Eurythmics were an English electro-pop duo that released seven studio albums and a soundtrack between 1981 and 1989 on RCA. They scored multiple 1983–85 hits, including “Sweet Dreams,” “Who’s That Girl?” “Here Comes the Rain Again,” and “Would I Lie to You?”

The duo consisted of vocalist Annie Lennox and multi-instrumentalist David Stewart. They recorded their first album, In the Garden, fresh off their three-year stint in pop-rockers The Tourists.

Members: Annie Lennox (vocals, keyboards, sequencer, flute), David A. Stewart (guitar, sequencer, keyboards, dulcimer, xylophone)

Background

Annie Lennox and David Stewart met in 1975 when she was working in a London cafe and he walked up and introduced himself. (His first words: “Will you marry me?”)

The Scottish-born Lennox (b. Christmas 1954, Aberdeen) had studied flute, piano, and harpsichord for three years at the Royal Academy of Music. Her classmates included future recording artist Joe Jackson. After leaving the Royal Academy, she did a brief, unrecorded stint in the folk combo Windsong.

David A. Stewart (b. Sept. 9, 1952, Sunderland) had come off a three-year stint as the guitarist in folk-rockers Longdancer, which released two 1973–74 albums on Elton John‘s label, The Rocket Record Company. Stewart introduced Lennox to his guitarist–songwriter friend, fellow Sunderlandite Peter Coombes. Collectively, they formed The Catch, which issued the dream-pop/soul single “Borderline” (b/w “Black Blood”) in late 1977 on Logo.

The Catch morphed into pop-rockers The Tourists with bassist Eddie Chinn and ex-Titus Groan drummer Jim Toomey. Under this five-piece configuration, they released the 1979–80 albums The Tourists, Reality Effect, and Luminous Basements and charted with a cover of the 1963 Dusty Springfield classic “I Only Want to Be With You” (UK No. 4, Aus. No. 6, US No. 83).

Most of the band’s material was written by Coombes, whose guitar-pop leanings came at odds with Lennox and Stewart. The two gravitated to the electronic art-pop and ambient music associated with German engineer Connie Plank, who produced The Tourists debut immediately after his work on Systems of Romance, the 1978 release by synth-rock pioneers Ultravox. After a 1980 tour of Australia, the pair broke from Coombes and formed Eurythmics. (The word eurythmics stands for “the art of harmonious bodily movement.”)

1981

On June 5, 1981, Eurythmics debuted with “Never Gonna Cry Again,” a taster from their album in-progress, backed with “Le Sinistre,” a Lennox/ Stewart exclusive.

“Never Gonna Cry Again” features three musical guests: saxophonist Tim Wheater and ex-Can members Jaki Liebezeit (drums) and Holger Czukay (French horn).

B. “Le Sinistre” (2:39)

In the “Never Gonna Cry Again” video, a pixie-haired Annie rises from beach waters in a red chiffon gown and walks the sand in a daze, aloof to the presence of Stewart and fellow musicians, who hold a seaside picnic in assorted statesman garb. She sheds a scarf that turns into a bird and then walks out to sea and vanishes.

The single and its parent album sprung from a jam session between Lennox, Stewart, Czukay, Liebezeit, and Robert Görl, the drummer of Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft (DAF).

The Eurythmics performed “Never Gonna Cry Again” and their subsequent a-side on the June 2, 1981, broadcast of The Old Grey Whistle Test, a BBC2 music program.

On August 28, Eurythmics released “Belinda” as a second advance single, backed with “Heartbeat, Heartbeat,” another outtake from their just-completed album. “Belinda” features Görl on drums and Czukay on French horn.

B. “Heartbeat, Heartbeat”

The Eurythmics recorded both singles and their first album in Cologne, Germany at Conny’s Studio, a farmhouse facility run by their producer of choice, Conny Plank, whose pre-Ultravox credits included Seventies Krautrock classics by Andromeda, Ash Ra Temple, Cluster, Eiliff, Exmagma, Gomorrha, Grobschnitt, Guru Guru, Ibliss, Kraftwerk, Neu!, Nosferatu, Sixty-Nine, and Thirsty Moon. Since Systems of Romance, he produced the 1980 Ultravox breakthrough Vienna, their first with ex-Rich Kids singer Midge Ure in lieu of co-founder John Foxx.

