The Eurythmics, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, seldom perform together these days. With successes like “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” and “Here Comes the Rain Again,” the British electronic duo helped pioneer a creative approach to synthpop in the early 1980s. Through their work, Lennox and Stewart elevated pop music to a new level of complexity and creativity, eventually fusing rock, R&B, and soul into their own sound.
But when Lennox began a solo vocal career and Stewart achieved success as a songwriter/producer for artists like Tom Petty, Mick Jagger, and Stevie Nicks, Eurythmics fell into a perpetual state of limbo after 1990. They maintained a relationship that alternated between mutual respect in the workplace and strong cooperation until coming back together for 1999’s Peace. After releasing a greatest hits collection in 2005, Eurythmic have mostly been ignored.
Only twice did Eurythmics come back together in the 2010s. Only once, in 2014, for The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ entrance in the country. The group sang a performance of the song “Fool on the Hill,” which was penned by Paul McCartney. Five years later, the two came back together to play three of their most well-known songs at Sting’s 20th annual “We’ll Be There” benefit performance.
It takes significant occurrences like that for the group to reunite, but on Sunday night, one did. Lennox and Stewart regrouped to receive and play at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame event when the Eurythmics were honoured. The Edge, the guitarist for U2, welcomed Lennox and Stewart to the stage before they performed three of their biggest hits.
The duo opened with a spirited performance of their soul-rock anthem “Would I Lie To You?” Lennox’s voice was piercing and perfectly hit the brassy high notes the song calls for. The two seamlessly transitioned into their 1986 smash single “Missionary Man” without skipping a beat. Stewart was obviously having a great time leading the band, and at the change he even led the crowd in some applauding.
It was expected that the band would play one of their biggest singles to close the concert, even if they didn’t get to it. Eurythmics’ performance in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame cemented their status as one of the most influential and forward-thinking bands of the MTV era, and a stirring version of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” cemented their place among the greatest performers of their period.
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