Our writer Neil Renton attended a Q&A at The Caves in Edinburgh to promote Texas' greatest hits album.
Here’s my theory.
The bigger an act becomes the smaller a venue they should play.
Think about it. Muse without the drones and the pyros. Just the three of them in small club headed by classically trained Matt Bellamy absolutely going for it.
U2 minus the big screens and pantomime. Instead, the four of them taking back to when they started with the whites of the eyes of the crowd staring back at them.
It’ll take the artists back to where it started and give their fans a chance to experience them up close and personal.
And that’s what Texas did when they appeared at The Caves in Edinburgh to promote their greatest hits album with a stripped-back performance back by Assai Records.
Here’s what we learned from their set and the Q and A intertwined with the songs.
1 - Sharleen Spiteri is a contradiction
The Texas frontwoman is truly unique. Surely about to be upgraded to National Treasure status, she’s got the voice of a siren and the vocabulary of a sailor.
Her soulful vocals didn’t falter for one bit. And neither did her frequent use of expletives as she answered questions from the crowd.
2 - The band's second ever gig was supporting Fleetwood Mac.
Their first live performance was in Dundee. Not long after that they got a call asking if they’d support one of the greatest rock acts of all time at the Edinburgh Playhouse. Unsurprisingly, Texas accepted.
Spiteri laughed at how Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie had EDINBURGH on her keyboard in massive letters to remind her where she was. Spiteri then recalled the crowd didn’t see the funny side when she mixed up Lille and Lyon.
3 - 'Summer Sun' was regarded as a B Side
The band have often had run ins with record bosses. One in particular insisted on ‘Summer Sun’ should only have been a B-side to ‘Black Eyed Boy.’ Texas stuck to their guns and watches as the track made it to number five in the charts.
Not bad for a B-side.
4 - ‘Black Eyed Boy’ was the antidote to ‘The Itch’
On a disastrous trip to America to be ill advised on how to write song, their record company presented them with a song called ‘The Itch.’
Spiteri, quite rightly thought that as a woman she couldn’t sing a song with a meaning that could be interpreted as something you wouldn’t want to be associated with. The band retreated and came up with ‘Black Eyed Boy’ instead.
5 - A whole new audience fell in love with them at Glastonbury
The band first played the iconic festival in 1999 and had to wait until this year before following it up. But they did so in style. Spiteri admitted the audience would assume they'd know a couple of tracks without realising how many the tens of thousands int he crowd actually knew.
The group and audience bounced off each other and in doing so Texas put on one of the best performances of the weekend, blowing up social media and WhatsApp groups as they did so.
It was all timed to coincide with the release of greatest hits album, songs from which they played to a rapturous reception in Scotland's capital city.
6 - You can take the girl out of Glasgow...
But you can't take Glasgow out of the girl. Proof in the pudding, or should that be fish supper, she confessed to munching on before the show came with salt and vinegar as opposed to the local delicacy of chippy sauce.
7 - Alan Rickman sacrificed a holiday to learn how to dance
The late, great actor starred in the 'In Demand' video. To prepare for the tango dance he did with Spiteri in the promo, he delayed the start of his annual holiday to Italy to practice for the occasion. Spiteri acknowledged she repaid the favour by almost breaking his back as she slammed him into a pole.
8 - They've got friends in high places
'Mr Haze' taken from their album 'Hi' sampled the Donna Summer classic 'Love's Unkind.' Not to worry about permission as they're pals with Giorgio Moroder, the Italian producer credited as being 'The Godfather of Disco.' As he had his hand in the Summer track and he knew Spiteri well he gave the band his blessing to use the sample.