After years of listening to their music, watching their videos and finally talking to the Sharleen Spiteri, the thrill of watching Texas live in Dubai at the Dubai Tennis Stadium on Thursday night, was kind of surreal.
Live concerts are the real deal, an experience like no other.
It was not my first Texas gig, and it certainly won’t be his last, for watching the Scottish pop/rock outfit perform a stream of hit singles like Say What You Want, In Our Lifetime, Conversation and Summer Sumer, was nothing short of magical. Like going to a David Copperfield show, perhaps, even better.
Glaswegian Spiteri, who co-founded Texas in the mid 80s, is a performer of exceptional talent and inborn charisma that makes her standout in a world filled with manufactured pop stars.
“For those of you who have bought our records, watched us on TV, and followed our every move for over 30 years, this is for you. We could not be still doing this without you,” she told an adoring crowd. “Now how about some music.”
And the music filled the iconic venue as Spiteri and her band delivered one hit after the other. They were all performed with panache and passion by the ever so sprightly 50 year old who doesn’t look a day older than 21.
Spiteri has always insisted what she does is always about the music and Texas’ lively two-hour set delivered on very count.
As a result, even the older songs like I Don’t Want a Lover, Everyday Now and The Thrill Has Gone, sounded as fresh as a daisy.
Other crowd pleasers included When We are Together, Summer Sun, Black Eyed Boy, In Demand and the outstanding Say What You Want, easily one of the best songs of the night.
Spiteri is well known for her wiry humour and a penchant for playing with the audience’s perceptions of her band.
“Just in case you haven’t noticed, we’re Scottish!” she yelled while posturing in her tailored basic grey suit.
“If you can come together to listen to music, we can live together and love together,” she added tossing her trademark cropped hairstyle.
Older fans might have accidently not noticed that, Midnight, the lead single from the new album, which was shot entirely in India, featured alongside Summer Sun and In Demand. Such was her magnetism.
After close to two hours of exceptional music and being entertained by her comic appeal, she would bid goodbye only to return to racous cheers and deliver a rousing version of Inner Smile, from Texas’ Greatest Hirts album. A song that featured in the final sequence of the British-German comedy-drama sports film, Bend It Like Beckham.
This would pave the way for a powerful rendition of the Elvis Presely classic, Suspicious Minds, which Spiteri and her band performed with romantic appeal and bravado.
As the crowd wound the way out of the stadium you could hear people singing, “We’re caught in a trap, I can’t walk out. Because I love you too much baby,” lyrics which absolutely summed up Spiteri’s performance on the night.