Eurythmics struggled chartwise during this period due to what some perceive as public confusion over the duo’s post-Tourists direction. However, Stewart’s namesake, keyboardist David L. Stewart, scored an unexpected 1981 UK No. 1 with “It’s My Party,” a synthpop cover of the 1963 Leslie Gore classic, sung by his longtime partner Barbara Gaskin. Thus, Stewart & Gaskin beat Eurythmics to the punch in the synth-duo sweepstakes, despite David L.’s vastly different and uncommercial background (Arzachel, Egg, Khan, Hatfield & The North, National Health).

In the Garden

Eurythmics released their debut album, In the Garden, on October 16, 1981, on RCA. Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart recorded the album in Germany with Ultravox producer Conny Plank. The title referenced a place of change for the duo, who embraced ethereal psych and minimal wave sounds in their move away from The Tourists’ guitar-pop sound.

In the Garden contains ten Lennox/Stewart originals, including “Revenge,” “Sing-Sing,” “She’s Invisible Now,” and the pre-released a-sides “Belinda” and “Never Gonna Cry Again,” one of three tracks (along with “Take Me to Your Heart” and “All the Young (People of Today)”) with ex-Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit. The Eurythmics co-wrote two songs (“English Summer,” “Caveman Head”) with session guitarist Roger Pomphrey.

Lennox plays flute, percussion, and shared keyboard/synth duties with Stewart, who also played bass and guitar but minimized the latter in favor of his newly purchased Roland Space Echo and TR-606 drum machine.

Liebezeit and former Can bandmate Holger Czukay play brass on “Your Time Will Come” alongside Markus Stockhausen, the son of Karlheinz Stockhausen. Czukay also plays ‘Thai stringed instrument.’ The album’s balance features Blondie drummer Clem Burke, who Lennox met on his group’s Autoamerican tour and convinced him to visit Cologne for the sessions.

A1. “English Summer” (4:02)
A2. “Belinda” (3:58)
A3. “Take Me to Your Heart” (3:35)
A4. “She’s Invisible Now” (3:30)
A5. “Your Time Will Come” (4:34)

B1. “Caveman Head” (3:59)
B2. “Never Gonna Cry Again” (3:05)
B3. “All the Young (People of Today)” (4:14)
B4. “Sing-Sing” (4:05)
B5. “Revenge” (4:31) features backing vocals and laughter by Plank’s wife, Crista Fast.

Sessions spanned January through May 1981 at Conny’s Studio, where Plank co-produced In the Garden in sequence with albums by Ultravox (Rage In Eden), DAF, and fellow Neue Deutsche Welle acts Ideal and Der KFC. In the Garden was engineered by Dave Hutchins, a prior soundman for Seventies Krautrock acts (Hoelderlin, Kraan, Jane, Satin Whale) who worked on subsequent titles by Neonbabies, Die Monopols, and the Fred Banana Combo.

In the Garden appeared in a sleeve designed by Rocking Russian, the design firm behind recent sleeves for Athletico Spizz 80, Bill Nelson, Central Line, Cuban Heels, M, The Movies, Peter Hammill, Teardrop Explodes, and the Russian poster-art style of Bram Tchaikovsky’s first two albums. The Eurythmics posed for the garden photoshoot with Peter Ashworth, a British fashion photography whose imagery graces 1980/81 sleeves for Adam & the Ants, Original Mirrors, Soft Cell, Visage, and ex-Metro mastermind Peter Godwin.

1982

On April 9, 1982, Eurythmics released their third single: “This Is the House,” an eventual album track backed with “Home Is Where The Heart Is,” an exclusive rarity. Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart co-wrote and recorded both songs at their newly built 8-track attic studio in Chalk Farm, just north of Camden Town, Greater London.

A. “This Is the House” (4:02)
B. “Home Is Where the Heart Is” (3:03)

Stewart co-produced the single with Adam Williams, the onetime bassist of dub-punks China Street who played on the second Selecter album, Celebrate the Bullet. “This Is the House” features backing by Blockheads guitarist John Turnbull (ex-Skip Bifferty, ARC), Bliss Band bassist Andy Brown (ex-Tiger, Violinski), and Specials trumpeter Dick Cuthell, a onetime Trifle member with recent credits behind Burning Spear, Jade Warrior, The Members, and XTC.

