Videography
In the Garden – 1981
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Eurythmics’ debut album “In The Garden” was released on October 16, 1981. Produced by Conny Plank (Kraftwerk, CAN), the album features members of CAN, Clem Burke of Blondie, and Robert Gorl. The album was not a commercial success and only one promo video was filmed, “Never Gonna Cry Again”, despite two singles being released, the other entitled “Belinda”.
Although not indicative of Eurythmics’ sound moving forward, the new-wave, psychedelic-tinged album has gone on to significant critical acclaim in recent years, noted especially for Dave Stewart’s intricate guitar arrangements and Annie Lennox’s ethereal vocals. Standout tracks include “Take Me To Your Heart”, “Belinda”, “Caveman Head” and “Never Gonna Cry Again”.
Never Gonna Cry Again
Never Gonna Cry Again
Filmed in 1981, this video has never been released commercially, though it is available to view on YouTube. Footage from it can be seen during the song “Jennifer” on the Sweet Dreams video album.
Annie and Dave and some other characters are at the seaside in this Fellini-esque vignette. Annie plays a heartbroken woman surrounded by a variety of eccentric characters – a clothing-challenged butler, a flute-playing king, and even Dave Stewart – who rises from a beach grave of sorts and follows her around, furiously taking notes, perhaps a comment on fame and privacy. After a bizarre and surreal tea party on the beach, the video ends with Annie’s love-scarred protagonist walking into the sea and disappearing as Dave’s character blows into a conch shell at the water’s edge. Some subtle ideas from this video appear to have resurfaced later in the “Here Comes The Rain Again” video.
Directed by David A. Stewart
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) – 1983
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Released on January 4, 1983, this is the record that broke Eurythmics commercially worldwide. Three singles were released to little notice until the fourth, “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” hit #1 in the United States in Summer 1983 and was a global smash hit. The classic and surreal video for the single helped to propel it to the top of the charts worldwide. After the success of “Sweet Dreams”, one of the previously released singles “Love Is A Stranger”, was rereleased and became another worldwide hit for the band, also accompanied by a provocative music video.
The Walk
Love is A Stranger
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
The Walk
The first single released from the “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” album was “This Is The House” on April 2, 1982. No video was filmed for this song. The next single released, “The Walk” (released June 18, 1982), was never known to have an accompanying videoclip, but in 2007 director Marek Budzynski uploaded the video to YouTube. Long-time Eurythmics fans were amazed, many of whom had never even heard of, or let alone seen the video.
The video is low-budget and minimal, but shades of the style that the band would become known for later are evident in the imagery. Says director Marek Budzynski: “The video was filmed at a carpenter friend of Dave and Annie’s who had a courtyard outside where beer barrels were being stored by a local distributor.”
A few years back, I asked the Director, Mr. Budzynski, if he would answer a few questions about the making of the video and he kindly agreed.
Directed by Marek Budzynski
Love is A Stranger
The executives at MTV must have been scratching their heads when they received this unusual video from Dave and Annie in 1983. Exploring various forms of sexual obsession, Annie Lennox plays a call girl, a dominatrix, and finally a transsexual, as Dave Stewart’s character watches silently and indulges in a little fetishism of his own. The video was reportedly the first in MTV history to be pulled from the air on its first showing, mid-play, and legend has it that MTV demanded Annie’s birth certificate in order to determine whether she was male or female. This single and video was actually released first in the U.K., but did not become a hit until after the success of “Sweet Dreams”.
This video was filmed on September 10, 1982. Set photographer Steve Rapport says of the video: “Love Is A Stranger” was like a 50s black and white noir movie with the old car, the Rolls Royce and looking through the window and [Annie] is in the shadows and she’s a prostitute or maybe she’s not…maybe it doesn’t make sense trying to figure that video out! It’s just a bunch of imagery but it’s got so much in it. It’s referential – like “Sweet Dreams”. I think for the most part it was Dave’s cinematic vision for these videos. And Annie was like this beautiful actress and maybe she had a lot more input than I give her credit for.”
Directed by Mike Brady
Filmed: September 10, 1982
All photos © Steve Rapport Photography
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
The video for Eurythmics’ #1 world-wide hit “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” was a visual breakthrough and joined a long line of provocative and ground breaking clips that the duo would release over the next decade. With its Luis Buñuel and Gilbert & George-inspired visuals and its pointed commentary on such ideas as fame, power, marketing and feminism, the video and song struck a chord with critics and the record-buying public alike. The themes and ideas expressed in both would serve as a mantra for Eurythmics’ musical philosophy throughout their career.
