White on Blonde

White on Blonde
Studio album by Texas
Released	3 February 1997
Recorded	1994–97 Chateau De La Rouge Motte, France The Church, London Abbey Road Studios, London Love Net, Shar's House Parklane Studios
Genre	Alternative rock blue-eyed soul
Length	47:06
Label	Mercury
Producer	Texas Mike Hedges Dave Stewart Rae Christian
Texas chronology
Ricks Road (1993) White on Blonde (1997) The Hush (1999)
Alternate cover
Japanese Bonus cover
Singles from White on Blonde
"Say What You Want" Released: 6 January 1997 "Halo" Released: 6 April 1997 "Black Eyed Boy" Released: 28 July 1997 "Put Your Arms Around Me" Released: 23 November 1997 "Insane" / "Say What You Want (All Day, Every Day)" Released: 9 March 1998

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

White on Blonde is the fourth studio album by Scottish rock band Texas, released by Mercury Records in February 1997. The album was the band's first number one, and became their biggest seller. It has been certified 6x Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of over 1.8 million copies.

Background and release

The album included five UK Top Ten singles, "Say What You Want" (UK #3), "Halo" (UK #10), "Black Eyed Boy" (UK #5), "Put Your Arms Around Me" (UK #10) and "Insane" (UK #4) which was 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.^[2] The album was also a major success in various European countries, such as France where it peaked at #2 on the French Album Charts. Worldwide, sales of White on Blonde are estimated at around 4-5 million copies. The album was produced by the band themselves, along with Mike Hedges and former Eurythmics star Dave Stewart.^[3]

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.^[4] The album is also ranked #34 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime,"^[3] included in Q magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s," and included in Q magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997."^[3]

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.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"0.34" (Introduction)	Johnny McElhone, Sharleen Spiteri	Texas	0:34
2.	"Say What You Want"	McElhone, Spiteri	Texas	3:53
3.	"Drawing Crazy Patterns"	McElhone, Spiteri	Texas	3:52
4.	"Halo"	McElhone, Spiteri	Texas, Mike Hedges	4:10
5.	"Put Your Arms Around Me"	McElhone, Spiteri, Dave Stewart, Robert Hodgens	Dave Stewart, Texas	4:33
6.	"Insane"	McElhone, Spiteri	Texas, Hedges	4:45
7.	"Black Eyed Boy"	McElhone, Spiteri, Eddie Campbell, Richard Hynd, Hodgens	Texas	3:10
8.	"Polo Mint City"	McElhone, Spiteri	Texas	1:37
9.	"White on Blonde"	McElhone, Spiteri	Texas	3:46
10.	"Postcard"	McElhone, Spiteri	Texas	4:00
11.	"0.28" (Interlude)		Texas	0:28
12.	"Ticket to Lie"	McElhone, Spiteri, Hodgens	Texas	3:31
13.	"Good Advice"	McElhone, Spiteri, Mark Rae, Steve Christian	Texas, Mark Rae, Steve Christian	4:50
14.	"Breathless"	McElhone, Spiteri	Texas, Hedges	3:55
15.	"Sunday Is the Saddest Day" (Japanese bonus track)			4:11

Japanese Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
15.	"Say What You Want" (Mary Anne Hobbs acoustic session)
16.	"Halo" (808 mix)
17.	"Black Eyed Boy" (Neo-Northern Bossa Nova mix)	McElhone, Spiteri, Campbell, Hynd, Hodgens
18.	"Sorry"
19.	"Say What You Want" (Rae & Christian mix)

Interactive Songbook bonus disc
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Say What You Want" (Music video)
2.	"Halo" (Music video)
3.	"Black Eyed Boy" (Music video)
4.	"Put Your Arms Around Me" (Music video)
5.	"Sing Along"
6.	"Riff Guide"
7.	"Chords"
8.	"Three Level Quiz"

Personnel

Texas

• Sharleen Spiteri – Vocals, Guitar
• Ally McErlaine – Guitar
• Johnny McElhone – Bass guitar
• Eddie Campbell – Keyboards
• Richard Hynd – Drums

Other Personnel

• Roger Ward – Guitar
• Paul Taylor – Programming
• Alex Silva – Programming, Keyboards
• Terry Disley – Programming, Keyboards
• Martin Greene – Strings (Arrangement)
• Claire Miles – Strings
• Anne Stephenson – Strings
• Sally Herbert – Strings
• Claire Orsler – Strings
• Susan Dench – Strings
• Gini Ball – Strings
• Chris Pitsillide – Strings
• Steven Granville – Backing vocals

Charts

Chart performance

Chart (1997)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart	1
Australia (ARIA Albums Chart)[5]	25
Austrian Albums Chart	32
Netherlands Albums Chart	21
New Zealand Albums Chart	36
Norwegian Albums Chart	17
Swedish Albums Chart	12
Switzerland Albums Chart	25
French Albums Chart	2
German Albums Chart	44
Spanish Albums Chart	4
Swiss Albums Chart	12

Certifications

• UK: 6× Platinum^[2]
• FRA: Platinum^[6]
• SWE: Gold^[7]
• SWI: Platinum^[8]

References

1. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "White on Blonde - Texas". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
2. "Texas - White on Blonde". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
3. "Texas - White On Blonde". CD Universe. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
4. "The 100 Greatest Albums in the Universe", Q, February 1998
5. "australian-charts.com > Texas discography". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
6. "Les Certifications > Texas". InfoDisc Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 2011-07-17.
7. "IFPI Sweden > Guld & Platina > 1987-1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
8. "IFPI Swiss Certifications" (in German). hitparade.ch International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2010-02-22.