The Eurythmics also issued an extended 12″ version of “This Is the House” (6:11, 45rpm) backed with a 33rpm live side with renditions of three In the Garden numbers (“Your Time Will Come,” “Never Gonna Cry Again,” “Take Me to Your Heart”) and the otherwise unrecorded “4/4 in Leather.”

On June 18, Eurythmics released their fourth single: “The Walk,” a future album track that continues on the flipside with “Step On the Beast” an exclusive rarity; both Lennox/Stewart originals. “The Walks” features Cuthell with street talk by ‘Fritz from Flex’ and choir vocals by the ‘Willing Participants.’

A1. “The Walk” (3:38)
B1. “Step On the Beast” (3:42)
B2. “The Walk Part 2” (4:21)

The 12″ of “The Walk” (4:43, the album version) dropped “Step On the Beast” for two non-album exclusives: “Invisible Hands” and “Dr. Trash,” the latter written by co-producer Adam Williams.

Eurythmics filmed their second video for “The Walk,” in which Annie dons a tench coat and long black wig. In the blue-tinted opening scene, she walks alone after-dark near stacks of radioactive waste barrels and makes hyper-vigilant glances to her backside. She arrives at an upstairs loft, where Dave reads on the balcony while she crosses her arms and sings. She rebuffs his attention and makes cold stares at the viewer while the film veers from blue to red (the color of her blouse) and back. Budding filmmaker Marek Budzynski directed the video and retained the only copy. “The Walk” was long considered a lost video until its reappearance on YouTube in 2017.

B1. “Invisible Hands” (6:08) was the original working title of their second album.
B2. “Dr. Trash” (3:16)

On September 24, Eurythmics released their fifth single: “Love Is a Stranger,” the third preview of their upcoming album, backed with the exclusive “Monkey, Monkey.” The 12″ retains the original track lengths but as a second b-side, “Let’s Just Close Our Eyes.”

Stewart fed his backing vocals through a reverb processor on “Love Is a Stranger,” which also features high-end backing vocals by his friend, singer Kiki Dee.

A. “Love Is a Stranger” (3:43)
B1. “Let’s Just Close Our Eyes” (4:19)
B2. “Monkey, Monkey” (5:20)

In the “Love Is a Stranger” video, Annie portrays a high-society dame in a platinum wig and mink coat. She boards a taxi (driven by Dave) and makes seductive side glances at the viewer. Before she exits the vehicle, she rips off the wig and reveals her orange, slicked back hair. In another scene, she sports a dominatrix look (black leather, thigh-high boots, pageboy wig) and taunts the viewer with scissors against a bathroom wall. She removes the pageboy, drops to the floor, and writhes in strips of unraveled camera film. Dave signals the short-haired Annie, who reemerges in his cab with killer eyes and a comb in hand. The ‘masculine’ Annie prevails as the suited, shaded pair walk like crime twins into the night.

On its original release, “Love Is a Stranger” just missed the UK Top 50. Eurythmics released the song in 1983 after the breakout popularity of their sixth single.

1983

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

Eurythmics released their second album, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), on January 4, 1983, on RCA. The title track appeared simultaneously as their sixth single and became their global breakout hit.

The album also contains their three prior a-sides and five new originals by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, including “I’ve Got an Angel,” “This City Never Sleeps,” and “Jennifer.” Side A includes the Sam & Dave cover “Wrap It Up,” a rare Eurythmics non-original with Scritti Politti vocalist Green Gartside.

1. “Love Is a Stranger” (3:43)
2. “I’ve Got an Angel” (2:44)
3. “Wrap It Up” (3:33)
4. “I Could Give You (A Mirror)” (3:51)
5. “The Walk” (4:40)
6. “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (3:36)
7. “Jennifer” (5:05)
8. “This Is the House” (5:00)
9. “Somebody Told Me” (3:29)
10. “This City Never Sleeps” (6:40)

The sessions spanned 1982, first at the duo’s 8-track attic studio in Chalk Farm. They finished the album at Church Studios, a converted upstairs space in Crouch End, North London, where Stewart co-produced and engineered the last-completed songs (“Wrap It Up,” “Mirror,” and “This City Never Sleeps”) with musician/soundman Robert Crash, the veteran of multiple post-punk bands (Psychotik Tanks, Rescue 1, Volkstanz).

