FEATURE:
The Return of the Black Eyed Boy
Texas’ White on Blonde at Twenty-Five
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THIS will be a lot shorter…
than any other album anniversary feature, as there is not a great deal online regarding Texas’ fourth studio album, White on Blonde. The Glasgow band, I feel, reached a commercial and creative peak on White on Blonde. Released on 3rd February, 1997, it is hard to think that the album is twenty-five very soon! It was one of those albums I remember buying when I was a teenager. Led by the captivating and hugely powerful presence of Sharleen Spiteri, the band (Ally McErlaine – guitar, Johnny McElhone – bass guitar, Eddie Campbell – keyboards, vocals, and Richard Hynd – drums) are so strong and connected throughout. Singles like Say What You Want and Black Eyed Boy are among the most notable and memorable of the 1990s. Though Texas’ fifth album, The Hush (1999), was another cracker, I think their finest work is White on Blonde. A chart success around the world, it would be interesting to find more interviews and archive reviews from 1997. I know that there was a lot of praise for White on Blonde at the time. On its twenty-fifth anniversary, I hope that the band are able to look back fondly on an incredible album. Prior to continuing on, this Wikipedia article gives us some idea of the success that was afforded to White on Blonde:
“The album includes five UK Top Ten singles: "Say What You Want" (UK No. 3), "Halo" (UK No. 10), "Black Eyed Boy" (UK No. 5), "Put Your Arms Around Me" (UK No. 10) and "Insane" (UK No. 4), the latter released as a double A-sided single with "Say What You Want (All Day, Every Day)", a new version of the 1997 hit featuring additional rap vocals by the Wu-Tang Clan.
White on Blonde has been certified 6x Platinum in the UK, which indicates sales of over 1.8 million copies in that territory. The album was also a major success in various European countries, such as France where it peaked at #2 on the French Album Charts. The album was produced by the band themselves, along with Mike Hedges and former Eurythmics star Dave Stewart.
Honours
White on Blonde has received many honours since its release in 1997. It was voted the 86th greatest album of all time by Q magazine readers in 1998. The album is also ranked #34 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime," included in Q magazine's "90 Best Albums of the 1990s," and included in Q magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997."
White on Blonde became the first Texas album to top the UK Album Charts and is one of only two Texas albums (along with The Greatest Hits) to be certified 6x Platinum in the United Kingdom.
In 2010, White on Blonde was nominated in the BRIT Awards Best Album in the past 25 years.
On the other hand, White on Blonde was voted the worst Scottish album ever in a 2007 online poll of music fans”.
Some say 1997 was the best year ever for British music. There is some truth in that. With classic albums from Blur (Blur) and Radiohead (OK Computer) coming later in the year, there was definitely some massive movement and wave of timeless albums. Not similar to Britpop at the time or the likes of Blur and Radiohead, Texas created their own sound and niche. White on Blonde is a definitely classic that is packed with tracks that will be played for years. Alongside the singles are terrific deep cuts such as White on Blonde (the album and its title cut are a nod to Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde) and Ticket to Lie (I suspect, a nod to The Beatles’ Ticket to Ride). Prior to rounding off and saluting a brilliant album that saw Texas ascend to new heights of acclaim and success, this article from last year discussed Texas’ commercial comeback with White on Blonde:
“The 2017 release of Jump On Board, the ninth studio album by Texas, continued the long-running adventures of the Scottish pop-rock band. One of the most memorable occurred on February 15, 1997, when they went to the top of the UK album chart for the first time, with White On Blonde.
It had been a long road to the summit for the band fronted by Sharleen Spiteri, coming nearly eight years since their first album chart appearance in the UK with Southside, in 1989. It was also a dramatic comeback in commercial terms. That debut album, which reached No.3, contained the No.8 hit single “I Don’t Want A Lover,” but ten subsequent chart singles had all peaked below the Top 10, as did the albums Mothers Heaven and Ricks Road. So the stakes were high for White On Blonde, and Texas delivered – to the tune of six-times platinum.
The album got off to a hot start early in the new year of 1997 when “Say What You Want” became a No.3 smash, still the biggest of the band’s career. That created the momentum for the album to crash into the chart at No.1, where it spent a week, returning to the top for another week in August, by which time it had two more top ten hits on it, in “Halo” and “Black Eyed Boy.”
They were far from done even then, as the album was certified for UK shipments alone of 1.8 million copies (it was also platinum in France and Switzerland) and ended with an extraordinary tally of five Top 10 singles. “Put Your Arms Around Me” and “Insane” both made that grade, the latter accompanied by a remix of the initial hit, now renamed “Say What You Want (All Day Every Day).”
“It’s our time now,” Spiteri proudly told Q magazine in the summer of 1997. “When our first album, Southside came out, the record company said, ‘She’s the girl, let’s plaster her face everywhere.’ I wasn’t ready. Now it’s not their decision, and I am ready. We all knew we couldn’t just go to the studio and say ‘Here we go again.’ I never gave up, because I knew we could make a great record”.
One of those albums that everyone knows about and can connect with the songs, I am glad that Texas are still going. They have released great albums since 1997, though I think White on Blonde is their crowning achievement. The band are terrific throughout White on Blonde, though I keep coming back to Sharleen Spiteri and her stunning voice. One of the very best band leaders I have heard, I wanted to mark the upcoming anniversary of Texas’ wonderful fourth studio album. I listen to White on Blonde quite a bit, and it still sounds essential, fresh and highly nuanced…
AFTER twenty-five years.