Filmed on January 5-6, 1983, the video took two days to make as they had to change locations from a boardroom at RCA Records in London to the outside. The famous close-up of Dave Stewart and the cow in the boardroom scene happened by chance. As the animal moved unexpectedly cheek-to-cheek with Dave, the camera kept rolling. Set photographer Steve Rapport points out that the futuristic, hand-held device that Dave holds in his hand in the scene where he and Annie are in the field with the cows was actually his photographer’s light meter.
Directed by David A. Stewart & Chris Ashbrook
Filmed: January 5-6, 1983
All photos © Steve Rapport Photography
Touch – 1983
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Eurythmics were riding high on the success of the “Sweet Dreams” single and album, and followed up with “Touch”, released November 14, 1983. The album spawned three major worldwide hits: “Here Comes The Rain Again”, “Right By Your Side” and “Who’s That Girl?”, all accompanied by striking promotional videos. The album’s dark electronic sound reveals more organic traces than on the previous “Sweet Dreams” album. Annie Lennox’s stark, iconic masked cover photo is cold yet organic; icy and distant, yet real and up close at the same time. Annie would upend this image on the cover of her 2003 solo album “Bare”.
Who's That Girl?
Here Comes the Rain Again
Right By Your Side
Who's That Girl?
The video for Eurythmics’ electro-torch masterpiece “Who’s That Girl?” is set in a dimly lit nightclub where Annie Lennox plays a tormented chanteuse. Her lover, played by Dave Stewart, cavorts with other women who just happen to resemble famous real-life celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Meryl Streep and Debbie Harry. Guest cameos by Bananarama and cross-dressing singer Marilyn as some of Dave’s paramours adds to the fun. Annie has the last laugh when she hooks up with a stranger who has been watching her performance in the audience (played by Eurythmics’ graphic designer Laurence Stevens). She raised eyebrows at the end of the video by playing not only herself, but then her love interest as well, culminating in the jaw-dropping shot of Annie kissing “herself”, then sarcastically winking at the camera. The art direction and costuming have a 1960s vibe and with its soap-opera overtones, the video seems a nod to the often campy and melodramatic movies of the same era. Filmed on June 10, 1983 in London.
Directed by Duncan Gibbins
Filmed: June 10, 1983
All photos © Steve Rapport Photography
Here Comes the Rain Again
Some of the images in Eurythmics’ video for the hit single “Here Comes The Rain Again” seem inspired by imagery from Federico Fellini’s film “Juliet of the Spirits” and the Meryl Streep period piece “The French Lieutenant’s Woman.” The remote setting of Scotland’s Orkney Islands provides the perfect backdrop for the haunting and lonely feeling of the song. Annie Lennox plays a woman who is waiting or searching for her lover, real or imaginary. Dave Stewart adds an ominous presence as an unacknowledged figure who watches and films her from the shadows. As the video reaches it conclusion and Annie wanders alone along the majestic cliff line, a shadowy figure can be seen running towards her.
This video was filmed on December 6, 1983 and Annie, Dave and crew endured freezing temperatures and rain. Annie had to shoot in her nightgown and thermals and even wade in cold water and rocks barefoot. The only heat and light on the set was from the candles in the cottage featured in the video. Set photographer Steve Rapport’s coat accidentally caught on fire from one of the candles as he was speaking to Dave Stewart.
Directed by Dave Stewart, John Gerschfield & Jon Roseman
Filmed: December 6, 1983
All photos © Steve Rapport Photography
Right By Your Side
Eurythmics’ video for “Right By Your Side” was filmed on the Touch tour, and was the first of theirs to show the band in a live setting. The performance features the Croquettes, the backing vocalists on the tour. Annie’s initially startling leopard print outfit would quickly become an iconic look of the 1980s. The live shot from the video used on the album cover for “Touch Dance” was taken by set photographer Steve Rapport.
