Eurythmics - Biography - Absolute Radio

Eurythmics biography

Their first album saw them work in Cologne with the legendary Conny Plank (who had produced the later Tourists sessions). This resulted in the album In the Garden, released in October 1981, which included contributions from Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit of Can, drummer Clem Burke of Blondie, Robert Görl of Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, and flutist Tim Wheater. A couple of the songs were co-written by guitarist Roger Pomphrey (now a TV director). The album mixed psychedelic, krautrock and electropop influences. It received an indifferent critical reception and bad sales. Two singles from the album also flopped, though "Never Gonna Cry Again" made the UK charts. Lennox and Stewart then activated their new Eurythmics mode of operation by touring the record as a duo, accompanied by backing tracks and electronics, carted around the country themselves in a horse-box .

During 1982, the duo retreated to Chalk Farm in London, and used a bank loan to establish a small 8-track studio above a picture framing factory, giving them freedom to record without having to pay expensive studio fees. They began to employ much more electronics in their music, collaborating with Raynard Faulkner and Adam Williams. They continued to record many tracks and play live using various line-up permutations. However, the three singles RCA released for them that year ("This is the House," "The Walk," and "Love Is a Stranger") all scored badly on initial release in the UK. The band's state of affairs was becoming critical ââ‚¬" although their mode of operation had given them the creative freedom they desired, commercial success was still eluding them, and the responsibility of running so many of their affairs personally (down to roadying their own equipment) was exhausting. Lennox apparently suffered at least one nervous breakdown during this period, while Stewart was hospitalized with a collapsed lung.

Eurythmics' commercial breakthrough came with Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (1983), whose successful single of the same name featured a dark, powerfully sequenced synth bass line and a dramatic video that introduced the now orange crew-cutted Lennox to audiences. The band's fortunes changed immensely from this moment on. The album became a great British success due to the title track, which later topped the American charts as well. Lennox was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Stewart recently revealed that the famous synthetic bass line in the song was discovered by accident when he inadvertently played a track backwards. Their previous single "Love Is A Stranger" was re-released and became a success in its own right. The "Love Is A Stranger" video saw Lennox in many different character guises, which she later became known for in subsequent videos. The album's working title was Invisible Hands (as was a track left off the album), inspiring the name of UK independent company Invisible Hands Music - known for releasing music by Hugh Cornwell, Mick Karn and Hazel O'Connor.

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