Sharleen Spiteri

Back to the list of all people

Sharleen Spiteri

Who is:

Sharleen Spiteri is a Scottish singer. She fronts the band Texas. Her father is Maltese of Italian descent and she grew up in Balloch near Loch Lomond.

Date of birth / dead:

November 7, 1967 in Glasgow / still alive

Relation to Rammstein:

‘Stirb nicht vor mir/Don’t die before I do’ is uniquely different compared to Rammstein’s other songs. It is dominated by clean, arpeggiated guitars, with no distorted guitar to be found on the track. ‘Stirb nicht vor mir’ is a duet, featuring Sharleen Spiteri from the British band Texas on vocals along with Till Lindemann. Till sings in German as usual, but Sharleen’s lyrics are in English.

A strictly German version may be released sometime in the future. Christian ‘Flake’ Lorenz expressed dissatisfaction with the current song in an online chat with fans: ‘I hope that we can release the German version. The English version is not good, IMO. I don’t know how English speakers feel about it. For me it’s just embarrassing. In the German version, Bobo sings it.’

Biography

Spiteri worked as a hairdresser before finding success with the band in 1986. She separated from her partner Ashley Heath, a magazine executive, in the second half of 2004. The couple have a daughter, Misty Kyd, born on September 10, 2002 This prompted her close friend Thierry Henry to dedicate a goal to her daughter by lifting his shirt to reveal the slogan ‘For the new born Kyd.’ in an infamous incident later that day. Spiteri landed the part of a detective opposite Edward Furlong in the thriller Three Blind Mice, but backed out due to pregnancy. She also got a part in Moulin Rouge! starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, but she told Jonathan Ross on his show on November 4, 2005 that she declined because she did not want to move to Australia for a year.

Spiteri supported German Tanz-Metall band Rammstein by supplying guest vocals in the ballad ‘Stirb nicht vor mir//Don’t die before I do’ on the album Rosenrot (2005). She also appears singing backing vocals on the GUN (http://www.gunrgallus.fsnet.co.uk/) albums ‘Taking on the world’ and ‘Gallus’ from 1989 and 1992 respectively and is the cousin of GUN singer Mark Rankin.

Several actors have appeared in Texas videos: ‘In demand’ featured Alan Rickman dancing the tango with Spiteri, ‘I’ll see it through’ featured French actor Jean Reno and ‘Getaway’ had James Purefoy courting Spiteri. The video for ‘Summer son’ was banned from daytime MTV (Europe), BBC’s Top of the Pops because of Spiteri’s scenes in a bed in a bedroom overlooking a beach, despite being fully clothed.

Spiteri has a large lesbian fanbase, though her own sexual orientation is heterosexual. She wrote and performed the title track to the 1990s sitcom Ellen, and once appeared alongside Ellen DeGeneres in the opening credits.

Sharleen’s musical influences range from The Clash (the main reason she plays a black Fender Telecaster) and Blondie to Marvin Gaye and Prince.

Spiteri started up one of the most profitable management companies in Scotland, Near Back.

6 COMMENTS

  1. I think the song is a piece of shit, just like Lorenz said… I don’t care so much about the gay sound as much for the fact THEY sing with HER KIND of musician

  2. I think Stirb Nicht Vor Mir is one the most uniquely beautiful songs I have ever heard. It is perfect the way it is now and Sharleen has a wonderful voice!

  3. I think Stirb Nicht Vor Mir is a great song, too bad Flake doesn’t feel the same but at least he can be happy that a lor of fans actually like it! I think it’s a great duet.

  4. I think its really great that this song has been made. It really inspired me. And to Flake’s comment, people that speak English love the song. Like me and my friends.

Leave a Reply to L Cancel reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here