Eurythmics are a British pop band formed in the 1980s. The talented composer and musician Dave Stewart and vocalist Annie Lennox are at the origins of the group.
Creativity group Eurythmics comes from the UK. The duo "blew up" all kinds of music charts, without the support of the Internet and social networks.
The song Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) is still considered the hallmark of the band. And most importantly, the composition does not lose its attractiveness for modern fans of pop music.
The history of the creation and composition of the Juritmix group
It all started in 1977. Briton Dave Stewart and his friend Peter Coomes have teamed up to form The Tourists. The musicians wrote their own music and songs.
The duo decided to expand into a trio. Soon the guys offered a place in the group to the Scottish student of the Royal Academy of Music Annie Lennox.
Initially, the girl was skeptical about the proposal, but later she devoted herself to rehearsals. Everything has gone too far. Soon Annie left the Royal Academy of Music, where she studied keyboard and flute.
In this composition, the group began to conquer the dance floors. Between Dave and Annie there were not only working, but also romantic relationships that did not interfere with the development of their musical career.
The Tourists have released several full-length albums. Unfortunately, the collections were far from high ratings. The musicians had a difficult relationship with the organizers of the label, where they recorded songs. This led to litigation. Some time later, the band members announced the dissolution of The Tourists.
It soon became clear that the relationship between Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart came to naught. Love relationships ended quickly, but professional ones continued to develop. Thus, a new duet was created, which was called The Eurythmics.
Annie and Dave immediately agreed that they would not have a leader. They merged into a single whole and under a new name began to record and release musical novelties.
Lennox and Stewart did not burden themselves with frames. And although they are spoken of as a British pop group, you can hear various echoes of musical genres in the duo's tracks. They experiment with sound, often using electronic instruments. The Eurythmics succumbed to the avant-garde sound.
The creative path of the group Eurythmics
Producer Conny Plank began promoting the young duet. Before that, he had already been seen in the promotion of such popular groups as Neu! and Kraftwerk.
During the recording stage of the debut album, Conny Plank invited:
- drummer Clem Burke;
- composer Yaka Liebezeit;
- flautist Tim Wither;
- bassist Holger Szukai.
Soon the duet presented the synth-pop record In the Garden. Despite the fact that professional musicians took part in the recording of the collection, the album was rather coolly received by both critics and ordinary music lovers.
Dave and Annie did not give up, but accepted such a position as a challenge. They borrowed money from the bank to open a recording studio that was above a photo frame factory.
The musicians did not regret their act. Firstly, now they could freely experiment with the sound, and secondly, the guys saved their budget significantly.
Concert tours were performed strictly by the musicians as a duet. They used a wide variety of electronic instruments to help recreate the full-blown sound. Annie and Dave transported their work equipment themselves, as they did not trust "local" musical instruments that could be rented at a reasonable cost.
Such exhausting work did not benefit the musicians - in 1982, Annie Lennox was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and soon survived it. And Dave Stewart had a lung disease.
Peak popularity of the Eurythmics
Soon the duo's discography was replenished with a second studio album. We are talking about the collection Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). Unlike the debut album, the second studio album appealed to music lovers, changing the attitude of the Eurythmics towards themselves.
The title track, which was released as the debut single from the album, became a No. 1 hit in Britain. In many ways, the success of the song was influenced by a specific and outrageous video clip. In the video, Annie appeared before the audience in a short skirt with brightly colored hair.
The duo took popularity by the "throat" not only in their native Britain. The track "Sweet Dreams" topped the US chart, and a photo of Annie Lennox with the same hairstyle as in the video graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
In the mid-1980s, the group's discography was replenished with a third album. The record was called Touch. The collection was warmly received by fans and music critics. The hits of the third studio album were the tracks:
- Here Comes the Rain Again;
- Who's that Girl?;
- Right by your side.
A little later, video clips were shot for the listed songs, which were broadcast on the popular MTV channel. The duo then recorded the soundtrack for a film based on George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984.
Album Be Yourself Tonight
The team was highly productive. In 1985, the band's discography was replenished with the fourth studio album, Be Yourself Tonight. This collection opened the time for musical experiments. The compositions from the fourth album featured a bass guitar, live percussion instruments, as well as a brass section.
The fourth studio album was recorded with the participation of such musicians as Stevie Wonder and Michael Kamen. The album featured two successful duets - with Elvis Costello and Aretha Franklin. The album was warmly welcomed by the fans, especially noting the track There Must Be an Angel (Playing With My Heart).
In 1986, the Eurythmics released Revenge. This is not to say that the fifth studio album created a lot of noise. But, despite this misunderstanding, the record became the best-selling collection in the group's discography.
At the same time, the musicians gradually but surely began to go beyond the scope of work only in a duet. Lennox began studying acting, and Stewart began producing.
Now they spent most of their time outside the recording studio. However, this did not prevent the musicians from recording a new album, which they presented in 1987.
We are talking about the compilation Savage. The musical compositions included in the disc sounded in a new way - gloomy and almost completely with electronic music. The collection cannot be called commercially successful. The duet's lyrics became more lyrical and intimate.
Breakup of the Eurythmics
We Too Are One is the penultimate album of the Eurythmics' discography. The duet presented the collection in 1989. Several compositions managed to take the top of the music charts, but even fans came to the conclusion that the duo Eurythmics "was exhausted". But it seems that such statements by fans and critics did not upset the musicians.
Annie Lennox was the first to talk about the breakup of the group. The singer wanted to take place as a mother. In addition, she dreamed of learning another profession. Stuart didn't object. The plans of the group members diverged. They did not communicate until 1998.
On the basis of the death of a mutual friend of Annie and Dave, musician Pete Coomes, the Eurythmics reappeared on the scene. She presented the new album Peace.
The collection took 4th position in the English music charts. A year later, a collection of the best compositions of the group called Ultimate Collection was released with two tracks, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the synth-pop group.