Directed by Chris Ashbrook & Jon Roseman
All photos © Steve Rapport Photography
1984 (For the Love of Big Brother) – 1984
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Eurythmics contributed the moody electronic soundtrack for Michael Radford’s 1984 film adaptation of George Orwell’s “1984”. Released November 12, 1984, the album is notable for its early use of ground-breaking ambient and house techno music stylings, and gained a considerable cult following in underground dance culture in the 1980s. In addition to the instrumentals on the album, there are several vocal songs, two of which were released as singles, the controversial “Sexcrime (1984)” and “Julia”. Despite controversy in the U.S., the former was a successful hit single and both songs were accompanied by music video clips.
Sexcrime (1984)
Julia
Sexcrime (1984)
When Eurythmics were asked to compose original music for director Michael Radford’s film version of George Orwell’s “1984”, the result was a provocative and ground-breaking electronica album that was years ahead of the ambient and techno movement. The hit U.K. single “Sexcrime (1984)” generated controversy in the United States resulting in little airplay. The song reflected author George Orwell’s vision of a society where sexual relations are outlawed, but this concept was lost on radio programmers amid the U.S. Government’s rock music indecency hearings in the early-to-mid 1980s. The intriguing video was filmed at Battersea Power Station in London on October 25, 1984, and intersperses clips from the film with shots of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart in full Orwellian guise. Chilling and appropriate, the video accurately reflects the desperation of Orwell’s futuristic society.
Directed by Chris Ashbrook
Filmed: October 25, 1984
All photos © Steve Rapport Photography
Julia
One of the protagonists of Orwell’s novel is Julia, who struggles with her feelings for Winston in a society where love is outlawed. The second single from “1984 (For the Love of Big Brother)” was “Julia”, a lovely and haunting song featuring impressive guitar work from Stewart and another mesmerizing vocal performance from Lennox. The video featured Annie alone, shot in close up, for the entire song. This intimate theme was later repeated in the video for Sinead O’Connor’s hit single “Nothing Compares 2 U”.
Directed by Chris Ashbrook
Be Yourself Tonight – 1985
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Moving from an electronic style to a fully-fleshed band sound, “Be Yourself Tonight” featured the break-out single “Would I Lie To You?”, a 60’s-inspired R&B stomper that has been described as modern-day “Hit The Road Jack”. Released April 29, 1985, it was the duo’s most commercially successful album in the U.S., spawning four hit singles, all accompanied by cutting-edge videoclips. The album includes Eurythmics’ iconic duet with Aretha Franklin – “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves”. Other guests on the album include Stevie Wonder (playing harmonica on the UK #1 smash “There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)”, and Elvis Costello.
Would I Lie to You?
There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)
Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves
It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)
Would I Lie to You?
In the Spring of 1985, Annie and Dave surprised everyone by abandoning their cool synthesizer sound and releasing the rock and soul masterpiece “Be Yourself Tonight,” featuring the smash single “Would I Lie To You?” Annie Lennox also abandoned her icy, androgynous image (for the moment) for a sexy, slinky look that propelled this classic performance clip to #1 on MTV’s Video Countdown. Filmed in Los Angeles, actor Steven Bauer (“Scarface”, “Thief of Hearts”) plays Annie’s biker boyfriend in the video and Billy Poveda (Oil Factory) plays the dancing, suit-wearing hipster who jumps on stage towards the end. A fun fact is that Eurythmics fan club members were invited to be part of the audience that appears in the video.
Directed by Mary Lambert
There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)
Dave and Annie’s unique video style can be traced back to many art and independent films. The video for the 1985 single “There Must Be An Angel” pays tribute to the opening scene of Ken Russell’s controversial film “The Devils” (1971). The story is set in the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France (played by Dave Stewart), and Annie Lennox is the angelic chanteuse brought in to entertain him. For awhile it seems that the King is bored with the performance, but as the song reaches its crescendo he becomes enraptured, and at the end praises the singer, lavishing her with extravagant gifts to show his appreciation. The whimsical video reportedly was supposed to be darker in tone than the finished product, although subtle elements of such can be found upon close inspection. British actor Steven O’Donnell appears as the angel doing backing vocals. The video was filmed at the New Wimbledon Theatre in London on June 21, 1985 in London.
Directed by Eddie Arno & Mark Innocenti
Filmed: June 21, 1985
All photos © Steve Rapport Photography
Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves
Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox duet on “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves”, the feminist anthem that would turn out to be one of Eurythmics’ most enduring and popular songs, covered by a wide range of artists and featured in many film promos. The performance video is interspersed with archival news and film footage of women and their accomplishments and setbacks. Dave Stewart even appears in the video for an amazing guitar solo sequence. Some radio stations in more conservative markets in the U.S. did not put this song in rotation, one radio programmer telling this writer that it was “too feminist”.
