Alistair Manson McErlaine (born 31 October 1968) is a Scottish guitarist, best known for his work with the band

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, which he has been a member of since 1988. Ally is also a member of

Red Sky July Red Sky July are a British Alternative country, alternative, Country music, country band, consisting of husband and wife Ally McErlaine (ex-Texas (band), Texas) and Shelly Poole (ex-Alisha's Attic) along with Charity Hair (The Alice Band and Th ...

who released their self-titled debut album on 17 October 2011.

Biography

McErlaine married Shelly Poole from

Alisha's Attic Alisha's Attic were an English pop duo of the 1990s and early 2000s. The two members were sisters Shelly McErlaine (born Poole) and Karen Poole, born in Barking and Chadwell Heath respectively. Their father is Brian Poole of 1960s group Bria ...

in 2001. Other works aside from Texas, included a guest appearance on

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...

's second

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, '' Poses'' (2001), and

Alain Bashung Alain Bashung (, born Alain Claude Baschung; 1 December 1947 – 14 March 2009) was a French singer, songwriter and actor. Credited with reviving the French chanson in "a time of French musical turmoil", he is often regarded in his home country a ...

's 1994 album '' Chatterton''. He was also the

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

ist on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

album for the 2004 remake of the

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, ''

Alfie Alfie may refer to: Theatre and film * ''Alfie'' (play), a 1963 play by Bill Naughton * ''Alfie'' (1966 film), a film based on the play starring Michael Caine * ''Alfie'' (2004 film), a remake of the 1966 film * ''Alfie'' (2013 film), an Indi ...

'', along with

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

David A. Stewart David Allan Stewart (born 9 September 1952) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for Eurythmics, his successful professional partnership with Annie Lennox. Sometimes credited as David A. Stewart, he won Best British ...

. He wrote and played guitar on two songs on

Daisy Dares You Daisy May Keeley Coburn (born 27 October 1993), is a British singer and songwriter. She previously performed under the stage name Daisy Dares You, a reference to the character of the same name from the 1990s British television show ''ZZZap!''. A ...

's album, ''Rush'' on

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...

. McErlaine also wrote and played on the song "Hope", with

Jack Savoretti Giovanni Edgar Charles Galletto-Savoretti (born 10 October 1983), known professionally as Jack Savoretti, is an English acoustic singer, songwriter, and musician. He has released seven studio albums to date: ''Between the Minds'' (2007), ''Harde ...

and his wife Shelly Poole from her album, ''

Hard Time for the Dreamer ''Hard Time for the Dreamer'' is the debut album by Shelly Poole Michelle Lena "Shelly" Poole (born 20 March 1972, in Barking, London, England) is an English songwriter and singer. Career Shelly Poole is the daughter of the 1960s recording ...

''. It was released on Transistor Records in June 2005. It received

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

in November 2005. McErlaine also played guitar on Gabrielle's fifth album, ''

Always Always may refer to: Film and television * ''Always'', a 1985 film directed by Henry Jaglom * ''Always'' (1989 film), a 1989 romantic comedy-drama directed by Steven Spielberg * ''Always'' (2011 film), a 2011 South Korean film, also known as '' ...

''. In 2009, he started the

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

band,

, with his wife and Charity Hair, the latter a singer from

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Musical career

Texas

McErlaine,

Sharleen Spiteri Sharleen Eugene Spiteri (born 7 November 1967) is a Scottish singer and guitarist, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Texas (band), Texas. She has a contralto vocal range. In 2013, Texas's worldwide album sales were counted at 40 mi ...

and

Johnny McElhone John Francis McElhone (born 21 April 1963 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish guitarist and songwriter. He has played with three bands who have enjoyed a top-20 presence in the UK Singles Chart; the new wave bands Altered Images and Hipsway, ...

are credited as the founding members of Texas.

Red Sky July

Ally is also a member of the band

, who released their self-titled debut album on 17 October 2011.

September 2009 collapse

On 8 September 2009, McErlaine was admitted to hospital after he collapsed with a massive

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circul ...

at the age of 41. His chances of recovery were initially unclear. McErlaine was in a coma for nine weeks, and spent six and a half months in hospital, before being discharged to continue to recover at home. By July 2010, McErlaine had recovered enough to perform on stage in several shows with Red Sky July, and had a chance to join Texas for their tour in 2011.

Discography

*''

Southside Southside or South Side may refer to: Places Australia * Southside, Queensland, a semi-rural locality in the Gympie Region Canada * South Side, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the St. George's Bay area on the southwest coast of New ...

'' (1989) *''

Mothers Heaven ''Mothers Heaven'' is the second album from the Scottish rock band Texas. The album was released on 23 September 1991 by Mercury Records. The album peaked at no. 32 in the UK and spent 4 weeks on the charts. Background information The album sa ...

'' (1991) *''

Ricks Road ''Ricks Road'' is the third album by Scottish rock band Texas. The album was released on 1 November 1993 by Mercury Records. The album peaked at number 18 in the UK and spent two weeks on the UK Albums Chart. It was certified Silver (for 60,00 ...

'' (1993) *''

White on Blonde ''White on Blonde'' is the fourth studio album by Scottish rock band Texas, released by Mercury Records on 3 February 1997. The album was the band's first number one on the UK Albums Chart, and became their biggest seller. It has been certified ...

'' (1997) *''

The Hush ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1999) *'' Careful What You Wish For'' (2003) *'' Red Book'' (2005) *''

The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, and Rober ...

'' (2013) *'' Jump on Board'' (2017) *'' Hi'' (2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McErlaine, Ally 1968 births Living people Scottish rock guitarists Scottish male guitarists Musicians from Glasgow Texas (band) members