The Eurythmics were born in the early 1980s.
Annie Lennox met
Dave Steward when she was a student at the
Royal Academy of Music. He had newly broken up his folk-rock band
Longdancer. It appears the two struck up quite an intimate relationship, and then they formed
the Tourists with
Pete Coombes. The band put out three successful albums in England in two years. But the band broke up in 1980 when Lennox and Steward
themselves broke up.
However, they for some reason decided to continue their musical partnership as
the Eurythmics.
Their first album came out in 1981; it was titled "
In the Garden" and was well received by critics, but failed to educe a significant response from
Britain's pop music fans.
This occurred in 1983, with their release of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", This is where they defined their sound. The album was heavily produced and relied primarily on synthesizers for any type of foundation. Despite this their music owned quite an earthy, visceral effect that escape the sterility of most pop bands among them in the early 80s. This was mainly owing to Steward's meticulous guitar and violin work, and Lennox's velvety voice. Her sexy and androgynous, and often bold style also helped the album enormously though the video for “Sweet Dreams”.
Before declining in popularity in the late 80’s, they evolved into more of a rock ‘n’ roll band. They then took an extended break, where Stewart went into producing and Lennox pursued a solo career. After a decade of separation, the Eurythmics reunited to record "Peace" in 1999, a poignant album that displays the bands full evolution from synthesized pop to emotional, distinctive rock 'n' roll.
An overall description of the band:
tricky. cool. expansive. lush. sensual.
The Eurythmics defined the synthesized pop sounds of the 80s. They utilised a combination of robotic beats with techno oceanic undercurrents; sensual lyrics with savvy electric guitar riffs. It is only in retrospect that we can say that their sound seems to capture the essence of the 80s.
Marilyn Manson, dreamed of a darker, more sinister version of Sweet Dreams whilst on an acid trip, and has since released a cover.