Directed by Eddie Arno & Mark Innocenti
It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)
The video for the fourth single from the album “Be Yourself Tonight” was “It’s Alright (Baby’s Coming Back)”, an innovative clip that blends live action with animation, something that was a rarity in music videos at that time. In the video, Annie Lennox is involved in a car accident and ends up in a hospital where her telepathic vibes reach Dave Stewart, who rushes to get to her side. The feel of the music evokes a post-modern Dusty in Memphis style, which Annie Lennox uses to full advantage in her look for the video.
In 2018, director Willy Smax gave an interview for Ultimate Eurythmics talking about the making of the video:
“‘It’s Alright’ was my first music video. This baptism of fire came after Annie and Dave saw my TV commercial for the Aero Think Bubbles campaign. The advert combined a real couple in a car with an animated street background.
It was the first live action/animation music video ever made, but because its release date was held back for six months by the USA success of ‘Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves’, A-ha’s ‘Take On Me’ got on TV first.
I wanted the animation to look computer-generated to sync with Annie and Dave’s ultra modern image. But CG was in its infancy so it was all hand-drawn paint and trace in my animation studio. The street scene was made by tracing around a 16mm film clip of driving south down London’s Finchley Road towards Swiss Cottage. I then refined the images to get the computer look. It was shot by Nick willing on his hand cranked Bolex, sitting on a mattress inside the front of my Renault 10. We’d taken off the bonnet and the engine was in the back!
I drew all the artwork and it was coloured by a great airbrush artist whose name I’ve sadly forgotten. Nick and I played the rotoscoped silhouette characters and we did all the animation except for the guy who did the abstract scene with Annie’s ad libs at the end. After over thirty years, I’m afraid I’ve forgotten his name too.
Annie sang most of the track lying on a table of black velvet. It must have been hard to perform from this position, but Annie smiled throughout. I remember the cameraman was known as ‘Catweasle.’ I’d filmed Annie often on Super 8 when she was in the Tourists, but nothing prepared me for the riveting performance she gave. It was so brilliant I expected the film to be overexposed!
I wanted Annie’s spirit image to be blue, but I didn’t want to film with blue light which would flatten the contrast of her amazing blue eyes. In 1984 the edit suites couldn’t get the look I wanted, so the editor opened up the back of the console and tweaked the RGB system with a screwdriver to make her flesh blue, but keep the whites of her eyes.
The great aspect of working with Annie and Dave was the way they added to my storyboard and concept with original style and wild ideas. The images sprang out of creative meetings that were always intense and always great fun. We took the relationship even further when we made ‘Missionary Man’. No other artists taught me so much as Dave and Annie.”
This video was filmed on the same day as the video for “There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)” on June 21, 1985 in London.
Directed by Willy Smax
Filmed: June 21, 1985
All photos © Steve Rapport Photography
Revenge – 1986
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Intended as a showcase for the massive worldwide Revenge Tour, this album was released on June 30, 1986 and features the band experimenting with a more AOR-type sound such as on the stunning electro-blues rocker “Missionary Man” (a Grammy winner for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 1987 Grammy awards) and the sad, but hopeful “When Tomorrow Comes”. “Revenge” went down in Eurythmics history as their biggest-selling album worldwide, propelled by four hit singles (the aforementioned two plus “Thorn In My Side” and “The Miracle of Love”) and augmented by the massively successful Revenge tour.
When Tomorrow Comes
Thorn In My Side
The Miracle of Love
Missionary Man
When Tomorrow Comes
Filmed in Paris in Spring 1986, “When Tomorrow Comes” is an unusual performance video showcasing the look and style of the Revenge band. It is the third performance video in the duo’s canon, after “Right By Your Side” in 1983 and “Would I Lie To You” in 1985. Simple effects, combined with the minimalist set and the editing techniques, create a dream-like feel. Annie is alternately sleepy and wide awake, echoing the lyrics of the song. Reportedly, the video for “Thorn In My Side” was filmed on the same day as this video.
