STIFLED AND FRUSTRATED BY THEIR TIME IN THE TOURISTS, DAVE STEWART AND ANNIE LENNOX PACKED THEIR BAGS TO FORM EURYTHMICS. WITH A NEW SOUND AND A NEW IMAGE, THEIR SECOND ALBUM BROUGHT THEM SUCCESS BEYOND THEIR WILDEST DREAMS…

MARK LINDORES

With its iconic video, Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) kicked off an extraordinary run of success worldwide for Eurythmics, reaching No.2 in the UK and No.1 in the US

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“A LOT OF PEOPLE HAD ASSUMED ANNIE WAS BLACK, PARTICULARLY IN AMERICA, UNTIL WE ARRIVED THERE AND THEY WERE SHOCKED AND STUNNED TO DISCOVER SHE WAS A SKINNY, WHITE GIRL”

DAVE STEWART

She was working as a waitress, not in a cocktail bar, but in a London restaurant, when Dave Stewart first met Annie Lennox. Following their initial meeting, the pair became inseparable: as both lovers and members of pop outfit The Tourists. Their time in the band, formerly known as The Catch, proved to be a frustrating experience with no creative input into the group’s direction. When the collective imploded, Lennox and Stewart decided to continue on their own as Eurythmics and signed to RCA Records.

While Annie and Dave decided to end their personal relationship, the duo would go on to release their debut album, 1981’s In The Garden.

The record revealed a band struggling to formulate its own musical identity and failed to establish a fanbase. It was not a commercial success and, after crisis talks, Dave managed to secure a personal bank loan (he was so convinced Eurythmics were on the cusp of success) to finance a second album.

In 1982, starting from scratch and unable to afford time in a studio, Dave and Annie rented a room above a picture framing shop in London’s Chalk Farm, where they ensconced themselves with a range of new synthesizers and samplers to devise a brand new sound. “On In The Garden we’d been to Germany to record with Conny Plank, and we’d come across something which was underground, electronic, odd and that’d left a really big impression on us,” Dave says. “So, when we came back to England, we had this sound that very much had its roots in Germany and we added that to our English pop sensibility. “That was how we came up with the Sweet Dreams ethos – cold, European, hard, toughsounding synthesizers with a soulful voice. I had decided to put the guitar down and try something I didn’t know how to play. Keyboards were completely alien to me and I thought something new would come out through that.”

THE PLAYERS

DAVE STEWART

Famously prolific, Dave Stewart’s work outside of Eurythmics has seen him release albums with The Spiritual Cowboys and under his own name. He has also written for and produced Tom Petty, Feargal Sharkey, Shakespears Sister and Mick Jagger. He directed the film Honest, which starred three members of All Saints, and co-wrote Ghost The Musical. In 2016, he published his autobiography Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This: A Life In Music. He released his latest solo record, Ebony McQueen, in 2022.

ANNIE LENNOX

When Eurythmics went on hiatus in 1990, Lennox carved out a hugely successful solo career, peaking with the Diva album which brought her worldwide success, even eclipsing her work with Eurythmics in the States. Medusa and Bare followed, but in recent years Annie’s focus has been on her political and humanitarian work, campaigning to help eradicate HIV/AIDS in Africa as well as working with Oxfam, Amnesty International and the British Red Cross. Her last album was Nostalgia in 2014.