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STEPPING on to the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury in 2023 was a big moment for Texas, who had last played at the festival 24 years earlier.

But whatever expectations frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri and her band had for the gig were blown out of the water, because it sent them stratospheric once again and gained them thousands of new fans.

Now they are capitalising on their expanded fanbase by heading out on an 11-date arena tour of the UK and Ireland next October, and releasing a 30th anniversary version of their No1 album White On Blonde, featuring hits including Say What You Want, Black Eyed Boy and Halo.

And as good news comes in threes, today Texas have also released a new single, Another Way To Cry.

In an exclusive chat, Sharleen told me of their success: “I think it tastes sweeter than it ever has.

“The honest truth is that when we did that Glastonbury a couple of years ago, you never know how it’s going to go, but that Glastonbury changed everything. Suddenly there was a whole new audience that wanted to see Texas and we announced that tour off the back of that.

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“It just was a moment of, ‘Wow, people really do still want to see us.’ When you look out into that audience, the ages vary all over the shop. It’s quite extraordinary.

“There’s been lots of people going, ‘When are you going on tour?’ so it’s good that there is still that desire to see us, and for us, that just makes the desire to go and play even stronger than it’s ever been.”

If you have not seen Texas yet, I urge you to snap up tickets when they go on general sale at 10am next Friday, October 30.

There, you will be able to hear the Scottish rockers’ new single, which is a rollicking, brassy singalong with Sharleen’s bluesy voice shining strong.

The accompanying video — an ode to the film Paris Texas, which was the inspiration for the band’s name — sees her exploring the Scottish highlands and bumping into fellow Scot, Trainspotting star Robert Carlyle.

On shooting the visuals, she said: “We had every season in the space of an hour, which was extraordinary, but that’s Scotland. We had scorching sun, pouring rain then sleet and hail stones and wind.

“It was fun, alongside our mates the Highland cattle, which was fantastic.”

And she insisted the Highland cows in the video were genuine. She continued: “It’s not AI, they were actually there. There was one point where me and Robert were walking down the road and they were coming right up, and they’re gigantic and they’ve got horns.

“If it just moved its head in the wrong direction and you’re anywhere near that horn you’re getting whacked by it.”

Thankfully they emerged unscathed and Sharleen has since been back in the studio.

Asked if there is an album of new music on the way too, she said: “Yeah, we’re working on a new record.”

As for White On Blonde, which will be out on February 5, Texas are chuffed it is being released on vinyl for the first time after they were recently fleeced trying to buy another of their records on the format.

She explained: “There was only ever vinyl made for the Press. We actually had to buy one of the old albums back because we’d given them away.

“We ended up buying our own record back for £1,200, about a year ago, because we needed it for a video. It was hysterical. I was literally like, ‘What? £1,200!’”

And they have got someone special on board to write the liner notes — Peter Kay.

Speaking about the comedian, who directed and starred in the 2006 video for their song Sleep, she said: “Peter is such a big music and Texas fan, and he’s a big friend of ours. He’s so geeky in his knowledge of music and stuff like that.

“It just felt exactly right because of his connection to the band and the fact he made the video for us and he bought White On Blonde and he’d always talked about it.

“It felt like the absolute right thing to do.”

I DON’T HAVE RIGHT TRAITS

SHARLEEN turned down the chance to go on The Celebrity Traitors in her native Scotland – insisting she’s a “s*** liar.”

She was approached by the series producers, but doesn’t think she’s competitive enough to be a success on Claudia Winkleman’s hit show.

She explained: “I’m very flattered to have been asked and I said, ‘Thank you, but no.’ I couldn’t do it.

“I absolutely love The Traitors. It’s such a great, unbelievable programme and I’m watching it currently and I just couldn’t do it. I’d be all over the shop.

“I’d gladly play the game. But I’m a s*** liar. That is the truth. I wouldn’t remember who I told a lie to or what I did and I’m not that big of a player.

“I’d probably go, ‘Nah, you’re alright.’ The thing is, the only place I’m really competitive is on a stage.

“In games I’m really not competitive at all. So I’d probably be really rubbish.”

She added: “I want to be a fan, but not a fan in it. I want to be a fan watching it. I’m very happy with that situation.”

