EURYTHMICS - Interview

Interview, Dec, 1999 by David Furnish

Ten years ago, Eurythmics Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart called it quits. Now, having put their differences aside, the two have made--literally--Peace, their long-awaited reunion CD

During the '80s, few bands were as evocative or prolific as the Eurythmics. At a time when many musicians were transforming themselves into visual artists (due to the advent of music videos), the duo of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart were firmly in the vanguard of the changing pop culture. Bursting onto the scene in 1983 with the release of Sweet Dreams, Lennox and Stewart ignited the musical landscape with their electromelodies, androgynous imagery, and brilliant live performances. Front woman Lennox became a powerful icon through her riveting exploration of female stereotypes: In the band's groundbreaking videos, she morphed from dominatrix to Elvis look-alike to angst-ridden suburban housewife, tapping into a world of sexual confusion and everchanging male and female roles.

After eleven years together (which included three years with their first band, the Tourists, and a onetime romantic involvement), Lennox and Stewart claimed to have burned out. Rumors abounded of an acrimonious split. Never officially breaking up, the Eurythmics chose to go their separate artistic ways.

They spent the next ten years apart, barely speaking to one another. Initially eschewing the spotlight and focusing on motherhood, Lennox returned to the music world to release two solo albums, earning a few Grammys along the way. Stewart successfully branched out in many directions: He led a new band, the Spiritual Cowboys, wrote and produced songs for artists from U2 to Leonard Cohen, and directed his first feature film, Honest, due out next year.

Their reunion was almost accidental, and they chose to slowly ease themselves back together. Now with the release of their new album, Peace, a softer, less angry Eurythmics Is In evidence: Gone Is the dreamy romanticism and dysfunctionality of their earlier work. While their signature song structure and superb production values are still In place, there's also a heightened sense of spiritual empowerment and social consciousness. Together again (for now, that Is, since they won't make any promises about the band's future) Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart have brought a renewed energy and sense of purpose to their remarkable collaboration.

DAVID FURNISH: HOW does it feel to be back together after ten years apart?

DAVE STEWART: I think we needed to take ten years off to get over the ten years we'd had before. From 1980 to 1989, we made eight albums, toured constantly and did thousands of interviews. And before that we'd been together in the Tourists for three years. We'd also lived together. So I think we just burned each other out. I ran out of ideas and in the end I didn't have my own personality.

DF: I think most people don't realize what a grueling pace you kept.

ANNIE LENNOX: But what was wonderful was the creative bit.

DS: The hard bit was the traveling.

AL: Yeah, it isn't hurry up and wait; it's wait and hurry up. We did a lot of waiting, and then we had to be ready to do this extraordinary Zen hit, which would be a concert or maybe just three minutes on Saturday Night Live. It's so surreal--a show can involve hundreds of people who come in with all these trucks and set everything up--ail for this little Zen hit [snaps fingers]. So, it is quite mad, really.

DF: But are you now enjoying It all over again?

DS: Yeah. From the minute we started writing, we realized there is a magic thing we do together. And coming back after doing our own things, our work has a newfound maturity and serenity about it. There's less panic. One thing I noticed when we started to rehearse is that our old songs--even though they were recorded electronically with dram machines--still sound like real songs when we played them acoustically. They stand the test of time when they are performed very simply. And our new album, Peace, is very much like that. It's acoustic. We've also learned to go with our instincts, and if something comes quickly, it's right.

DF: Do you ever return to songs that didn't work and try to do them differently?

AL AND DS: Very rarely.

AL: I think you just want to go cook something else. It's like an omelette or something. You just can't refry it.

DF: How did your reunion come about?

DS: I think after our last gig we both thought we wouldn't be seeing each other for quite a while. We each had all sorts of things to keep us busy. But I know that after about one or two years apart, I'd find myself thinking, "I wonder what Annie's doing?" Then circumstances just brought us back together in a natural way. Like getting a lifetime achievement award [at the 1999 BRIT Awards], or when an old friend asked us to play at a surprise party. But we never had a huge failing out. We just fizzled.

AL: You can't be continually joined at the hip. You cannot possibly spend all that time with a person without clashing. Before, when we were at odds with each other, it felt like a threat. Now I think we've grown up about it. But it's not like we're thinking, Oh, Eurythmics are back and we're here to stay. People always say to us, "Now you've got your career back." But to us, it's not like a career; it's our lives.