Sweet Dreams: How Eurythmics Shocked America and Made MTV I New British Canon
1,170,316
Published 2023-03-24
But even in the age of MTV, The Eurythmics were striking. Annie Lennox's orange close-cropped hair and sleek tailored suit stood apart from other female pop stars of the time. The swirling darkness of their breakthrough single would define the sound of the 80s forever more. This is New British Canon and this is the story of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).”
#eurythmics #80spop #musicdocumentary
Fact-checking by Serenity Autumn and Chad Van Wagner.
00:00 Introduction
01:38 It Starts With The Tourists
05:22 Goodbye The Tourists, Hello Eurythmics
08:49 Creating "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
13:09 MTV & The Second British Invasion
20:34 Aftermath & Enduring Influence of Eurythmics
Bibliography
Sweet Dreams: The Story of the New Romantics by Dylan Jones, 2020, Faber
I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution by Rob Tannenbaum & Craig Marks, 2012, Penguin
Eurythmics - 17 Again Documentary (1999) dir. unknown
Discovering Eurythmics (2013) Cal Saville
"The Tourists: Overcoming A Bad Press" Cynthia Rose, A.M., 1980
"The Tourists: It's Good To Be Back" Rosalind Russell, Record Mirror, Feb 1980
"Tourists But Not Exiles" Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, Jun 1980
"Eurythmics" Dave Rimmer, Smash Hits, Mar 1983
"We're Not Tourists, We Live Here" Cynthia Rose, NME, Mar 1981
"Eurythmics" Johnny Black, Smash Hits, Jun 1983
"Eurythmics: Sweet Soul Music (Is Made of This)" Betsy Sherman, Boston Rock, Aug 1983
"Eurythmics" Cynthia Rose, NME, Oct 1983
"Eurythmics: Sweet Dreams And Constant Friction" Jim Sullivan, Record, Oct 1983
"Annie Lennox: MaSQUERaDE!" Max Bell, The Face, Oct 1983
"Eurythmics: Side By Side" Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, Nov 1983
"Anglomania: The Second British Invasion" Parke Puterbaugh, Rolling Stone, Nov 1983
"C'est Eurythmics N'est Pas?" Neil Tennant, Smash Hits, Mar 1985
"Eurythmics: The Ministry Of Truth" Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, May 1985
"'I Am Not The Androgynous Annie Lennox. I Never Was. I Used It For Something Else'" Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, Nov 1986
"Annie Lennox: No worries? That’s worrying..." Phil Sutcliffe, Q, May 1992
"Eurythmics" Phil Sutcliffe, Los Angeles Times, 1999
"Sweet Dreams Again: After a Decade Apart, Annie Lennox and David Stewart are Eurythmics Once More" Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, Oct 1999
"Eurythmics: The Power Of Two" Bill DeMain, Performing Songwriter, Jan 2006
"The Return of the Sweet Dreamer" Jon Pareles, New York Times, Sep 2007
"Annie Lennox on passion, pop and peace" Teddy Jamieson, The Herald, Mar 2013
"Wrapped Up: Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams, 30 Years On" Matthew Lindsay, The Quietus, Apr 2013
"Annie Lennox: Twerking? It’s about the invasion of boundaries" Arwa Haider, The Metro, Nov 2013
"Dave Stewart: 'What Annie Lennox and I went through was insane'" Jim Farber, The Guardian, Feb 2016
"Eurythmics: how we made Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" Dave Simpson, The Guardian, Dec 2017
"Chvrches Reveal Influence of Eurythmics' Dave Stewart and the National's Matt Berninger on 'Love Is Dead'" Ian Gormely, Exclaim, Feb 2018
"Classic Tracks: Eurythmics ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’" Tom Doyle, Sound on Sound, Jul 2018
"Classic Album: Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" Mark Lindores, Classic Pop, Sep 2019
"Flashback: Eurythmics Perform ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)’ in 1983" Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, Dec 2019
"The Number Ones: Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)”" Tom Breihan, Stereogum, Jul 2020
"13 essential Eurythmics songs" uncredited, Classic Pop, Nov 2021
"Eurythmics: The genre-fluid music ahead of its time" Arwa Haider, BBC Culture, Nov 2021
"Annie Lennox's 30 greatest songs - ranked!" Alexis Petridis, The Guardian, Apr 2022
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) — how a drum machine helped create Eurythmics’ biggest hit" Helen Brown, Financial Times, May 2022
"Dave Stewart" Carl Wiser, Songfacts, Jul 2022
"40 Years Ago: Eurythmics Finally Make It With ‘Sweet Dreams’" Tyler Sage, Ultimate Classic Rock, Jan 2023
"40 years of Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams, the 'home recording' that took the world by storm" Matt Neal, ABC News Australia, Jan 2023
Soundtrack
Luar - Citrine (soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
Jesse Gallagher - The Golden Present
Luar - Anchor (soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
You can also follow me here:
Twitter: twitter.com/TrashTheory
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TrashTheoryYT
Or support me on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/TrashTheory
All Comments (21)
-
Hey! the link to TrashTheory2 is right here: youtube.com/@trashtheory2 Trash Theory playlist - Spotify: tinyurl.com/yxp32pjf Apple Music: tinyurl.com/2p83px9m Deezer: tinyurl.com/y2mdp8h2 Also if you want to help support the channel, here's my patreon link: patreon.com/trashtheory
-
You are missing a very important detail here, the recording began at Chalk Farm but was finished on a Tascam 8 track in a small room at the back of a church in Crouch End, London, Dave and Annie went on to buy the whole building and turn it into the now legendary Church Studios which is still churning out hits to this day
-
Lennox is one of the best pop singers ever. Amazing voice, powerful personality and yet very vulnerable. She gives me the chills.
