Texas are celebrating 30 years of their seminal fourth album ‘White On Blond’ with an expanded reissue and a UK and European arena tour.
The Scottish group will perform the 1997 album – featuring the hits ‘Say What You Want’, ‘Halo’, ‘Black Eyed Boy’ and ‘Put Your Arms Around Me’ – in full, along with hits from their back catalogue.
Launching in Aberdeen on October 15, they’ll play 11 dates across the UK and Ireland, before embarking on a string of shows across Europe.
Tickets go on sale on Friday, October 30 at 10am GMT and are available here. The full list of UK & Ireland dates is below.
OCTOBER
15 – P&J Arena, Aberdeen
16 – Utilita Arena, Newcastle
18 – The O2, Belfast
19 – 3Arena, Dublin
21 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
23 – First Direct Bank Arena, Leeds
25 – Utilita Arena, Cardiff
26 – Centre, Brighton
27 – The O2, London
29 – Co-op Live, Manchester
30 – Utilita Arena, Birmingha
Ahead of the concerts, Texas are reissuing ‘White On Blonde’ on February 5 with a second disc of rarities and demos, including their new single ‘Another Way To Cry’, and sleeve notes from the band’s friend, comedian Peter Kay.
On how the band felt before ‘White On Blonde’ was released, frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri says: “It didn’t feel risky because no-one at our label gave a shit. We were in Glasgow, we made the album in my house and I did all the vocals in the coat cupboard. We had nothing to lose, and anyway, I didn’t want to fit in.
“If everybody’s doing something, I’m always running in the opposite direction and that’s always been the attitude – whether it’s walking on stage at Glastonbury, or with ‘White On Blonde’. It’s always been us saying: We will play our own tune. If you want to jump on, great. If you hate us, fine. But this is what we want to do.”
Discussing the single, which arrives alongside a video filmed in the Scottish Highlands, directed by Niall Trask and starring Spiteri and actor Robert Carlyle, in a tribute to the film ‘Paris, Texas’, which inspired the group’s name, she adds: “It’s a really good test for a new song if you play it up against the big hits; it’ll either sit up to them, or it fucking dies.
“‘Another Way To Cry’, you could put it in the setlist tomorrow with all the hits and it’ll stand its ground.”
‘White On Blonde’ is released on February 5 and available to pre-order from Amazon, HMV, Rough Trade, Townsend and more, with exclusive bundles available on Texas’ Online Store. Listen to ‘Another Way To Cry’ and watch the music video below.
Tracklist: Texas – ‘White On Blonde 30th Anniversary’
CD1
1. 0.34
2. Say What You Want
3. Drawing Crazy Patterns
4. Halo
5. Put Your Arms Around Me
6. Insane
7. Black Eyed Boy
8. Polo Mint City
9. White On Blonde
10. Postcard
11. 0.28
12. Ticket To Lie
13. Good Advice
14. Breathless
CD2
1. Say What You Want (Wu-Tang Clan Remix)
2.Black Eyed Boy (Demo)
3. Halo (Demo)
4. Mr. Haze (Demo)
5. Sunday Is The Saddest Day (Japanese Single)
6. Say What You Want (Demo)
7. Another Way To Cry
8. Say What You Want Feat. Method Man (Live at The Brits 1997)
9. Say What You Want (Mary Anne Hobbs BBC Session)
10. You’re All I Need To Get By (Mary Anne Hobbs BBC Session)
11. Tear It Up (Forever)
12. Asking For Favours
13. Dollshouse (Demo)
14. Last Train (Original Single)