That descending synth line is one of the coldest, most hypnotic sounds in 80s pop, and then Annie Lennox opens her mouth and the temperature changes entirely. Orange crew cut, a man's suit, a stare straight down the camera. Eurythmics did not look or sound like anyone else on the radio in 1983, and that was exactly the point. They arrived looking like where music was going.
Eurythmics were a British duo of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. Their breakthrough single, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," reached number two in the UK in March 1983 and number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 that September. It was their only American number one, but it made them global stars and one of the most influential acts of the synth-pop era.
Built from the wreckage of another band
Lennox and Stewart did not start at the top. They had been in an earlier band called the Tourists, and when that group fell apart, they regrouped as Eurythmics and built a new sound around synthesizers and Lennox's remarkable voice. "Sweet Dreams" was written in that fresh-start period, and it became the hit that established them worldwide.
The song is a strange thing to have conquered the radio. It is chilly, repetitive, almost mechanical, with a lyric about how everybody is looking for something and some people want to use you while others want to be used. It should not have been a number one. It became one because the sound was so hypnotic and the delivery so commanding that you could not turn away.
The voice against the machine
The magic of Eurythmics is the contrast at their core. Dave Stewart built cool, precise, futuristic electronic backing, and Annie Lennox sang over it with a huge, soulful, deeply human voice. Machine and soul, ice and fire, in the same three minutes. That tension is what kept their records from feeling like cold novelties. Underneath the synths was a genuine singer who could break your heart or stare you down.
They followed "Sweet Dreams" with a steady run of hits. "Here Comes the Rain Again" reached number four in the US in 1984, and "Would I Lie to You?" hit number five in 1985. In the UK the run was even deeper, a long string of Top 40 hits that included a number one of their own, "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)." They never got another American number one, but they never needed one to stay a fixture on the dial.
Breaking the mould on camera
Part of their impact was visual, and it mattered in the MTV age. The BBC has credited Annie Lennox's powerful androgynous look, the cropped hair and tailored men's suit of the "Sweet Dreams" video, with breaking the mould for female pop stars. At a moment when the industry had a narrow idea of what a woman at the front of a band should look like, Lennox refused all of it and became more magnetic for the refusal. The image was inseparable from the music, and together they felt like a signal from the future.
The honest bottom line
Eurythmics could be austere, and their most famous song is deliberately repetitive and emotionally guarded, which is not everyone's idea of a good time on the radio. Judged as warm, sing-along pop, they can feel remote. But that coolness was a choice, not a limitation, and it is what made them sound years ahead of everyone else. Annie Lennox's voice supplied all the warmth the synths withheld, and the combination proved that electronic pop could be intelligent, striking, and deeply felt at the same time. Few duos have ever sounded so much like tomorrow.
FAQ
Who were the members of Eurythmics? Eurythmics were a British duo made up of singer Annie Lennox and multi-instrumentalist and producer Dave Stewart. They formed after their earlier band, the Tourists, broke up.
What was Eurythmics' biggest hit? "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in September 1983 and number two in the UK. It was their signature song and only American number one.
Did Eurythmics have other hits besides "Sweet Dreams"? Yes. "Here Comes the Rain Again" reached number four in the US in 1984 and "Would I Lie to You?" reached number five in 1985, and in the UK their long run of Top 40 hits included the number one "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)."
What is "Sweet Dreams" about? The lyric is a cool, philosophical observation that everybody is searching for something, and that in the world some people want to use others while some want to be used. It pairs a detached message with a hypnotic synth line.
Why was Annie Lennox's image important? Her androgynous look in the "Sweet Dreams" video, with cropped hair and a man's suit, was credited by the BBC with breaking the mould for female pop stars and challenging narrow expectations of women in pop.
Are Eurythmics considered influential? Yes. They were one of the defining and most influential acts of the synth-pop era, showing that electronic pop could be both futuristic and emotionally powerful thanks to Lennox's soulful voice over Stewart's precise production.
More from the 80s Radio guide. See also Tears for Fears.
Synth-pop history handled with care, by these two.