-
I turned 16 in the Deep South as Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) hit MTV and the airwaves. Annie Lennox's look was the antithesis of what the girls my age looked like: long, curled hair, perfect make-up, feminine dresses, etc. I chopped my below-the-waist hair almost as short as hers but didn't have the guts (or the $$) to dye it orange. My boyfriend didn't speak to me for 4 days, my Dad was furious and my classmates didn't recognize me - I *LOVED* it! I found myself because of that song and Annie Lennox!
-
Wow that was really well done. I'm so sick of the youtube videos that sensationalize rock stories and turn them into dramatic tragedies. This was just perfect. Mad respect for Annie and Dave - a real class act.
-
The last time I DJed at a goth club I still packed the floor with this hit. When I think of MTV this is the very first thing that comes to mind. Lennox Is a QUEEN!
-
My 13 yo daughter just walked in, saw the screen (no sound, my headphones are on) and started singing Sweet Dreams and dancing, stating "It's the law, you have to sing it." Not only do I feel like I have done something right, but she just proved your concluding words. Annie's voice is pure liquid gold and her strength and beauty and openness about her troubled soul has long been an inspiration to me.
-
"Sweet Dreams" is so unbelievably catchy. How could the label not recognize this?! Thanks for this super interesting video!
-
As a 13yr old when sweet dreams was released I was absolutely mesmerised by the beauty of Annie Lennox. The strong look was sexy not masculine. I know , the effect nearly killed me, but what a way to go.
-
Also, Lennox's voice is incomparable. x
-
Thanks for giving the Eurythmics their due slot in the New British Canon. The story behind Sweet Dreams shows what a massive struggle Dave and Annie endured. Legends!!
-
I will never forget the day when "Sweet dreams" was aired on the UK music show "Top of the Pops". I was at a friends house and there was a gang of us. The song forced us to stop what we were doing and we all instantly knew this was totally fresh and original. The story of the Eurythmics, and how "sweet dreams" was born, is a lesson to anyone who is trying to achieve a dream. It shows just how many obstacles one has to over come and how one should never give up. Of course having huge talent can help.
-
Annie Lennox spoke at my graduation in 2013 from Berklee. One of the highlights of my life thus far, she is such an inspirational artist in every sense of the word imho
-
As a 51 year old American male I can honestly say I am still infatuated with Annie Lennox. Love her voice and really dug her look . She was the subject of an art project I had in college . I put so much passion and time into that piece , my art teacher asked to have it. I really wish I would have said no. Stewart heard and saw the same thing . A rough diamond, now a polished jewel.
-
I was 11 when this music came out. Could not stop listening to it. I'm Brazilian, grew up poor in the low suburbs of Rio, did not understand English at all, but some how, it got through the barriers of my understanding, into the heart of my emotions.
-
I was a complete metal head back then. When sweet dreams came out, I loved it... and still do. I'm still a metal head but I've broadened my taste a lot since 83. Great video.
-
I literally wore out my Eurythmics vinyl albums by playing them over and over and over in the eighties. Couldn't get enough, and I still love them just as much now as I did then.
-
In 1983, I was stationed in "West" Germany - this was pre unification - with the US Army. I had also gotten married there. On our honeymoon in Spain, this song was blasting in every club, disco, street market, and venue in Costa Bravo (a beach resort town about 45 minutes from Barcelona)I became a huge fan of Annie's hauntingly beautiful voice. For nearly 40 years now, this song has had a constant place on my top 5 songs EVER!
-
So glad they persisted. For me it's hard to imagine anyone not recognizing Annie's voice is pure gold
-
It was eye opening to see how many songs that Stewart had collaborated on. I think he deserves much more recognition for his talent.
