Interview #513: Sharleen Spiteri

Sharleen Spiteri is one of the leading ladies of pop. For the last twenty years she’s been a virtually constant presence in the pop world as the front-woman of perennial favourites Texas. Striking out on her own in 2008, her debut solo album Melody hit number 3 in the charts, cementing her reputation as a top song-writer. For her new album, The Movie Songbook, she’s covered a series of songs from film.

I Like Music chatted with Sharleen about how the project came about, recording with pop music royalty, the intangibility of inspiration, and why Prince is…well, the king.

"I Like Music because… it takes me to places life can't.” Sharleen Spiteri

ILM: We've been enjoying the new album, The Movie Songbook! A slightly unexpected move that has paid off...

Sharleen: Good! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it! You're right, a lot of people have kind of thought “What the fuck is this all about?” They’ve been like “oh, cover versions?” But then they’ve listened to it for whatever reason and then they’ve gone “ah! Ok, we get it!” I guess when most people hear that I’ve done cover versions, they might baulk at the idea, but it was something means a lot to me. The whole film thing was always massively influential in my song-writing. Then the opportunity came up and I thought “you know what, I really want to do this! It’s gonna be a lot of fun and I just want to do it and I’m just gonna go for it!” I’ve just had so much fun making it!

ILM: There are some really well known songs on there. It’s great to hear a fresh take on them, a great cover version can bring new life to a track...

Sharleen: Absolutely. That’s the thing. These are absolutely wonderful songs. That was the one thing when I was recording it…at one point I did kind of bottle it and think “Oh shit, why have I said yes to this? These are iconic songs and why would I try and redo them? It’s nuts! Why don’t you just chuck a noose around my neck and pull!” It was that really difficult point. But I decided I couldn’t bottle this, I had to do it. I love these songs and I decided I really had to go with that respect and appreciation in my heart and do the songs from that point of view. I couldn’t think about it too much. You’re gonna get something like Take My Breath Away and Xanadu next to God Bless The Child and This One’s From The Heart or The Windmills Of Your Mind. You’d never put those songs together on one album, but for some reason it works!

ILM: Why do you think that is?

Sharleen: I wrote a list from my total gut-feeling in literally twenty minutes and said “this is what I want to do.” Some of the songs didn’t work so well, but it was just a matter of doing it so that it didn’t sound like a karaoke record.

ILM: How did you work towards that sound?

Sharleen: We actually recorded the whole album in eight days. I did it in Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. We did all the homework before we went. We basically sat with all the tracks, did all the arrangements, got all the music written up, everything. I worked with Phil Ramone, who’s known for doing all the Sinatra, Barbara Streisand, Paul Simon records. He’s done every great record you can ever imagine.

ILM: What was the process like in the studio?

Sharleen: We had a little chat back and forth on the phone and we had everything set in stone before we went in, so it ran really smoothly. Phil chose all the musicians for me. He said “Look, I’ve thought of this person, that person…” we discussed it and I was like “I’d be absolutely thrilled to work with them!” I had Frank Sinatra’s drummer. I had Quincy Jones’ horn section and Michael Jackson’s guitarist. I had the best musicians in the world making this record with me. So, I had Phil Ramone, who’s one of the greatest producers of all time, and I had a band that you couldn’t dream of putting together, and I had Al Schmitt, the engineer who’s done all the Sinatra and Barbara Streisand. All those records. Every record you know it’s normally these guys on them.

ILM: Have they done film music before?

Sharleen: They’ve done a lot of the big film music, including some of the originals of the songs that I’ve done on the album. So for me, it was putting these kinds of people together and making a record that I was really drawn to. The only way I could go with it was to do it as truthfully as possible, the only way I know how, and see how it sounds.

ILM: You must have learnt a lot working with such musical legends?

Sharleen: I learnt that making records is fun and it’s easy when you’re prepared. It’s all about putting the work in beforehand. When we write an album we put in so much work beforehand, before we actually go into the studio. We were aware of that. We knew that’s how it worked.

ILM: The preparation must differ quite a lot when you're working with songs you haven't written?

Sharleen: You know, myself and Johnny are songwriters. But we thought “these are songs that have been crafted, and loved and looked after when they were made the first time. We need to respect that as songwriters when we’ll be doing them.” So yes, that’s why we did the homework and made sure they were in the right key for my voice and made sure it suited my voice when I sang it.

ILM: Did any not work?

Sharleen: Some of them didn't. As much as I loved the song and as much as it was a big hit record, some of them just didn’t work. You wouldn’t do the song any justice so you just had to pull it. But I sat there in the studio and had so much fun. Sitting with Al and Phil and talking about the records that they made, listening to their passion and love for every detail… Watching somebody that has made so many albums and still retaining such an attention to detail was just fantastic.

ILM: Will that experience affect your song writing process moving forward?

Sharleen: When I’ve heard a great song, or when I’ve sung a cover of a great song that somebody else has written, it only inspires me to do better at what I do. It inspires me to write greater songs.

ILM: Have you been doing any song-writing recently?

Sharleen: Yep, we’re doing the next Texas album. We’ve started working on that. We’re just doing the writing at the moment and hopefully we’ll have something by next year (2011).

