Eurythmics: A Look Back at the Influential '80s New Wave Duo

The early '80s gave rise to many iconic bands, but few were quite as unique and influential as Eurythmics. Annie Lennox's powerful vocals and androgynous style captivated audiences in the early days of MTV, while Dave Stewart provided the haunting yet catchy music.

Lennox and Stewart started out as members of the band the Tourists in the late '70s, and while the group split up in 1980, the two musicians formed their own duo, and released the debut Eurythmics album, In the Garden, in 1981.

It was Eurythmics' second album, 1983's Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) that made them stars. The title track was in heavy rotation on MTV and topped the Billboard charts. Over 40 years later, the song still sounds as fresh as ever, and it remains one of the defining hits of the era.

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The duo continued to have success with the singles "Love Is a Stranger," "Here Comes the Rain Again," "Who's That Girl?," "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)," "Would I Lie to You?," and other songs throughout the '80s.

In 1990, the duo split up, though they regrouped in 1999 and released their final album to date, Peace. They've had a few one-off reunions since then, and last reunited when they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

Lennox and Stewart went on to have accomplished musical careers after Eurythmics. Here's a look at the Eurythmics members and what they've been up to.

Eurythmics members: Annie Lennox

Annie Lennox embarked on a successful solo career after Eurythmics disbanded, and became known as a diva in her own right.

The Scottish singer released her debut album titled (what else?) Diva in 1992, and it was a hit, spawning the singles "Why" and "Walking on Broken Glass." She went on to release five more albums, including the 1995 cover album, Medusa, and the 2010 Christmas album, A Christmas Cornucopia. She released her most recent solo album, Nostalgia, a cover album of jazz standards, in 2014.

Lennox is regarded one of the most successful female artists in UK music history, and in 2010, she was given the accolade of Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for her artistic and humanitarian achievements. Outside of her storied musical career, Lennox has been active in many charitable causes for decades, including AIDS awareness and women's rights.

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Now 69, Lennox released an experimental EP of piano compositions in 2019. She has been married to doctor and activist Mitch Besser since 2012. She was previously married two times (and yes, she and Stewart briefly dated before forming Eurythmics), and has two grown daughters, Lola, a musician, and Tali, an artist.

Looking back at her time in Eurythmics and all the conversation her style generated, Lennox told Interview magazine, "At the time, I was called a ‘gender bender’ and I hated that tabloid label. It was so boring to have to explain — because what is there to explain? We had the possibility to present ourselves as a whole bunch of different personas and we just reveled in it.” Those personas are still inspiring many artists today.

Dave Stewart

After Eurythmics, Dave Stewart had a couple of short-lived bands, and released his first solo album, Greetings From the Gutter, in 1994. While he released a number of solo albums as the years went on, he didn't achieve the same level of solo success as his former bandmate.

Throughout the '90s and beyond, Stewart thrived as a songwriter and producer, working with Ringo Starr, Stevie Nicks, Mick Jagger, Tom Petty, Jon Bon Jovi, Shania Twain and more.

Stewart has also composed music for movies like Showgirls (1995), Beautiful Girls (1996) and Alfie (2004). In 2000, he directed Honest, a dark comedy set in '60s London and starring the girl group All Saints. He also wrote musical theater versions of the films Barbarella, Ghost and The Time Traveler's Wife in 2004, 2011 and 2021, respectively. He launched a NFT music platform, SongBits, in 2022.

Now 71, the multitalented musician was married to Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama from 1987 to 1996. Since 2001, he has been married to photographer Anoushka Fisz. He accompanied one of their daughters, Kaya, when she auditioned for American Idol in 2023.

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In a 2024 interview, Stewart reflected on his band's success, saying, "Eurythmics music was purely from the heart. Because we lived together as a couple, then separated and decided to stay together as a duo, there’s a lot of emotion in the songs."

He continued, "And then musically, because we both could play, we could do anything; it meant that we weren’t stuck in a genre. And because we both loved playing around visually, and because we had the extreme luck of MTV just starting, suddenly we were thrust upon people all around the world with videos. It was a mixture of the type of videos we made, the emotions, the melancholy in Annie’s voice, and the production – and everything seemed to transcend barriers."