JADE-D BY PRINCESS FAILURE

JADE has revealed she was “devastated” not to land the role of Princess Jasmine in 2019’s live-action remake of Aladdin, after the role went to Naomi Scott.

The Little Mix star, who auditioned for director Guy Ritchie, said: “I was pretty devastated. I think I got down to the last few. I sent a letter once I knew they’d reached out, saying that Jasmine was my sort of idol growing up.

“She was the only character I could really look up to as someone of Arab heritage, so Princess Jasmine was who I dreamed of being.”

On Channel 4’s The Assembly, she added: “I did three rounds of auditions. I sang A Whole New World in Guy Ritchie’s living room.

“I didn’t get the part and that’s fine. But I was quite sad for some time, definitely. I was gutted, I can’t lie.”

JUDI DENCH says panned 2019 Cats movie was a “waste” of Andrew Llloyd Webber’s “goodwill and talent.”

She starred as Old Deuteronomy in the much-mocked movie and in her new memoir, she writes: “Oh God, I can’t bear it – and he had waited so long for it to be made.

“What a waste of all that goodwill and talent.”

JAY-Z’S UP FOR THE BIG GAME

JAY-Z has chosen himself to be the headline act for next year’s Super Bowl half-time show, according to a report in the US.

Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus were said to be in talks to perform at the show in Los Angeles on February 14.

Instead the rapper, who’s firm Roc Nation has had a deal with the NFL since 2019, will be taking centre stage.

He has yet to comment on the story, although he’s set to perform two shows at the SoFi Stadium in LA this Friday – where the big game will be held –so he may well announce it there.

His wife Beyonce previously headlined in 2013 and then joined Coldplay during their set there three years later.

And I imagine he’d want her as a guest if he takes to the pitch, too.

Jenna’s looking pawsome

JENNA ORTEGA has been to London, Rome and New York in the past week and she’s had a special someone by her side the whole time – her pet pooch.

The Wednesday actress, who wore this beaded dress for the US premiere of her new film Klara And The Sun in the Big Apple on Monday, said her whippet Twigs helps her stay grounded.

Jenna, who posed for pics in New York with co-star Amy Adams and director Taika Waititi, said: “My dog follows me everywhere.

“It’s hard doing the job that I do, travelling to all of these different hotels and foreign countries, so to have something that is consistent and true, and looks after me, and I look after her, it’s nice.”

That dog must have racked up more air miles this week than I have all year.

BLUNT’S A TRAITOR FUME RESIDENTS

RESIDENTS of the London borough of Acton have dubbed James Blunt a traitor.

He filmed his new Circles music video there, but then pretended it was somewhere else.

I revealed snaps of the Celebrity Traitors star riding around on a mini tractor while shooting the video in a park last week.

But locals soon spotted James had renamed Acton’s mainline station “Battersham”, leaving them fuming.

“We thought James was going to put Acton on the map with his video,” a friend, who sent me snaps of James recording his video, told me after seeing the clip.

“It’s not Battersham, this is Acton. And we’re proud of it.”

NO DIRTY A.I TRICKS IN DANCING SEQUEL

THE producer behind the Dirty Dancing sequel insists they won’t bring back Patrick Swayze using AI.

Jennifer Grey will reprise the role of Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman and film bosses are working out how to celebrate late actor Patrick, who died in 2009.

Producer Nina Jacobson said: “That’s one of the things that you really have to focus on: how to let people mourn him in a movie. And don’t worry – we won’t be bringing him back with AI.”

She said they are “trying to chase the feeling of that original movie”.

Nina added: “Being able to tell a young love story that could take some of those risks but also inspire those feelings felt like an incredible chance for us.”

PHIL JOINS PIRATES CREW

PIRATES Of The Caribbean is being brought to life by Secret Cinema – and they’ve got a household name on board to help out.

I can reveal Phil Daniels, who starred in EastEnders, and whose voice featured in Blur’s 1994 hit Parklife, has joined the cast as Captain Barbossa.

Johnny Depp’s character Jack Sparrow will be played by Olivier Award winner George Maguire.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Immersive Adventure, opens in February and has already had its run extended by six weeks due to demand.

It will also be the first production by Secret Cinema –  which allows punters to watch films on the big screen while the action also unfolds around them – at its purpose-built flagship venue in London’s Greenwich.

Time to ready my sea legs.