Sweet Dreams appeared in a sleeve designed by Laurence Stevens with photography by Lewis Ziolek, who also worked with Swedish singer Virna Lindt. The lyrical inner-sleeve contains image stills from the video to “Love Is a Stranger.”

Eurythmics lifted the album’s title track as their sixth single, backed with “I Could Give You (A Mirror).”

In the video to “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” Annie portrays a record-company executive of ambiguous gender (tie suit, orange buzz-cut, stark makeup) who waves a baton and lectures the viewer while Dave transcribes her words and stock footage (space flight, urban congestion) runs on the background screen.

On her forehead appears a bindi dot, which offers the portal to the next scene, where the two play cellos by a lakeside in ball masks and vintage attire. A nearby bovine reappears (figuratively) in flashbacks to the boardroom setting, where Annie and Dave lie back motionless on the tabletop.

The table reappears in the cattle field, where Dave types away as Annie lectures the viewer and raises her hands in prayer. They walk away past the cows and board a canoe on which Dave stands with a cello while Annie salutes. She then awakes and reaches for the lamp on her nightstand. Beside her lamp sits a book titled after the song, suggesting the whole sequence of images sprung from a story that fueled a dream.

Eurythmics mimed “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” on Top of the Pops for the BBC music program’s February 24 broadcast, which also featured in-studio numbers by Bonnie Tyler (“Total Eclipse of the Heart”), Spandau Ballet (“Communication”), and Thompson Twins (“Love On Your Side”). Annie donned an ivory pants suit and shades for the appearance, where Eurythmics mimed amid lavender-lit tube fixtures, augmented by Clem Burke and redhead backing vocalist Maggie Ryder, who provided feminine contract to Annie in opera gloves and a gold sequined cocktail dress.

“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” reached No. 1 in France and No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached No. 2 in Ireland, Belgium, New Zealand, and Spain. The single peaked at No. 4 in West Germany and also went Top 10 in South Africa (No. 5), Australia (No. 6), Switzerland (No. 8), Austria and the Netherlands (both No. 9). The song inspired multiple Europop covers, including “Déprime,” a 1983 adaptation by veteran French singer Sylvie Vartan.

In May 1983, RCA issued “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” in North America. It reached No. 1 on the Canadian Top Singles Chart and contributed to the Second British Invasion of the US, where the song received heavy rotation on MTV during the cable music channel’s second year of broadcast. On the week of September 3, “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it ended the eight-week summit of “Every Breath You Take” by The Police and bowed the following week to “Maniac” by Michael Sembello.

In light of this breakthrough, Eurythmics re-released “Love Is a Stranger,” which reached No. 4 in Ireland, No. 6 in the UK, No. 15 in Canada, and No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) reached No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 15 on the Billboard 200. In Oceania, the album reached No. 2 in New Zealand and No. 5 in Australia.

“Who’s That Girl?”

On June 27, 1983, Eurythmics released their seventh single: “Who’s That Girl?” – a taster from their upcoming third album, backed with “You Take Some Lentils… And You Take Some Rice,” an exclusive original.

The 12″ contains an extended version (6:54) and a second b-side, “ABC (Freeform),” which Stewart co-wrote with saxist and prior sideman Timothy Wheater.

A. “Who’s That Girl?” (3:49)
B1. “You Take Some Lentils… And You Take Some Rice” (3:03)
B2. “ABC (Freeform)” (2:40)

In the “Who’s That Girl?” video, Annie portrays a sultry nightclub singer in diva attire (black gown, opera gloves, blonde flip wig) who sings with melancholy expressions while a frazzle-haired Dave sits at a nearby table with multiple women (Kiki Dee, Kate Garner, Bananarama) and departs along a red carpet, photographed with multiple other ‘women,’ including Boy Marilyn. Midway, Annie’s male alter-ego (portrayed on the picture sleeve) appears alone at another table. Later, her two personalities kiss, as through she (the singer) got back at the two-timer (Dave) by going off with her male half.