Directed by Chris Ashbrook & David A. Stewart
Thorn In My Side
“You gave me such a bad time/Tried to hurt me/But now I know”, speaks Annie Lennox in the intro to “Thorn In My Side”, a bright, cartoon-like, color-saturated romp of a video set in a biker bar and featuring real Hells Angels as extras. It is the fourth performance video in the duo’s canon. Annie is angry and bitter in this video at some former love, and her and Stewart crackle with electric energy. The Hells Angels and their dates in the audience are enjoying the show, things come to a head, and suddenly the women in the audience are being anointed from the stage by Dave Stewart and carried away by the Hells Angels. The implication seems to be that, as a result of the song, the women have been transformed, that they will be stronger, and that they now “know”. The Revenge band looks and sounds great – a fine performance video, vividly shot, and perfectly suited to the music.
Jimmy “Z” Zavala, Revenge Band member states: “We filmed this video in Paris along with another one [presumably “When Tomorrow Comes”] in one long night into morning. Those are real Hells Angels from the Paris Chapter. They kept some members of the orchestra buzzing and alert with powerful stimulants. The President of the Parisian Hell’s Angels, Joel, and I became close and he invited me to dinner at his house with his wife and young boy. A very suburban family environment. What a contrast to his day job!!”
Directed by Chris Ashbrook & David A. Stewart
The Miracle of Love
“The Miracle of Love” is composed of film that Dave Stewart shot whilst Eurythmics toured in support of “Revenge”. Interspersed with real news images, the video evokes a new meaning from the music and is the second Eurythmics video to address sociopolitical issues, after “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves”. Filmed in a cinema-verite style, the video is definitely one for the art-house crowd. Annie looks beautiful, shot outside amongst the trees, somewhere on tour.
Directed by David A. Stewart
Missionary Man
The amazing video for the hit single “Missionary Man”, called “ultra-sensual” by Rolling Stone magazine, finds Dave, Annie and the band performing in “hell” and is a tongue-in-cheek look at the wages of sin. Biblical imagery such as an apple and a snake make appearances and Dave plays a creator-type figure, making Annie in his laboratory and then in the end sentencing her to “hell” for all the things she’s done. Experimental and advanced for its time, the omission of key frames from the final cut of the video resulted in the visually stunning robotic-like motions of Annie, Dave and the band. Some of the imagery in the video also seems to be paying homage to the 1962 science-fiction film “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die”. In addition, Annie’s Emma-Peel style leather catsuit made video and fashion waves at the time, and the song, with its groundbreaking new-wave and blues hybrid, still really hasn’t been equaled. Filmed in Los Angeles in Spring 1986.
Directed by Willy Smax
Savage – 1987
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Released November 9, 1987, “Savage” was a deliberate left turn from the more commercial rock sound Eurythmics were exploring on their two previous releases. The album is an avant-garde concept piece about a failed, interpersonal relationship and its aftermath.
Working with a then-unknown video director named Sophie Muller, twelve cutting-edge videoclips, one for each song on the album, were released in a ground-breaking home video entitled “Savage”. Four singles were released from the album, accompanied first by a trilogy of videos: “Beethoven (I Love To Listen To)”, “I Need A Man” and “You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart”. While this was Eurythmics least-successful record commercially, it remains the favorite of fans, critics and the band themselves.
Dave Stewart discusses the ideas behind “Savage” in this short clip from 1987
“Savage” rare North American TV ad, 1987
Beethoven (I Love To Listen To)
I Need A Man
You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart
Shame
Beethoven (I Love To Listen To)
The video for “Beethoven” begins with Annie Lennox as a neglected housewife, doing her household chores, and contemplating her disintegrating relationship. Conflicting emotions come together, different entities or personas taunt her, and finally anger gets the better of her. She rebels by trashing the apartment she has just meticulously cleaned. Dolled up like an over-the-top tart, she leaves her domestic prison in search of emotional and physical fulfillment. The surreal, off-kilter feel of Sophie Muller’s direction works perfectly with the song. The video seemed to induce some head-scratching from viewers, apparently unable to process and/or reconcile what they were seeing now with past Eurythmics videos. One of the finest and most original clips in the duo’s canon, the mature themes of this video elevated it above the standard MTV fare of the era.
Directed by Sophie Muller
I Need A Man
Annie Lennox’s character ends up at a darkly-lit nightclub in the second video of the trilogy, “I Need A Man”. Here she is parodying what men find attractive in women, trapped in the brash light of director Sophie Muller’s home movie. Annie’s character spells out everything she’s not looking for in a man – “and he don’t wear a dress.” The imagery parallels the lyrics and the irony of close-cropped Annie Lennox (known for her early androgynous looks) wearing a wig, and resembling a man pretending to be a woman can’t be ignored. This ground breaking video was nominated for Best Group Video at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards.
