Annie Lennox (person)

From a avery early age, Annie showed an interest in the 'arts', specifically music, poetry and drawing. Her interest in these subject was encouraged by her parents as well as her school, During her school years she learned to play the piano and flute, and also sang in the choir. She played in several symphony orchestras and military bands. She even attended dance classes given by 'Marguerite Feltges' who, interestingly, introduced her pupils to a form of Greek Dance known as 'eurhythmics'.

During her teenage years, Annie became interested in Motown music. She listened to artists like The Supremes and Marvin Gaye. At the age of 17, Annie had gotten a place at London's prestigious Royal Academy of Music. She spent three years there studying classical music, but she ended up leaving just weeks before her final exams, unhappy with the direction her life was going in.

In the years after that Annie worked some time in a bookstore and met Steve Tomlin (who would later participate on There Must Be An Angel). She took singing lessons and following a competition in which she sang various Scottish folk songs, and which she won, Annie toured around local pubs and clubs in a band called Dragon's Playground. When she grew tired of this band she joined the more established band Red Brass. Gaining experience, she advertised in local newspapers and met a girl with whom she formed The Stocking Tops. They toured for a while. In mid 76', Annie took a job as a waitress at 'Pippins Restaurant' in Hampstead, where she would eventually met Dave Stewart. His first words to her were "Will you marry me?". Annie remarks of this meeting: 'I thought he was a complete nutter'. However, they found out that they did in fact have things in common, musically and personally. Soon after, they moved in together.

Together with Peet Combes, Annie and Dave formed the band The Catch and released one single, Borderline, which wasn't much of a success. Jim Tooney and Eddie Chin were added to the line-up and the band was renamed to The Tourists. The Tourists started off as a punk band with some pop elements. Their recordings weren't very successful, but their live concerts were, and they even toured with Roxy Music in 1979. In 1981 The Tourists split up due to musical differences and a battle with Logo Records which eventually had to let them go to RCA.

Despite the split of The Tourists Dave and Annie remained a team. They turned to Conny Plank, who had also produced the first Tourists album. This resulted in a new band called The Eurythmics and the album In The Garden. in mid-1981, Eurythmics released their first single Never Gonna Cry Again. RCA wasn't much impressed though, and hardly promoted the band. As a result of the lack of success of The Eurythmics Annie started suffering from depression and agorophobia. Dave suffered a major setback when he underwent a lung operation.

After some recovering The Eurythmics eventually got recognition with Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This). The song was accompanied by a now famous video featuring Annie and Dave dressed for a board meeting with the inclusion of cows wandering past in a field. Together with her voice range of four octaves, Annie's androgynous image became her trademark, with her playing with gender roles on many occasions. In the USA she even was asked once to provide proof of her sex, as the Americans saw her as a "youth corrupting transvestite".

In 1984, following a gig, Annie met Radha Raman, a Hare Krishna Monk. Annie was impressed by his personality and spiritual beliefs and fell in love. They ended up marrying in March 1984 and went to live in Switzerland away from the spotlight. In February 1985 they were separated again. As a result of this separation Annie channelled much of her energy into the Eurythmics album Be Yourself Tonight, on which can be found the Eurythmics' only #1 hit, There Must Be An Angel. Annie also collaborated with Aretha Franklin and Elvis Costello. In 1988 Annie married Isreali film-maker Uri Fruchtman, whom she had met on tour. Unfortunately this marriage didn't last either.

In 1987 Annie played a part in Harold Pinter's The Room in which she co-starred with Donald Pleasance. Other projects included a collaboration with Al Green for the film Scrooged.Other movies she has played in are Edward II (1991) and Naissance d'un Golem (1991). Annie also played at the Nelson Mandela Concert in 1988 at Wembley Stadium.
In December 1988 Annie gave birth to baby Daniel, who was tragically stillborn.
Following this news, Annie was awarded with the BPI Award for 'Best Female Singer' in early 1989. She again channelled her energy and emotions into her music, leading to the Eurythmics album We Too Are One. The song Angel on this album is devoted to Daniel.

Notwithstanding another BPI Award, in 1990 The Eurythmics decided to stop making music together. At the awards ceremony in 1990, Annie said that she would be taking two years off to concentrate on her family life, to try for another baby, and to work for Shelter, an organisation devoted to the homeless. In December 1990 Annie gave birth to Lola.

In 1992 Annie released her first solo album, Diva.It reached #1 in the UK charts and stayed in the charts for 70 weeks. In 1993 Annie received a Brit Award for 'Best Female' and a prestigious Grammy award for 'Best Video'. Around this time, Annie also contributed music for the soundtrack to Bram Stoker's Dracula' starring Gary Oldman with 'Love Song For A Vampire'. She also recorded an MTV Unplugged session. In the same year Annie gave birth to her second daughter, Tali.

In 1995, after another break to concentrate on family life, Annie came back with an album of covers: Medusa. Medusa sold well but didn't get the same success as Diva. Annie received a Grammy award for No More I Love You's and a Brit Award for 'Best Female' in 1996.
In 1999 The Eurythmics came back to collect an award at the Brits. This became the first time they performed together after three years. Just before this, Annie and Dave had been working on new material. Soon after, they announced that they were working on a new album, and in 1999 they released Peace.