“Who’s That Girl?” reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 5 in Ireland. The single went Top 15 in New Zealand (No. 13), Belgium and Sweden (both No. 14). RCA held off the single until April 1984 in North America, where “Who’s That Girl?” received high MTV rotation and reached No. 15 in Canada and No. 21 on Billboard and Cashbox.

Touch

Eurythmics released their third album, Touch, on November 14, 1983, on RCA.

Touch contains their summer single “Who’s That Girl?” and its followup, “Right by Your Side,” plus seven new originals by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, including “The First Cut,” “No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts),” and “Here Comes the Rain Again,” the album’s third single and biggest international hit.

Lennox plays keyboards and flute on select passages. She co-arranged the material with Stewart, who plays dulcimer and xylophone in addition to keyboards, sequencers, and (moderate) guitar. Touch also features returning trumpeter Dick Cuthell and future-State of Play bassist Dean Garcia. American film composer Michael Kamen conducted the album’s strings, performed by the British Philharmonic Orchestra.

1. “Here Comes the Rain Again” (4:54) Annie conceived the chorus in a moment of spontaneity at the window-side of Manhattan’s Mayflower Hotel on a rainy day during their US tour.
2. “Regrets” (4:43)
3. “Right by Your Side” (4:05) features baritone saxophonist Martin Dobson, a prior Cliff Richard sessionist (“Cities May Fall”) with recent credits behind the Boomtown Rats, Mezzoforte, Naked Eyes, and Shakatak.
4. “Cool Blue” (4:48)
5. “Who’s That Girl?” (4:46)
6. “The First Cut” (4:44)
7. “Aqua” (4:36)
8. “No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts)” (5:24)
9. “Paint a Rumour” (7:30)

Sessions occurred in the summer of 1983 at Church Studios, where Stewart produced the album in the presence of engineer Jon Bavin, the onetime bassist of Bram Stoker. Stewart and Bavin worked concurrently as the soundteam on “Deep In the Darkest Night,” a single by Steeleye Span singer Maddy Prior with Lennox on backing vocals.

Elsewhere, Annie added vocals to “Darling Don’t Leave Me,” the lead single from the 1984 Mute release Night Full of Tension, the debut solo album by early Eurythmics associate and DAF mastermind Robert Görl, who dated Lennox after her romantic breakup with Stewart.

Touch presents a topless, Zorro-masked Annie hand-over-fist, as captured by In the Garden photographer Peter Ashworth, whose imagery also graces 1983 sleeves for Blancmange, Leisure Process, Marc & The Mambas, Morrissey Mullen, and Tears for Fears. Stewart’s portrait shot appears on the inner-sleeve, photographed by Brian Aris, whose portrait and profile shots grace contemporary covers by Chris Rea, Sheena Easton, The Human League, and Renaissance, whose 1983 release Time-Line presented the trio as a revamped act for the Style Decade.

Touch and its corresponding singles use odd lettering, such as inverse capitalization (eURYTHMICs) and randomized use of bolds and italics (rEgreTs). Returning illustrator Laurence Stevens designed the cover in sequence with 1983 sleeves for Annabel Lamb and the Birthday Party.

Eurythmics preceded the album with “Right By Your Side,” an October single backed by a ‘Party Mix’ (6:27). The 12″ features a triple-length version (12:25) and a dub mix of “Regrets” titled “Plus Something Else” (5:30). The Ashworth picture sleeve shows Annie in a mock-victory pose clad in a gold lame leisure suite and (then-unfashionable) platform boots.

BBC Radio One DJ John Peel introduced Eurythmics for their November 10 TotP appearance, where they mimed “Right By Your Side” amid in-studio numbers by The Cure (“The Love Cats”), Musical Youth (“007”), and ex-Kajagoogoo singer Limahl (“Only For Love”). The Eurythmics wore white suits for their appearance with items of note on Annie (leopard-print scarf and hat), Dave (white Gibson), and their backing singers (matching pageboy wigs). The same lineup wears the same outfits in the official video, which takes place in a theater.

“Right By Your Side” reached No. 9 in New Zealand and No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart. It peaked at No. 13 in Sweden and No. 15 in Australia and Ireland.

