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Eurythmics
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Biography
David
A. Stewart (b. 9 September 1952, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England) and Annie
Lennox (b. 25 December 1954, Aberdeen, Scotland). The worldwide popularity and
critical acclaim of one of pop music's leading duos came about by fastidious
determination and Stewart's remarkably good ear in being able to write the
perfect song for his musical partner Lennox. Both artists rely heavily on each
other's considerable talent and, as former lovers, they know better than most
their strengths and weaknesses. Stewart met Lennox in London while he was still
a member of the folk/rock band Longdancer. She was supplementing her
income by waitressing while a student at the Royal College of Music. Together
they formed the Tourists, a fondly remembered band that were able to fuse new wave energy with
well-crafted pop songs. Following the Tourists' split, with Lennox and Stewart
now embroiled in their much-publicized doomed love affair, they formed the
Eurythmics in 1980. The debut In
The Garden was a rigidly electronic sounding album, very Germanic, haunting and
cold. The record failed to sell. During one of the low points in their lives,
having ended their four-year relationship, the duo persevered professionally and
glanced the charts with the synthesizer-based 'Love Is A Stranger'. This gave
them the confidence they needed, and the material on the subsequent Sweet
Dreams was superb, bringing deserved success. The album spawned a number of
hits, all accompanied by an imaginative series of self-produced videos with the
stunning Lennox in countless guises, showing incredible natural confidence in
front of a camera. The spooky 'Sweet Dreams' narrowly missed the top of the UK
chart, but made the top spot in the USA and was followed in quick succession by
a reissued 'Love Is A Stranger', 'Who's That Girl' (featuring Stewart's future
wife Siobhan Fahey from Bananarama in the video), and the celebratory 'Right By Your Side'. Touch in 1984 became a huge success, containing a varied mixture of
brilliantly accessible pop music. A remixed mini-LP of four tracks from Touch followed before they embarked upon scoring the music for the film 1984, starring John Hurt. The soundtrack was not up to standard and they
immediately remedied this by delivering the excellent Be Yourself Tonight.
The album contained less synthesized pop and more rock music, with Stewart using
guitar-based songs including a glorious soul duet with Aretha
Franklin on 'Sisters (Are Doin' It For Themselves)' and the earthy 'Ball And
Chain'. During 1985 Lennox experienced serious throat problems, which forced the
band to cancel their appearance at Live Aid. That same month, however,
the group enjoyed their sole UK chart-topper, the exuberant 'There Must Be An
Angel'. Lennox made her big-screen debut in Revolution with Donald
Sutherland and Al Pacino. Stewart, meanwhile, became one of the most
sought-after record producers, working with Bob
Dylan, Tom
Petty, Feargal
Sharkey, Daryl Hall (of Hall And Oates ), Bob
Geldof and Mick
Jagger. The following year another gem, Revenge, was released, which included 'Missionary Man', 'Thorn In My Side' and
the comparatively lightweight 'The Miracle Of Love'. Savage in 1987
maintained the standard and featured one of Lennox's finest vocal performances
with the R&B rocker 'I Need A Man'. In 1988 their performance at the
televised Nelson Mandela Concert from Wembley was one of its highlights, and the
acoustic 'You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart' was a triumph. Later that year
Lennox duetted with Al
Green for a rousing and soulful version of Jackie
DeShannon 's 'Put A Little Love In Your Heart'. We Too Are One at the end
of 1989 became their most successful album, staying at number 1 into 1990, but
proved to be their last. The Eurythmics gained a mass following by the sheer
quality of their songs and managed to stay favourites with the media. Lennox is
one of the most visually striking female performers of her era, with a voice of
rare quality. Stewart stayed in the background, using his talent as a producer
and songwriter, and releasing his own solo albums. In 1992, Lennox issued her
successful solo debut, Diva, and consolidated her reputation with Medusa in 1995. She reunited with Stewart in June 1998 at a tribute concert for
journalist Ruth Picardie.
