Sharleen Spiteri and Chris Difford

The songwriter and guitarist is the lead singer for Scottish rock band Texas

Next up on I Never Thought It Would Happen is none other than Sharleen Spiteri. Since Texas were founded in 1986, the band have sold more than 40 million records worldwide and secured three Number 1 albums in the UK

The group have had many highlights over the years and during the podcast Chris has a brilliant conversation with Sharleen about a very recent one that happened in 2023. Texas played Glastonbury festival (the second time they have been booked for the Pyramid stage) and Sharleen was taken aback by the amount of love coming from the audience — she loved the experience.

Since that gig, things have changed for the band. Fred again.. dropped Inner Smile’ to close his headline Alexandra Palace show (something that made Sharleen’s daughter think her mum might actually be cool) and the band’s profile has risen. Texas have an arena tour booked for later in 2024 which they are really excited about.

Chris also asks Sharleen about the band’s wellbeing and this is something she believes has changed over the years. Sharleen recognises the music industry is not the kindest place to work and there have been moments in time where different members of the band have struggled. Thankfully nowadays everyone is healthy in the group and they’re in a good place.

Despite the fact that her personal relationship with the music industry has not always been simple, this has not stopped her working with some amazing people in and around Texas. As she explains to Chris, she feels very privileged to do what she does for a living and to still be playing her music and staying relevant.

This episode also features a contribution from Andrew Brown, bass player for Afro Cluster. Afro Cluster are a Cardiff-based Afrofunk and hip hop group and over the years have been supported by the charity in a few different ways. We helped the band to release their debut LP The Reach in 2021, and also supported them with some business advice sessions. The band found these sessions to be extremely helpful and have informed a number of career decisions they’ve made since.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Series 4 and rest assured there are plenty more exciting episodes to come over the next few weeks. Make sure you listen and subscribe by following the links provided below.

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