Texas to Celebrate 35th Anniversary at 2024 Australian Shows

July 17, 2023

Scottish pop rock outfit Texas will play two Australian shows in early 2024 as part of a worldwide retrospective tour. The band, led by vocalist Sharleen Spiteri and bass player Johnny McElhone, will perform at Forum Melbourne on Wednesday, 31st January and Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on Thursday, 1st February.

Spiteri and McElhone formed Texas in Glasgow in 1986. Their debut single, ‘I Don’t Want A Lover’, came out in January 1989. The band will celebrate the song’s 35th anniversary at their 2024 Australian shows, while also performing material from their 1989 debut album, Southside, and nine subsequent albums.

Texas – ‘I Don’t Want A Lover’

Texas gained a following in Australia in the early days of their career. Southside spent 26 weeks in ARIA’s Top 50 Albums chart, peaking at #14, while ‘I Don’t Want A Lover’ made it to number four on the singles chart.

The band experienced a boost in popularity with the release of their fourth studio album, 1997’s White on Blonde. The album’s lead single, ‘Say What You Want’, peaked at number eleven in Australia and number three in the UK.

Texas were last in Australia in 2017, playing shows at the Triffid in Brisbane, The Metro in Sydney, the Astor in Perth, the Gov in Adelaide and 170 Russell in Melbourne. The band’s latest album is 2021’s Hi. They released the 24-song compilation, The Very Best of 1989–2023, in June 2023.

“Not bad for a hairdresser fae Glasgow,” Spiteri said in a statement. “But I gotta be honest: I still feel like I’m really close to the beginning. And the energy and the vibe between us all – as a band I don’t think we’ve ever been happier, and I don’t think we’ve ever been tighter. And I don’t think we’ve ever been more definite about who we are.”