Annie Lennox

Annie Lennox (born December 25, 1954, Aberdeen, Scotland) is a Scottish vocalist and half of the popular 1980s British rock duo Eurythmics, known for her vocal versatility, commanding stage presence, androgynous style, and ever-changing appearance. Her unique singing voice and collaborations with Eurythmics partner Dave Stewart helped her transition into a successful solo career that produced many hit songs and earned her numerous awards and accolades.

Early life and education

Lennox was born to Dorothy Farquharson and Thomas Allison Lennox, who raised her in a working-class neighbourhood in Aberdeen, Scotland. Her mother worked as a cook until Annie was born, and her father worked as a welder in the local shipyard. Annie Lennox demonstrated musical talent from a young age. Her parents noticed her playing a toy piano at age three. By age six she had joined a local choir, in which she sang every Saturday morning, and by age seven she had begun taking piano lessons. She decided to learn the flute at age 11, and when she turned 17 she went to London, where she studied classical flute, piano, and harpsichord at the Royal Academy of Music. She worked part-time jobs in London to make some extra money on top of the scholarship she had earned. She often felt disillusioned during her time studying at the Academy, especially because many of her peers came from wealthier backgrounds. After three years, shortly before final exams, she left the school. As Lennox recalled in a 2010 interview, she was “incredibly proud” of being at the Academy but “didn’t feel connected to the whole cultural aspect of it. It wasn’t who I was, and so the challenge was to find my own voice and my own path.”

From the Tourists to Eurythmics

For a few years after leaving the Academy, Lennox worked various day jobs around London. By night she showcased her vocal skills and appreciation of Motown, seeking out singing jobs with local bands. In the mid-1970s, while working at a vegetarian restaurant in Hampstead, Lennox met guitarist Dave Stewart. She played him some of the music she had written, and he encouraged her to tap into her musical potential. The two began collaborating as a musical duo. In 1977 they formed a band named the Catch, which was soon renamed the Tourists; it featured Lennox, Stewart, Peet Coombes, Jim Toomey, and Eddie Chin. Although she was timid offstage, Lennox captivated audiences with her powerful, charismatic performances. The band released some successful songs, including “The Loneliest Man in the World” (1979) and “So Good to Be Back Home Again” (1979). Their biggest hit was a cover of Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want to Be with You” (1979).

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The Tourists released three albums before breaking up while on tour in Australia in 1980. Soon thereafter Lennox and Stewart broke off their romantic relationship, which had begun shortly after they met in 1976. However, they continued to collaborate musically. While experimenting with a synthesizer together in a hotel room in Australia, they formed a new duo called Eurythmics, whose name is derived from a system of musical instruction that involves bodily movements with which Lennox had become familiar during her time in school.

The duo’s first album, In the Garden (1981), featured many different electronic sounds. The record resulted in relatively low sales and received mixed reviews, leaving Lennox discouraged. She wondered whether Eurythmics would ever be able to produce a breakthrough hit. Lennox and Stewart continued experimenting, and Lennox’s frustration infiltrated her songwriting. This helped produce, in 1983, Eurythmics’s biggest hit yet: “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” the title track of their second studio album. The song reached number two on the U.K. charts, and it hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S.

Lennox and Stewart produced music videos and toured extensively, which presented Lennox with an opportunity to experiment with her look. She combined men’s suits with lace bras and cropped her hair short. Her experimentation with traditionally male styles coincided with newfound musical success. Over the course of the 1980s, Eurythmics released eight studio albums and produced several hit songs in Britain and the U.S., including “Love Is a Stranger” (1983), “Who’s That Girl?” (1983), “Here Comes the Rain Again” (1983), “Would I Lie to You?” (1985), and “Missionary Man” (1986).

Solo career

After a period of interpersonal tension, Lennox and Stewart decided to take time off from their partnership in the early 1990s. Lennox concentrated on spending more time with her family and working for a charity supporting people experiencing homelessness. During her downtime she continued working on solo music. She eventually released her debut solo album, Diva (1992), which was met with critical and popular acclaim. She had worked with producer Stephen Lipson, channeling her experience with fame and motherhood in her music. The record featured more mature vocal performances, including the ballad “Why” (1992), which performed well on the U.K. music charts. Diva became a platinum seller, in part because of music videos that received heavy play on MTV.

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Lennox’s next solo studio album release, Medusa (1995), represented a departure from her typical songwriting practice. Whereas in her earlier work Lennox had written or cowritten each track she released, this album featured her performances of songs made famous by other artists, including Bob Marley, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Neil Young, the Clash, and the Temptations. Lennox added her unique flair to each cover song, even completely reinventing some of their sonic foundations. She effectively turned each of them into her own personal statement. She also won a Grammy for her cover of “No More ‘I Love You’s’,” originally recorded by the Lover Speaks.

Following the success of the album, Lennox released Medusa/Live in Central Park in 1996. She then took several years off from musical endeavours, focusing instead on humanitarian efforts and raising her children. She has been married three times, to Radha Raman (1984–85), Uri Fruchtmann (1988–2000), and Mitchell Besser (2012– ). She returned with more solo albums, including Bare (2003) and Songs of Mass Destruction (2007). In 2004 Lennox won an Academy Award for her original song “Into the West,” which was created for the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). In 2014 she released Nostalgia, produced by Mike Stevens, another album consisting entirely of cover songs.

Charitable activities and honours

Lennox’s humanitarian endeavours have also been an important part of her career. In 2003 she met with Nelson Mandela and reunited with Eurythmics to perform in a concert supporting Mandela’s 46664 charity, which fought the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa. In 2008 she performed by herself in another concert supporting the charity. In that same year Lennox founded The Circle, a nongovernmental organization centred on supporting feminism around the globe. She has also donated some of her musical proceeds to the Annie Lennox Foundation.

In 2011 Lennox was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).