Spiteri was born in Glasgow to father Eddie, a guitar-playing merchant seaman of Maltese descent, and mother Vilma, a singer of German/Irish roots. When she was young the family moved from the Glaswegian suburbs to nearby Balloch, Dumbartonshire, close to the banks of Loch Lomond. At school her nickname was ‘Spit the Dog’, after the gobbing mutt on the TV show Tiswas[1]. Musical career Spiteri's musical influences range from The Clash (the main reason she plays a black Fender Telecaster) to Blondie to Marvin Gaye and Prince. She is also a dedicated Diana Ross fan. She co-founded the band Texas while still a hairdresser in Glasgow at the Irvine Rusk salon. 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), as well as the BBC's Top of the Pops, because of Spiteri's scenes in a bed in a bedroom overlooking a beach, despite being fully clothed[citation needed]. Spiteri supported German Industrial metal band Rammstein by supplying guest vocals in their ballad "Stirb Nicht Vor Mir (Don't Die Before I Do)" on their album Rosenrot (2005). She also sang backing vocals on the Gun albums Taking On The World and Gallus from 1989 and 1992. She is the cousin of Gun singer Mark Rankin. Spiteri additionally sang backing vocals on "Bad Time" by Jayhawks on their album "Tomorrow the Green Grass" from 1995. Solo Career On the 6th of July 2008 she entered the UK charts at number 47 with her first solo recording "All the Times I Cried". Sharleen released her debut solo album "Melody" on 14th of July 2008.