Texas are a Scottish pop rock band from Glasgow. They were founded in 1986 by Johnny McElhone (formerly of the bands Altered Images and Hipsway) and Sharleen Spiteri on lead vocals. Texas made their performing debut in March 1988 at the University of Dundee. They took their name from the 1984 Wim Wenders movie Paris, Texas.
The band released their debut album Southside in 1989, along with the debut single "I Don't Want a Lover" which was a top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart and peaked within the top ten of the charts in many other European countries. Southside entered at number three on the UK Albums Chart and number 88 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States, and sold over 2 million copies worldwide. Despite the success of Southside, the follow-up albums Mothers Heaven (1991) and Ricks Road (1993) were less successful, peaking at number 32 and number 18 on the UK Albums Chart respectively, but achieved moderate success on various European markets.
The band's fortunes changed in 1997 with the release of their White on Blonde album which entered at the top of the UK Albums Chart and became their biggest seller. To date it has been certified six-times platinum in the United Kingdom. Follow up album, The Hush (1999), was also successful, entering at the top of the UK Albums Chart and certified triple platinum. The band's Greatest Hits album, released in 2000, was another big seller, again entering at the top of the UK Albums Chart and also being certified six-times platinum. Texas would go on to release a further two studio albums, Careful What You Wish For in 2003, and Red Book in 2005, both of which were certified gold in the United Kingdom. After the release of Red Book and a tour to support the album's release, Texas went on hiatus. Lead singer Sharleen Spiteri launched a solo career, releasing her debut solo album, Melody, in 2008.
As of 2017, Texas' worldwide sales were 40 million records and they have had thirteen top-ten singles on the UK Singles Chart and three number one albums and eight UK top ten albums on the UK Albums Chart. Their ninth studio album, Jump on Board which was released in May 2017, which also peaked within the top ten of the album charts in Belgium and France, whilst their tenth studio album, Hi, released in May 2021, became their highest charting album in the UK since 1999s The Hush, debuting at number three on the official UK Albums Chart and number one on the UK Independent Albums Chart, whilst debuting at number one in their native Scotland.