LIAM GALLAGHER is winding up Oasis fans by claiming they’ve already finished a new album – but I’m not so sure.

Responding to someone on X who wrote: “Oasis have SEVEN great albums and those songs will LIVE FOREVER”, rocker Liam said: “8 including the new 1.”

I’ll believe it when I hear it.

Netflix viewers have hailed this latest ITV release as an “utterly absorbing” watch.

ITV viewers can’t get enough of this forgotten “brilliant” drama from a Peaky Blinders legend.

Peaky Blinders might be over but fans are still discovering some of its stars’ best work years before they even stepped foot into Tommy Shelby’s (played by Cillian Murphy) chaotic world.

One series that’s just started to grab fans’ attention is three-part ITV drama Leaving which originally made its debut 13 years ago.

Leading the cast is none other than actress Helen McCrory who portrayed Polly Gray, the dangerous matriarch of the Shelby family in Peaky Blinders’ first five seasons.

She isn’t the only recognisable face though in Leaving as McCrory is joined by Masters of the Air star Callum Turner who married singer Dua Lipa earlier this year.

Leaving revolves around 45-year-old wife Julie Ranmore (Helen McCrory) whose job as a hotel events manager keeps her from thinking too much about her loveless marriage. But things quickly change when she is introduced to unemployed 21-year-old Aaron (Callum Turner) who is still living with his parents.

They start working at the same hotel and what starts off as a flirtationship quickly escalates into a full-blown affair with the couple having to deal with the consequences.

Taking to IMdB to sing the show’s praises, someone simply described it as a “little gem”.

A fellow viewer said it was “utterly absorbing”, adding: “Brilliantly acted, often tense and heartbreaking, this is an outstanding drama…the late Helen McCrory gives an unforgettable performance.”

Another labelled it as “maddening all the right ways” and others hailing it as perfect for a “little binge on a rainy afternoon”.

McCrory sadly died of breast cancer in 2021 at the age of 52, keeping her illness private and only telling those closest to her.

She died ahead of the sixth series of Peaky Blinders being filmed which was postponed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Her husband and Homeland star Damian Lewis said at the time she had a “heroic battle with cancer”, stating that she was a “beautiful and mighty woman”.

He added: “She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we love her and we know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives.”

Leaving is available to watch on Netflix.

Kyle MacLachlan is living up to his reputation as the Internet’s Dad.

It’s an especially warm day in August, and the bespectacled actor, best known for his many projects with the late auteur David Lynch, is approaching with a coffee (black, naturally) in one hand and a massive cookie in the other. The snack, it turns out, is meant for us to share.

“Whatever it is, it’s very healthy,” he says when I ask what sort of confection he chose. “It’s cranberry, oatmeal and gluten-free. Who knows if there’s any sugar in there?”

At 67, MacLachlan isn’t necessarily a health nut. But he is highly amenable and willing to roll with my vegan cafe selection, which is conveniently located near our photo shoot location. “I come from Eastern Washington state — it’s a desert,” he says assuringly when I offer to move us to an indoor seat with air conditioning. Later, as we prepare to leave for the shoot, he clocks my car, a rare station wagon, and dubs it “spec-TAC-u-lar.”

That’s MacLachlan for you — all it takes is one word (he also drops an “Aces!” during our meeting) or enthusiastic gesture (very likely a swooping thumbs up) to channel the type of eccentric and upbeat characters he’s spent the last 40 years playing. Now, with the release of his thoughtful new memoir, “Fictional Selves,” MacLachlan gives us a much closer look at the man behind the chin-jutting grin, and, in doing so, introduces us to his doppelganger, “Other Kyle,” an image-conscious shadow figure constantly trailing behind, questioning his choices.

“There’s definitely another entity, an observer, the ego, the harder self,” MacLachlan says of how he would describe Other Kyle, whom ghostwriter Jon Sternfeld first identified after noticing the way MacLachlan tended to fall into conversation with himself while recounting his life. “[He’s] the kind of person that I’m not comfortable leading within the world. But he’s definitely in there commenting on the things that I do.”

Other Kyle first began to taunt MacLachlan after he saw himself on a gargantuan billboard for “Dune” in Times Square. (In his early 20s, MacLachlan was famously plucked from obscurity to lead David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic.)