ILM: How’s that writing going? What kind of influences are floating around?

Sharleen: A lot of people ask that, but I never have this conversation this early on. It’s funny because what you’re influenced by and what you think you’re making at the beginning of a record is never how it turns out. So I’d be telling you things and they’d be gobbledygook to be honest! Sometimes you don’t even know what’s influenced you at the point at which you’re writing it. It’s hysterical because I’ve done Xanadu on this album, and it’s really weird, ‘cos every time I go to sing Xanadu at the moment I keep thinking I’m going to sing Halo! I’m a massive Jeff Lynne fan, and Jeff Lynne did Xanadu. It’s kind of weird, because ELO and Jeff Lynne are very influential as songwriters to me, but you don’t even know half the time what’s influenced you!

ILM: I imagine it’s hard to analyse your music when you’re in the moment and making it…

Sharleen: I don't know how I do it! I don't know how it happens! I’m just glad that it happens! I think “thank god that I can still do it!” I don’t know how it happens, but I just know that when it does work it’s the best feeling in the world. That moment when you actually get a song and it all fits. It’s a great feeling.

ILM: You've been writing songs for a long time, have you developed any habits? What type of songs do you enjoy writing the most?

Sharleen: I love a good old verse, bridge and chorus. I like a song that gradually builds up through a verse, into the bridge and then hits a big chorus. That’s the structure I love. I love a song that you can sing back, and whether it’s a ballad or an up-beat foot-stomper, you just get your hands in the air and absolutely believe that what you’re singing is yours. Even when it’s someone else’s songs. I like it when it doesn’t matter how many years I’ve not heard that song, when I hear it again it’s still great. I like a good melody. I love melody more than anything. Rather than any gimmick, I’d rather have a great melody. But it depends what style of song-writer you are. You have to do what you believe in. The public smell a rat within two seconds.

ILM: How have you found fame?

Sharleen: I’ve been pretty lucky. I’ve managed to get a balance. Or rather, the public have given me a balance that has personally really suited me. I think the public know that everyday normal life is massively important for me. But what I love doing is writing songs and standing on the stage playing music. It feels like you can fly! I think that the pleasure they see me have from it shows that that’s what I love more than anything, and that I have absolutely no desire to be a celebrity in any way or form.

ILM: I imagine that when you’re genuine it is far easier to maintain on a day to day basis. It would be difficult to constantly live up to an invented persona...

Sharleen: Oh yeah. I’m not into tricking anybody. I love music. I’m a nerd! That’s it! I’m happy when I’m sitting playing my guitar and singing songs, and the more people that can hear me doing that then the happier I am. I don’t just want to do it in my bedroom, I do want to share it with everybody. I love music so much and it’s made even more special when you share it with other people. You never think that when you’re writing, but when you go out on tour and you play a song and see that it has a moment in a complete stranger’s life, that’s a great thing! You connect in a really weird way. There are just certain records that remind you of places in your life.

ILM: Which stand out for you?

Sharleen: Every time I hear A Town Called Malice by the Jam I know I’m on my bike riding like a maniac playing ‘hunts on bikes’ in Balloch at about 13 or 14 years old! I even know how hot it was! We used to hook the radios on the front of our bikes. Music is just such an important thing. It’s escapism. You know what, I like to escape!

ILM: Aside from records, out of all the live shows you've been to, which are the ones that have really impacted and inspired you?

Sharleen: Wow, um… I remember going to see Echo & the Bunnymen really early on and I thinking “bloody hell, that was amazing!” I remember Ian McCulloch playing this massive acoustic guitar and it was so powerful and amazing. It was way early on. The sound was so big and the songs were so anthemic. I stood in Barrowlands and just went, “wow!” I’ve seen so many bands… You learn a lot going out on tour with people as well.

ILM: Who have you learnt from through touring?

Sharleen: I went out with John Mellancamp in America many years ago and I remember watching him. He had this big soul thing going on. He had this big band and I watched the work and the time that he put into sound-check, the love that he put into it. He worked so hard before an audience was even in the place. You learn a lot from that. I’ve seen U2 playing in clubs and I’ve seen them playing in stadiums, and to this day, whether it’s a club or it’s a stadium, they still work their arses off on the stage! It’s still having that passion and belief in it. That shines through. I’ve been to see Metallica, which is something completely different to what I do! I was in the pit and thinking “bloody hell, this is brilliant!” They did These Boots Are Made For Walking and I was just blown away. It’s one of my all-time favourite records, one of the first I ever owned. I’ve seen so many different things. I’ve seen Erasure open up for Duran Duran. I remember seeing Prince, who is probably the artist of all artists. That was just mind-numbingly good! It’s so good that you just go “fuck off! That can’t be real!” I’ve seen Prince on many, many tours, and those records still to this day stand out above everybody.

ILM: What have you been listening to recently?

Sharleen: I really love that Lily Allen record. I think she’s an amazing song-writer. The lyrics and the melodies in it are absolutely brilliant. I love the Paloma Faith record. Those are the two records that I’ve really been enjoying a lot. A lot of the female singers are brilliant. It’s a good time for women in music. Some of the strongest song-writers are females, like Florence + the Machine, Paloma Faith and Lily Allen.