Eurythmics

British pop group. After varying degrees of success as The Tourists in the late 1970s, and an unsuccessful single released under the name ‘The Catch’, The Eurythmics was formed in 1981 by Annie Lennox (b Aberdeen, 25 Dec 1954) and Dave Stewart (b Sunderland, 9 Sept 1952), and became one of the most successful groups of the 1980s. The Eurythmics, along with such bands as Soft Cell, Yazoo, Erasure and the Pet Shop Boys, were part of the wave of synthesizer duos indebted to Sparks and other 1970s bands. Their first album, In the Garden (RCA 1981), was produced by Krautrock stalwart Conny Plank,...

British pop group. After varying degrees of success as The Tourists in the late 1970s, and an unsuccessful single released under the name ‘The Catch’, The Eurythmics was formed in 1981 by Annie Lennox (b Aberdeen, 25 Dec 1954) and Dave Stewart (b Sunderland, 9 Sept 1952), and became one of the most successful groups of the 1980s. The Eurythmics, along with such bands as Soft Cell, Yazoo, Erasure and the Pet Shop Boys, were part of the wave of synthesizer duos indebted to Sparks and other 1970s bands. Their first album, In the Garden (RCA 1981), was produced by Krautrock stalwart Conny Plank, suggesting an experimental approach. With Sweet Dreams (Are made of this) (RCA 1983), the band successfully moved into the mainstream: Lennox's rich, white-soul vocals were set against Stewart's spartan, economical but melodic synthesizer figures on early hits such as Love is a stranger and Who's that girl. Lennox presented herself as a pop androgyne, sporting carrot-coloured, cropped hair and sharp suits, and causing the American authorities to demand documentary evidence of her gender on a promotional trip to the USA in 1983. Later albums such as Be yourself Tonight (RCA 1985) and Revenge (RCA 1986) saw the band enter orthodox rock and soul territories (Aretha Franklin performed with the group on the 1985 hit Sisters are doin' it for themselves), but Savage (RCA 1987) was an intriguing return to the austere and emotive synthesizer music which was their trademark. Quintessentially of the 1980s in their pop sensibility, the band made a series of theatrical videos, such as the Louis XIV period setting for their only UK number one single, There must be an Angel (Playing with my heart) (1985). The charm of much of their back catalogue was confirmed by the huge commercial success of their Greatest Hits compilation (RCA 1991), which stayed in the UK album charts for 91 weeks.