Well before his alter ego materialized, and well before Hollywood found him, MacLachlan was prone to anxiety and fears of never fitting in. Born in Yakima, Wash., MacLachlan grew up the oldest of three boys; his parents were solidly middle-class, with his father working as a lawyer, and then stockbroker. His mother was a homemaker known in the community for her civic involvement, particularly in local arts programs. In fact, it was MacLachlan’s mother who first encouraged him to try a “Teen Theater” program, drawing him in with the promise that there might also be girls in attendance.

But it took a minute for MacLachlan to genuinely embrace his calling. As a young adult, his father pushed him to study business, while his mother urged him to try PR or communications. His studies at the University of Washington weren’t going well, so he dropped out and worked at a manufacturing plant back in Yakima. It wasn’t until a girlfriend recommended a summer theater program in North Carolina that MacLachlan leaned back into his first real passion, eventually returned to school with a newfound focus, and was accepted into the University of Washington’s professional acting program.

Kyle MacLachlan at the glass and mirror shop LA Mirror Man on La Cienega Boulevard.

(Christopher Patey / For The Times)

Fast-forward 40 years, it’s impossible to imagine that MacLachlan would have anything else for Other Kyle to latch onto. For one, his acting resume is the stuff of thespian fantasy. Sure, “Dune” infamously flopped hard upon arrival, and all planned sequels were immediately canceled. But it wasn’t long before MacLachlan had teamed back up with his mentor, with whom he had developed an almost telepathic bond on “Dune,” to lead Lynch’s much more kindly received 1986 neo-noir arthouse entry, “Blue Velvet.” A few years later, the overwhelming success of the TV mystery series “Twin Peaks” propelled the actor to the upper stratosphere of celebrity.

“When we were working together creating Jeffrey in ‘Blue Velvet’ or [Coop in] ‘Twin Peaks,’ we would sit and talk or not talk, we melded together in some weird way, we were like one person,” MacLachlan says of his bond with Lynch, who died in early 2025 of cardiac arrest due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. “It was this very symbiotic kind of thing in front of the camera,” MacLachlan continues. “It was like this weird circular energy. … He’s the only director I share that with.”

And yet, breaking out of what MacLachlan refers to as “The Black Suit,” worn by his unceasingly chipper “Twin Peaks” character, Special Agent Dale Cooper, proved challenging. By the time “Twin Peaks” left the air in 1991, MacLachlan had grown ambivalent about the job that changed his life, partially because he felt Lynch didn’t fight hard enough to keep artistic control of the show’s second season, which saw the network upping its creative involvement and Lynch distancing himself until the final few episodes.

MacLachlan longed to diversify his output — to show that he was capable of being a mainstream Hollywood leading man, one who could interface with a variety of directors. In the book, he writes about jobs he comes so close to booking — roles in Robert Redford’s “A River Runs Through It” and Francis Ford Coppola’s “Dracula” — but losing out at the last minute.

Kyle MacLachlan explores his alter ego “Other Kyle” in his new memoir.

(Christopher Patey / For The Times)

He took these rejections hard at the time. Many decades later, however, he can see how he was the one holding himself back. “I felt like people were only seeing the black suit,” MacLachlan says. “Now, the truth is, they would probably have been more than happy to see me as somebody else, but I was not able to deliver. … I think there was a lot of insecurity,” he continues. “I was like, ‘Maybe it’s not the suit. Maybe it’s me.’”

As the 1990s played out, MacLachlan fought an on-again, off-again existential crisis regarding the type of actor he was really meant to be. His friend and former “Doors” co-star Val Kilmer urged him to accept a lead role in a BBC adaptation of Kafka’s “The Trial,” which didn’t move the cultural needle in the States, but did put him in the same room as enormously pedigreed actors like Anthony Hopkins and Alfred Molina. He snagged a role in a Paul Verhoeven film about topless dancers — a career risk he hoped would pay off but ultimately felt like “walking into a buzz saw,” as he writes in the book.

Despite the cult reappraisal of “Showgirls,” and the lasting popularity of “Sex and the City,” Other Kyle had a few things to say about both of these roles, but the Kyle sitting across from me has a much more measured approach, particularly to “Showgirls.”

“I think it’s fun that it’s still around,” MacLachlan says. “I’ll still argue with anyone that [says] it’s a good movie. It’s not a good movie, but it’s definitely an appreciated movie, and that is kind of where I leave it.”