Directed by Sophie Muller
You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart
In the final video of the trilogy, “You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart”, Annie Lennox’s love-scarred character is examined before and after her relationship disintegrates. Cutting back and forth between her former life and her current life, the character goes through its odyssey of self-loathing, hate and healing before finally finding true love, and hopefully redemption, at the end. A Best Director nomination for Sophie Muller at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards capped this ground-breaking trilogy.
Directed by Sophie Muller
Shame
“Shame” is a scathing indictment of materialism and celebrity culture. Annie and Dave appear unclothed, in a “pure” state, while images of celebrity and pop excess swirl around them. The duality of both loving and despising celebrity culture is explored in the song: “We loved you” the duo sing, as if longing for a simpler, more uncomplicated time. This prescient song and video takes on even more meaning today, as celebrity culture has exploded since the 1980s and now dominates entertainment.
Directed by Sophie Muller
We Too Are One – 1989
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Released September 11, 1989, “We Too Are One” was to be Eurythmics’ last studio album before a hiatus of ten years. A massive world-wide success, the album went to #1 in the UK and contained four hit singles, “Revival”, “The King & Queen of America”, “Don’t Ask Me Why” and “Angel”, all accompanied by cutting-edge videos. The album was a return to a band-style pop and rock sound after the experimental and electronic stylings of “Savage” (1987). In Fall 1989, the Eurythmics embarked on the world-wide “Revival Tour” to promote the album, ending with a date in Rio de Janeiro on January 25, 1990, the last live date Eurythmics would play for almost 10 years.
Play Video
Los Angeles television interview from August 1989 with acoustic performances and footage from a fan club/press gig at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood (August 28, 1989).
Revival
Don't Ask Me Why
The King & Queen of America
Angel
(My My) Baby's Gonna Cry
Revival
The first single in Europe from “We Too Are One” was also a video first for the duo – a light-hearted, semi-choreographed dance clip showcasing the vagabond-ish look of the Revival tour. It was a bit odd at the time to see Dave and Annie acting so…normal? The song is interpreted fairly literally in the video and ends with a bizarre turn from Dave Stewart. As the video fades, it is revealed to be a painting in progress. So it maybe it wasn’t that normal after all.
Directed by Sophie Muller
Don't Ask Me Why
The sophisticated video for “Don’t Ask Me Why” seems inspired by the night club scenes in David Lynch’s film “Blue Velvet”. This is one of the duo’s best videoclips and features stunning editing and facial close-ups of Annie and Dave. It was reported that by the time Eurythmics had started recording We Too Are One, Annie and Dave had been together so much that they couldn’t even be in the same room with one another. Interestingly enough, there is a subtle element in this video in which an unseen presence approaches, intruding upon or coming between, the both of them.
Directed by Sophie Muller
The King & Queen of America
Pat Sajak and Vanna White, George and Barbara Bush, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, a stereotypical middle-aged American couple…just a few of the many lampoons featured in this witty video, wherein Dave and Annie poke fun at the cult of celebrity and the so-called icons of American or Western life. In one version of the video, Annie and Dave are dressed like George and Barbara Bush, and a close-up reveals a button on Dave’s suit that says “Let George Do It!” Other versions of the video omitted that close-up. Reported complaints by irate American radio listeners, who felt that the U.S. and its lifestyle were being mocked, contributed to the single’s lack of airplay in the U.S., although radio programmers initially reported strong interest in the song.
Directed by Willy Smax
Angel
The video for the ballad “Angel” has Annie and Dave participating in a seance, presumably to contact the spirit of a lost loved one. A good reference point for the idea behind this controversial clip is the 1964 British cult film “Seance On A Wet Afternoon”, as the imagery of the video seems inspired by the film. There is a suggestion in the video that the seance participants are drinking tea or coffee laced with something, as there is a repeated visual of some substance being dropped into cups before being served. The video ends dramatically with Dave rescuing a reluctant Annie from a burning room, indicating that perhaps her contact with the other side did not go as positively as had been expected. Reportedly censored by MTV for its occult imagery, the video aired on VH-1 in the U.S. back in early 1990. Here is a brief clip of the censored video.