Touch reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart and also topped the New Zealand RMNZ. The album peaked at No. 3 in Canada, No. 4 in Australia, and No. 5 in Iceland. In Europe, Touch reached No. 8 in Norway and No. 9 in Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. In the US, Touch reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and achieved Platinum status.

1984

In January 1984, Eurythmics lifted “Here Comes the Rain Again” as the third UK/European Touch single, backed with the deep-cut “Paint a Rumour.” The 7″ contains an edit of the a-side (3:53). The 12″ includes a second b-side: a live version of the Sweet Dreams song “This City Never Sleeps,” sourced from a show at the Kabuki Theatre in San Francisco.

The video opens with a pan around the Old Man of Hoy, a sea-stack on Hoy in the Scottish Orkney Islands. A somber Annie sings in a robe/headwrap combo as she walks along the hill of the oceanside, dithered with background grayscale. Dave chronicles her activities with a nearby camera as she leaves her cottage with a lantern in hand and wanders through trees to the site of shipping ruins and stands under clouds at the precipice.

“Here Comes the Rain Again” reached No. 8 in the UK and Ireland. In Europe, it peaked at No. 4 in the Netherlands and No. 10 in Norway. The single also went Top 20 in West Germany (No. 14), Belgium (No. 15), Switzerland (No. 19), and Sweden (No. 20).

In North America, “Here Comes the Rain Again” appeared as the Touch album’s lead single and reached No. 8 in Canada and No. 4 on the Hot 100 in the US, where the video became another MTV staple. In April 1984, “Who’s That Girl?” followed as the album’s second North American hit (ten months after its UK chart peak).

In May 1984, RCA issued Touch Dance, an album of Eurythmics dance remixes. Side A contains vocal remixes of four Touch tracks: “The First Cut,” “Cool Blue,” “Paint a Rumor,” and “Regrets.” Side B contains instrumental mixes of the first three tracks. “Regrets” and the two versions of “First Cut” were remixed by François Kevorkian, a NY-based French DJ whose 1982 remix of the Yazoo track “Situations” (a UK b-side) became a US club hit. Madonna soundman John ‘Jellybean’ Benitez remixed the balance of Touch Dance, which peaked just outside the UK Top 30.

1984 (For the Love of Big Brother)

On November 12, 1984, Eurythmics released 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother), the soundtrack to the dystopian drama Nineteen Eighty-Four starring John Hurt and Richard Burton; based on the 1949 cautionary novel by English social critic George Orwell (1903–1950).

Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart worked for the first time as a self-contained duo (no auxiliary musicians) on 1984, which features five songs credited as Lennox/Stewart (the odd numbered tracks) and four credited as Stewart/Lennox (even numbered). On the original LP, the sides are titled Other Side (A) and This Side (B).

1. “I Did It Just the Same” (3:28)
2. “Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)” (3:58)
3. “For the Love of Big Brother” (5:05)
4. “Winston’s Diary” (1:22)
5. “Greetings from a Dead Man” (6:13)

6. “Julia” (6:40)
7. “Doubleplusgood” (4:40)
8. “Ministry of Love” (3:47)
9. “Room 101” (3:50)

Stewart produced 1984 and co-mixed the soundtrack with Eric “ET” Thorngren, a mixing engineer on 1984/85 albums by Black Uhuru, Big Audio Dynamite, Robert Palmer, Talking Heads, and Squeeze mainstays Difford & Tilbrook.

In the UK and Europe, 1984 appeared on Virgin Records, whose film branch produced the movie and commissioned Eurythmics for the project. In the US, the soundtrack appeared on the duo’s label, RCA.

“Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)” appeared in October as an advance single (b/w “I Did It Just the Same”). The song peaked at No. 3 in multiple territories (Belgium, Sweden, West Germany) and reached No. 4 in Ireland and the UK. In January 1985, “Julia” became the second single (b/w “Ministry of Love”).

Be Yourself Tonight

Eurythmics released their fourth proper album, Be Yourself Tonight, on April 29, 1985, on RCA. It features nine originals by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, including “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves,” a duet with soul legend Aretha Franklin, who included the song on her 1985 comeback album, Who’s Zoomin’ Who?