In the early 2000s, his wife, Full Picture founder and chief executive Desiree Gruber, pushed him to accept a role in HBO’s “Sex and the City,” playing an Upper East Side doctor with erectile issues.

Portraying Trey MacDougal was a mixed bag for MacLachlan. On one hand, he was thrilled to be part of such a cultural juggernaut, and he delighted in the emphasis the show placed on female friendship and sexual agency.

“I want to keep being challenged,” says Kyle MacLachlan, looking ahead to the next chapter of his 40-year career.

(Christopher Patey / For The Times)

At the same time, he had mixed feelings about playing an old-money mama’s boy with a Freudian Madonna-whore complex. Not to mention the sheer ridiculousness of the things the writers would have him do: One scene had him bent over a bathroom sink, masturbating to a pornographic magazine. A passage of “Fictional Selves” also recalls the cringe-inducing moment when Trey gives his wife, Charlotte (Kristin Davis), a cardboard cutout of a baby in an effort to make light of their struggle to conceive.

In the book, MacLachlan recalls being utterly dumbfounded at having been asked to do something so oblivious at best and cruel at worst. Eventually, however, he writes that he realized the writers just needed a way to foist him off the show. (His and Davis’ characters get divorced soon after the cardboard baby incident.)

“Every time I got a script, I’d be like, ‘Oh boy, OK, what’s going to happen here?’” MacLachlan says. “And then it would be, like, whatever they’ve come up with, ‘how can I shape it? What is it that [Trey’s] wrestling with? What are the issues here? Then, you know, realizing that in some cases it was just going to be a sight gag. Like, the Juggs magazine is going to be a sight gag. And as I said in the book, in my mind, I would sort of float away. I would be like, ‘That’s not really me. I don’t know who that is down there doing that.’”

As MacLachlan moved into middle age, he gradually grew more comfortable with the clean-cut oddball characters he’d so often be asked to play: a refined but possibly murderous dentist on “Desperate Housewives,” an idiosyncratic boat obsessive on “How I Met Your Mother,” an over-the-top civic leader on “Portlandia,” and, once again, Special Agent Dale Cooper (plus his doppelgängers) on “Twin Peaks: The Return.”

The 2017 “Twin Peaks” reboot would be the last big project MacLachlan would work on with Lynch, but MacLachlan would frequently visit the director in their shared Hollywood Hills neighborhood. “It’s many things,” MacLachlan says when I ask what he misses most about his friend and mentor. “The voice on the phone — ‘HEY, KALE! Come on up for coffee!’” he continues in a pitch-perfect Lynch imitation. (“Kale” became Lynch’s nickname for MacLachlan, referencing “Dune” producer Dino De Laurentiis’ Italian pronunciation.)

“Towards the end, I would go to visit him, and I would sometimes take my phone and record things. I still have these stories loaded in my iPhone — about ‘Dune,’ or a story about a moment in ‘Blue Velvet,’ or a story about when he met John Huston, or when he got a kiss from Elizabeth Taylor. … I have these little gems, and I savor those.”

Lately, Other Kyle has been replaced by Online Kyle, a goofy, lighthearted version of MacLachlan who primarily lives on TikTok and Instagram — thus the wholesome, Gen Z title of “Internet’s Dad.” And when he’s not playing a father to Ella Purnell on Prime Video’s hit “Fallout,” or interviewing a younger generation of entertainers on his podcast, “What Are We Even Doing,” MacLachlan is also someone’s real dad. One of the most endearing moments in our afternoon happens when his teenage son, Callum, calls looking for something around the house. “Oh, it’s in the fridge in the gym. In a foil. And there’s chicken in the fridge. Love you too,” MacLachlan tells his son.

There’s certainly no doubt that this Kyle doesn’t get in his head — or in his own way — the way earlier versions did. He’s still eager to test his limits as an actor, but he’s comfortable with the thought that there is no plan. “I want to keep working with interesting people,” he says with his trademark buoyancy. “I want to keep doing fun things. I want to keep being challenged. … I don’t really know where I’m going, but something will excite me, and I’d be like, ‘OK, what the hell?’ And I jump in.”

Brodsky is an L.A. culture and music writer. Her biography of Stevie Nicks “Lessons & Lace” is out now.