offishall.

5 on the UK Album Charts and only managed Gold status awarded by the BPI for sales of over 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

Red Book became the band's third album to miss the UK Top 10 after Mothers Heaven in 1991 and Ricks Road in 1993.

[29][30] As of February 2010, he is on the road to recovery, as reported by Spiteri in The Sunday Mail: "Ally is the most stubborn person I have ever come across, and I think his sheer pigheadedness is the reason he's still here.

To promote the album, she performed in front of 55,000 fans supporting Paul McCartney on his Up and Coming Tour at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

Tracks are written mainly by Spiteri herself and Johnny McElhone, with Richard Hawley and Bernard Butler as collaborators.

Jump on Board performed well commercially in the band's native Scotland, debuting at number one on the Scottish Albums Chart.

Called "Mr Haze", the track sampled the melody from "Love's Unkind" (a Giorgio Moroder production which was a Top 10 hit for Donna Summer[47] in the late 1970s)[48][49] and was performed on The One Show on BBC One.

[50] Hi is the tenth album released by Texas and includes collaborations with Richard Hawley and Altered Images' Clare Grogan, the latter duetting with Spiteri on the song "Look What You've Done".

[56] Spiteri landed the part of a detective opposite Edward Furlong in the thriller 3 Blind Mice,[57] but backed out due to pregnancy.

starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, but she told Jonathan Ross on his show on 4 November 2005 that she declined because she did not want to move to Australia for a year.

In 2016, she appeared on the British programme Top Gear, along with Seasick Steve and Tinie Tempah in a South African SUV challenge.

[58] The birth prompted her close friend Thierry Henry to dedicate a goal to her daughter by revealing the slogan "For the new born Kyd" beneath his shirt later that day.

[59] Spiteri married celebrity chef Bryn Williams in September 2018 at the 15th-century church of St. Tyrnog in Llandyrnog, North Wales.

[63] At Hogmanay on 31 December 2022, she joined Dame Judi Dench in an impromptu performance of Abba's "Waterloo" at the Fife Arms hotel in Braemar, where they were both staying.

[64] In the run-up to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Spiteri expressed support for Scotland remaining in the Union, stating "As far as I'm concerned, I'm British.

[67] In September 2021, Spiteri appeared on BBC's RHS Chelsea Flower Show to showcase her garden in North Wales in which she grows produce for use in her husband's restaurant.