GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

RECENT DEPARTURES FROM DATA

- CHRIS HAINING

AT FIRST THEY were nowhere, and then they were everywhere. It's 1989 and a Scottish band called Texas has just played I Don't Want a Lover on Top of the Pops.

As the band's debut single, it went on to sell more than two million copies worldwide and still appears on radio playlists like clockwork. It gave Texas a road to global stardom - that the band should have driven in a Lexus LS.

While, in 1989, Texas was bringing in big money for Mercury Records, Toyota was about to storm the motoring stage with its new premium offshoot, Lexus. Its first act, the LS 400, was pitched against flagship luxury saloons from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, and the unknown newcomer swiftly won over a huge audience.