Directed by Sophie Muller
(My My) Baby's Gonna Cry
The video for “Baby’s Gonna Cry” is an interesting collage of images taken from the Revival tour and woven together into a cohesive whole by long-time video collaborator Sophie Muller. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this video is the playful animosity between Dave and Annie, who were soon to go their separate ways and embark on solo careers.
Directed by Sophie Muller
Peace – 1999
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Eurythmics reunited in 1999 to record their last proper studio album “Peace”. In the years between “We Too Are One” and “Peace”, Annie Lennox had become a huge world-wide solo star due to the massive popularity of her two albums “Diva” and “Medusa”. Released October 19, 1999, and supported by a limited world tour dubbed “Peacetour”, the album was a commercial success, with two songs “17 Again” and “I Saved The World Today” becoming significant hits for the band. The album, with its warm rock and pop stylings, proved that even after almost 10 years apart, Eurythmics still had the ability to make songwriting magic.
I Saved the World Today
17 Again
I Saved the World Today
Directed by Sophie Muller, “I Saved The World Today” was the first new Eurythmics video in ten years. The song deals with the universal struggle human beings face in trying to better their world. Using war and peace as a metaphor, Dave, Annie, and the band perform as an army outfit, with an orchestra comprised of military brass. The video starts off dark and melancholy as Annie ruminates about selfishness and indifference. As the song reaches its peak, Dave and Annie attempt to sign a peace treaty – but things go awry when ink is spilled all over the document and their efforts are halted. The video then becomes an exercise in joyful cynicism as Annie, Dave and the band gleefully end the song with upbeat irony – a pat on the back for an attempt to do something that is never fully realized.
Directed by Sophie Muller
17 Again
“17 Again” is the second Eurythmics video from the album “Peace.” Directed by Dave Stewart, the video is alternately disturbing in its imagery and critical in its commentary. A companion piece of sorts to “I Saved The World Today” in terms of set design and costuming, the clip ignited some controversy when first presented to VH-1 and was reportedly shown thereafter in an edited version.
In the video, a camouflage-clad Annie and Dave, along with the Peace Army band, are again performing in a large concert hall when suddenly war erupts and everyone is pelted with gunfire. Symbolizing the attacks and intrusions that artists and celebrities must endure by the media and fans, the video delivers a pointed commentary on public irresponsibility. With it’s “Matrix”-style photography and graphic gunfire images, “17 Again” is ground breaking and definitely unlike anything Eurythmics have done in the past. It is a unique and worthy addition to their impressive collection of cutting-edge music videos.
Directed by David A. Stewart
Ultimate Collection – 2005
Although a Greatest Hits compilation was released in 1991, it wasn’t until 2005 that all of Eurythmics back catalog was remastered and reissued on CD. The new greatest hits compilation featured two new songs “I’ve Got A Life” and “Was It Just Another Love Affair?”, the former of which became a #14 hit in the UK and a #31 hit in the US. A stunning videoclip for “I’ve Got A Life” was also released – the first new Eurythmics video in 6 years. Ultimate Collection reached triple platinum status in the UK. A companion DVD was released with the same name, containing the new videoclip “I’ve Got A Life” and the previously unreleased “I Saved The World Today” from “Peace”, but curiously omitting all of the videoclips from both the “1984” and “We Too Are One” albums as well as the videoclip “Beethoven” from “Savage”.
Ultimate Collection TV Ad
I've Got A Life
I've Got A Life
“I’ve Got A Life” was the first new video from Eurythmics in nearly six years and is directed by Matthew Rolston. As the clip begins, Annie Lennox ushers us through a parade of memorable images from Eurythmics’ video past, strutting past flickering television monitors, dressed in a suit holding a baton, echoing “Sweet Dreams” imagery. There is a sense of self-examination at the iconic imagery, juxtaposed with the personal self-examination and new-found awareness echoed by the song’s lyrics. As the tempo picks up, we enter a disco where Annie and Dave Stewart are performing, surrounded by dancers representing people from all walks of life and from all persuasions – it seems we are all icons of a certain sort. As the song reaches it climax, the video cuts back and forth between the performance and Annie in the room of monitors, still flickering with those iconic images. As the clip ends, Annie slowly walks away, back turned to the audience, and just as she is about to exit, looks back at the camera.
Directed by Matthew Rolston