Texas celebrate the release of their The Very Best Of... record earlier this year with focus track 'Inner Smile', along with a remix of one of two new singles, 'Keep On Talking'.
Originally released in 2001, ‘Inner Smile’ is best known by many football fans for its use on Sky Sports as the intro to their League Cup coverage for many seasons, along with being on the soundtrack of the coming-of-age sports comedy film Bend It Like Beckham.
34 years since they recorded ‘I Don’t Want A Lover’, then watched, gobsmacked, as it reached #8 in the charts, Texas, one of the UK’s most loved bands, have gone on to produce ten studio albums, selling over 40 million records worldwide. The band’s career spanning new compilation album The Very Best Of 1989 – 2023 was released in June earlier this year, ahead of a career spanning set on Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage that month, a stand out performance which The Independent described as “one of Friday’s most memorable performances” and with The i calling it “the most nostalgic set of the weekend”.
Listen to ‘Inner Smile’ by Texas on our Arsenal FC Fan Playlist on Spotify.
Receiving a massive new dance remix courtesy of GBX & Paul Keenan, ‘Keep On Talking’ is a foot-shuffling cover of the 1965 Northern Soul deep-cut, written by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. The Texas rendition of ‘Keep On Talking’ has their stamp on it – packed to the brim with attitude, vibe and coated in Sharleen Spiteri’s undeniable tones. It’s one of two new tracks on the record alongside ‘After All’.
There’s the one with The Wu-Tang Clan. The five that were Top 10 singles from one album. The one with Alan Rickman in the video. The one that was an inspired Al Green cover. The two written with diverse titans of American music, Dallas Austin and Gregg Alexander. The one that was remixed by Giorgio Moroder. The une that helped give them their first French Number One album. The one with the video directed by Peter Kay. The other one with Wu-Tang Clan. The one that gave them, straight out of the gate, a Top 10 single with their first ever release. The club banger with a killer Donna Summer sample. And the one that ended up the theme song to a top-rating American sitcom. Texas – The Very Best Of 1989-2023 has all of the above, and more. 24 diamonds from a glittering career.
Looks back over these tracks of her years, Sharleen says: “No’ bad for a hairdresser fae Glasgow!” she says, an old joke but still a good one. “But I gotta be honest: I still feel like I’m really close to the beginning. And the energy and the vibe between us all – as a band I don’t think we’ve ever been happier, and I don’t think we’ve ever been tighter. And I don’t think we’ve ever been more definite about who we are.”