On Be Yourself Tonight, Eurythmics embrace R&B rock on the US/Australian hit “Would I Lie to You?” and retain their electro/ethereal side on the UK/European hit “There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart),” which features Stevie Wonder on harmonica.

Lennox plays keyboards on everything but “Would I Lie to You?” Stewart plays keyboards on six tracks and guitar on eight, including slide on “Conditioned Soul.” He makes reduced use of sequencers and limits computerized drums to “I Love You Like a Ball and Chain.”

Swedish drummer Olle Romo (a recent Kaipa temp) plays on all other tracks apart from ‘Sisters,” which features R&B session bassist Nathan East and three-fifths of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers: guitarist Mike Campbell, organist Benmont Tench, and drummer Stan Lynch. Five tracks feature input by arranger Michael Kamen, who plays celeste on “Adria,” Annie’s duet with Elvis Costello.

East and Tench also play on “Would I Lie” along with trumpeter Dave Plews (of Costello’s TKO Horns) and returning saxophonist Martin Dobson. The latter two also play on “It’s Alright (Baby’s Coming Back),” the album’s fourth single. Touch bassist Dean Garcia appears on the non-East tracks.

1. “Would I Lie to You?” (4:25)
2. “There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)” (5:22) features backing vocals by one Angel Cross.
3. “I Love You Like a Ball and Chain” (4:04) features backing by the Charles Williams Singers.
4. “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” (5:54)
5. “Conditioned Soul” (4:30)
6. “Adrian” (4:29)
7. “It’s Alright (Baby’s Coming Back)” (3:45)
8. “Here Comes That Sinking Feeling” (5:40)
9. “Better to Have Lost in Love (Than Never to Have Loved at All)” (5:06)

Sessions occurred between November 1984 and January 1985 in France and the US. Stewart produced and co-mixed most of the album in Paris with returning engineer Adam Williams. The session for “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” took place in Detroit at United Sound Systems, where Annie and Dave met with Aretha, who they contacted after their original choice, Tina Turner, declined due to other commitments.

Eurythmics recorded “Would I Lie to You?” in Los Angeles, where Stewart co-wrote and produced three tracks for the 1985 Heartbreakers album Southern Accents, including the hit “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” a psychedelic turn for Petty. Stewart plays sitar in the video: a surreal spoof on Alice in Wonderland.

“Would I Lie To You?” accompanied the album’s release as the lead-off single (b/w “Here Comes That Sinking Feeling”). The 12″ adds the ‘E.T. mix (4:59) and a second extended mix (4:52). Freeze-frames from the video appear on the cover and inner-sleeve of Be Yourself Tonight.

In the video, a leather-clad Annie arrives for a gig as the pillion passenger of her biker boyfriend, who she terminates as they part. After a brief exchange with Dave in the dressing room, he tells her to “be yourself tonight.” Moments later, a guitar-strapped Dave takes to the stage, surrounded by horn players and red-dressed R&B backing singers. Annie struts out and takes command in a black sequined cocktail dress. She faces the viewer assuredly on each bridge and tells off her boyfriend later when he crashes the show.

Eurythmics mimed “Would I Lie To You?” for the April 25 TotP, which also featured in-studio numbers by Bronski Beat (“I Feel Love,” with Marc Almond), Debarge (“Rhythm of the Night”), New Model Army (“No Rest”), and the RAH Band (“Clouds Across the Moon”).

“Would I Lie To You?” received ample MTV rotation and reached No. 5 on Canada’s Top Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100. The song also reached No. 5 in New Zealand and became the biggest Eurythmics hit in Australia, where it reached No. 1 on the Kent Music Report.

In June, “There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)” became the second single, backed with “Grown Up Girls,” a non-album Lennox/Stewart original. The 12″ contains an extended ‘Special Dance Mix’ (6:20).

B. “Grown Up Girls” (4:17)

In the video, Dave portrays Louis XIV of France (1638–1715), who attends an ancient Greek play in which Annie plays Calliope, the muse of eloquence and poetry, surrounded by Cupid and angels. Eurythmics mimed “There Must Be An Angel” for the July 11 TotP, which also featured in-studio numbers by Denise Lasalle (“My Toot Toot”), Opus (“Live Is Life”), Sister Sledge (“Frankie”), and Steve Arrington (“Dancin’ in the Key of Life”).

