The 4th January 1983 saw the release of Eurythmics second album Sweet Dreams in the UK, making today the 33rd anniversary of its release.
Featuring a series of hit singles, the album well and truly marked the arrival of Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox back into the international music scene.
The title track became particularly popular and it remains one of Eurythmics’ most recognisable songs. Its music video, popular on MTV in the United States, is memorable for Annie Lennox’s gender-bending imagery. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) has also become one of the most covered and sampled records of all time, often being used in music TV reality shows and sung by people not even born when the song was first released.
In the wake of this success, the single “Love Is a Stranger”, previously uncharted, was re-released and became a hit as well. It too was accompanied by a striking video, which featured Lennox dressed both as a man and a woman.
Dave Stewart, together with Robert Crash and bassist Adam Williams, produced the album in Eurythmics’ own relatively primitive 8-track studio, winning awards for the quality of the end-result which belied its low-budget origins.
Sweet Dreams saw the duo move away from the psychedelic, guitar-tinged band-oriented sound of their 1981 debut album In the Garden, instead focusing on raw analogue synthesizers and drum machines. Whilst the “synth pop” genre had grown in popularity in the preceding years, it was often associated with all male groups and somewhat clinical, emotionless music.
Eurythmics, particularly with Annie Lennox’s vocal stylings, brought a soul music twist to the electronic sound, which proved popular with broader audiences in the UK and abroad.
We’ll be featuring a range of memorabilia and records from the Sweet Dreams era this month, although due to my recent illness, i’m way behind, so if anyone would like to help, please feel free to volunteer!
Happy Birthday Sweet Dreams!