Texas – Live Review – Scarborough Open Air Theatre
By Roger Crow, July 2025
The sky over Scarborough is the colour of charcoal as Rianne Downey and her band takes to the stage. Maybe it’s the note-perfect mix of country-folk originals and crowd favourites such as Rotterdam and ‘Don’t Marry Her’ (clean version) that help blue skies bleed through the grey. Or maybe it’s the fact that one of Paul Heaton’s favourite musical sidekicks has a nature sweeter than shortbread dipped in honey which helps the clouds vanish.
Tonight’s gig is sold out, and it shows. We’re all here to see the force of nature that is Texas, and around 9pm, those iconic Ry Cooder-inspired guitar twangs of ‘I Don’t Want A Lover’ get the crowd going. It was of course that track that launched them into the stratosphere of British music back in the late 1980s, and a love affair for millions was born.
“Top, sweary, matey banter”
If there’s a better frontwoman than Sharleen Spiteri working in British music today, I’d be amazed. She’s a bit under the weather this weekend, apparently thanks to Natalie Imbruglia and a gig at Ludlow Castle, but it doesn’t affect the performance. Far from it. That bit of gossip is divulged to the crowd via an anecdote involving a fan featured on the screens. It’s his 200th show. I’m only on my fourth, so a mere beginner by comparison, though if listening to White on Blonde on a loop for decades is worthy of a badge, I’ll take it.
Sharleen, as ever, is on top, sweary, matey banter form. She tells us off for not dancing in the right way, and the crowd don’t mind a bit. She is, after all, leaning against an open door. You don’t sell out one of the best music venues in the UK without being able to work a crowd, and she does a great job as always.
One of the most heartfelt moments of the night comes when she pays tribute to all of us who have been with the band through thick and thin: “Without every single one of you buying tickets and records, we wouldn’t be doing this for almost 40 years. So without you, this wouldn’t be possible – thank you Scarborough,” Spiteri told the thousands who made the effort.
“Sublime”
The 90-minute set featuring fan favourites including ‘Halo’, ‘Summer Son’, ‘Mr Haze’, ‘Say What You Want’, and ‘Black Eyed Boy’ flies by, and with that amazing kick-ass sound system you feel in your chest, it’s a sublime experience.
Sadly two of my all time favourites, ‘Insane’, and ‘Put Your Arms Around Me’ were absent, but you can’t have everything. (Ideally Sharleen’s cover of ‘Xanadu’ would have been an added bonus, but that will have to wait for another night).
Sharleen lost a “dear friend two weeks ago”, so her heartfelt tribute via ‘In Demand’ resonates with all of us. The lyrics bring many a punter to the verge of tears. (As a side note, Sharleen’s friendship with Alan Rickman, as featured in his diaries, explains why he appeared in the video, and adds an extra degree of poignancy to the lyrics).
All of the band went the extra mile, especially drummer Cat Myers who has become a welcome part of the Texas family since she joined in April 2021.
“Feel-good anthems”
I can’t imagine a summer without seeing a handful gigs at the Scarborough Open Air Theatre, and I can’t imagine a world without Texas. Their music has been the soundtrack to my life since 1989, and seeing the thousands of fellow fans on July 26, it’s heartening to see how many others have been affected by those banging tunes, foot-tapping classics, and feel-good anthems.
This was the first alfresco Texas gig I’d seen, and the first outside Hull strangely, and it’s a given it won’t be the last.
I’m not surprised they are still in demand after all this time, and I imagine that damehood is only a matter of time Sharleen. Just watch your language when you collect it. (And if you’re reading this, I already know the two-word response, and the second word is ‘off’.). I, like thousands of others, wouldn’t have you any other way.
Images: Cuffe & Taylor