“There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)” reached No. 1 in Finland, Ireland, and Norway and peaked at No. 2 in Sweden and Spain. The song also went Top 5 in Australia, the Netherlands (both No. 3), West Germany (No. 4), and New Zealand (No. 5). On the week of July 21, 1985, “There Must Be An Angel” ousted “Frankie” as the No. 1 song on the UK Singles Chart, where it held the summit for one week and bowed for “Into the Groove” by Madonna.

In October 1985, the Eurythmics and Aretha released “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” as a mutual single from their respective albums (b/w “I Love You Like a Ball and Chain”). In the video, the two singers appear on a soundstage, where they stand apart and harmonize in red tattered layers (Aretha) and a white blazer/leather pants combo (Annie). Vintage film clips and stock newsreels run throughout. Dave appears during the solo in a tilted room, guitar-strapped in multiple New Romantic outfits.

Be Yourself Tonight reached No. 1 in Australia and No. 2 in New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden. The album peaked at No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart and matched that position in Canada, Finland, and the Netherlands. In the US, Be Yourself Tonight reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200.

Revenge

Eurythmics released their fifth album, Revenge, on June 29, 1986, on RCA. They used the title once before as the closing track of their debut album, In the Garden.

Revenge features ten originals by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, including the singles “Missionary Man,” “The Miracle of Love,” “Thorn in My Side,” and “When Tomorrow Comes,” the last of those co-written with their keyboardist, Patrick Seymour, a prior Culture Club auxiliary.

Lennox and Stewart confine themselves to vocals and guitar (respectively) on Revenge, which features recurrent drummer Clem Burke and ex-Man bassist John McKenzie.

Seven tracks feature saxophone and/or harmonica by Jimmy “Z” Zavala, a recent sideman of Rod Stewart, whose earlier bassist, Phil Chen, plays on “The Last Time” and “I Remember You.” The two side-openers features ex-Magma bassist Jannick Top, a prolific French Zeuhl and jazz-rock sessionist (Heldon, Nyl, Speed Limit, Teddy Lasry). “The Miracle of Love” features additional keyboards by engineer Jon Bavin and “synthesiser guitar noise” by Steven ‘Gully’ Gallifent, an eventual sideman of Stewart’s future wife, Siobhan Fahey. Singer Joniece Jamison backs Lennox on four tracks.

1. “Missionary Man” (4:26)
2. “Thorn in My Side” (4:13)
3. “When Tomorrow Comes” (4:28)
4. “The Last Time” (4:11)
5. “The Miracle of Love” (5:05)
6. “Let’s Go!” (4:11)
7. “Take Your Pain Away” (4:34)
8. “A Little of You” (3:54)
9. “In This Town” (3:42)
10. “I Remember You” (5:00)

Eurythmics recorded Revenge between July 1985 and May 1986 at Conny’s Studio in Cologne and Studio de la Grande Armée in Paris. Stewart produced the album in sequence with Three Hearts In the Happy Ending Machine, the second solo album by Daryl Hall. Arranger Michael Kamen conducted the orchestration on five tracks. Bavin engineered Revenge in tandem with Deep In the Heart of Nowhere, the debut solo album by ex-Boomtown Rats frontman and Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof.

Return designer Laurence Stevens created the graphics for Revenge, which features a realistic painting of the duo by Eric Scott.

“When Tomorrow Comes” first appeared in May 1986 as the lead UK single (b/w “Take Your Pain Away”). RCA withheld the single from the US market, where “Missionary Man” dropped in July

In August 1986, “Thorn In My Side” became the second UK single (b/w “In This Town”). The single appeared in the US in November, just as “The Miracle of Love” became the third UK single, backed with a live version of “When Tomorrow Comes.” In February 1987, “Missionary Man” finally became a UK single, backed with a live version of “The Last Time.”

Revenge reached No. 1 in New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden. The album peaked at No. 2 in Australia, Finland, and Iceland, and No. 3 in the UK and Netherlands. Revenge also went Top 10 in Canada (No. 4), Germany (No. 5), Austria (No. 6), Switzerland (No. 7), and Italy (No. 10). The album reached No. 12 on the US Billboard 200 and matched that placement on the French Albums chart.