Annie Lennox

Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox promoting her Sing Campaign in 2010.
Background information
Birth name	Ann Lennox
Born	25 December 1954 (1954-12-25) (age 56)
Origin	Aberdeen, Scotland
Genres	Pop, rock, blue-eyed soul, R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, activist, humanitarian ambassador
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, flute
Years active	1975–present
Labels	RCA, Arista (1992–2009) Island, Decca (2010–)
Associated acts	The Catch, The Tourists, Eurythmics
Website	www.annielennox.com

Annie Lennox (born 25 December 1954, in Aberdeen, Scotland) is a Scottish musician and recording artist. She began her recording career as a member of the British pop band The Tourists, and subsequently formed the duo Eurythmics with former bandmate David A. Stewart. The duo gained international prominence over the course of the 1980s with singles such as "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and "Here Comes the Rain Again".^[1]

In the 1990s, Lennox embarked on a solo career beginning with her debut album Diva (1992), which produced several hit singles including "Why" and "Walking on Broken Glass". To date she has released four solo studio albums and a compilation album, The Annie Lennox Collection, in 2009. She is the recipient of eight BRIT Awards, more than any other female artist. In 2004, she won both the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Into the West", written for the soundtrack to the feature film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.^[2]

In addition to her career as a musician, Lennox is also a political and social activist, notable for raising money and awareness for HIV charities in Africa, and leading such events as a rally against the Gaza War in London on 3 January 2009.^[3] She also objected to the unauthorised use of the 1999 Eurythmics song "I Saved the World Today" in an election broadcast for Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.^[4]

Known as a pop culture icon for her distinctive contralto vocals and visual performances, Lennox has been named "The Greatest White Soul Singer Alive" by VH1 and one of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone.^[5] She has earned the distinction of "most successful female British artist in UK music history" due to her global commercial success since the early 1980s. Including her work within Eurythmics, Lennox is one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 80 million records worldwide.^[6]

Early life

Lennox was born on Christmas Day, 1954, in Torry, Aberdeen. Her father worked at the shipyard, and her mother was a cook until she became a housewife. Lennox was an only child and the family lived in a small two-bedroomed apartment in a block of flats with communal laundry facilities. Despite her family's financial status, Lennox had piano lessons at school from the age of seven years at the cost of £4.00 per term. She was interested in singing and, with plenty of time to herself, passed some of the time by singing along to the popular music of the time, including music by The Beatles. She was an unhappy teenager, partly because of a struggle over boundaries for her independence with her overprotective father.^[7] She attended Aberdeen High School for Girls, now Harlaw Academy.^[7][8] In 1964, her early talent was demonstrated when she came second in a talent contest at a Butlins holiday camp. She sang the song "Mairi's Wedding".^[9]

In the 1970s, Lennox won a place at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she studied the flute and classical music for three years. She lived on a student grant and worked at part-time jobs for extra money. Lennox was unhappy during her time at the Royal Academy partly because she was lonely and shy, and she missed many history-of-music lessons.^[7]

Lennox's flute teacher's final report stated: "Ann has not always been sure of where to direct her efforts, though lately she has been more committed. She is very, very able, however." Two years later, Lennox reported to the Academy: "I have had to work as a waitress, barmaid, and shop assistant to keep me when not in musical work." She also played and sang with a few bands, such as Windsong, during the period of her course. In 2006, the academy made her an honorary Fellow.^[10] Lennox also was made a Fellow of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama that year.

Music career

1977-90: The Tourists and Eurythmics

Lennox in the mid 1980s

Between 1977 and 1980, Lennox was the lead singer of The Tourists (initially known as The Catch), a moderately successful British pop band and her first collaboration with Dave Stewart. During the time they were in The Tourists, Stewart and Lennox were involved in a relationship, though this had ended by the time they formed Eurythmics.

Lennox and Stewart's second collaboration, the 1980s synthpop duo Eurythmics, resulted in her most notable fame, as the duo's alto, soul-tinged lead singer. Early in Eurythmics' career, Lennox was known for her androgyny, wearing suits and once impersonating Elvis Presley. Eurythmics released a long line of singles in the 1980s, including "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", "Here Comes the Rain Again","Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves", "Who's That Girl?", "Would I Lie to You?", "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)", "Missionary Man", "You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart", "Thorn in My Side", "The Miracle of Love" and "Don't Ask Me Why", among others. Though Eurythmics never officially disbanded, Lennox made a fairly clear break from Stewart in 1990. Thereafter, she began a long and equally-successful solo career.

Lennox and Stewart reconvened Eurythmics in the late 1990s with the album Peace, their first album of new material in ten years. A subsequent concert tour was completed, with profits going to Greenpeace and Amnesty International. Lennox and Stewart later collaborated on two new songs for their 2005 Eurythmics compilation album, Ultimate Collection, of which "I've Got a Life" was released as a single in October 2005. The promotional video for the song features Lennox and Stewart performing in the present day, with images of past Eurythmics videos playing on television screens behind them. Lennox also appears in a man's suit with a cane, reminiscent of her "Sweet Dreams" video image from 1983. The single peaked at number fourteen in the UK Singles Chart and was a number-one US Dance hit.

Lennox (far right) and David A. Stewart (left) performing as Eurythmics in 1987.

Lennox has received eight BRIT Awards, the most of any female artist. Four of the awards were given during her time with Eurythmics, and another was given to the duo for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 1999. The closest any other female artist has come to this record is Dido, with four awards.

From the beginning of her career, Lennox has experimented with her image - both as an artist and as a woman. She matured as a public figure in the late 20th century, just as MTV and the medium of video were becoming the obvious vehicles for selling contemporary popular music. She has managed her image astutely, both as a means of interpreting and marketing her music; this was emphasised in the music video for "Little Bird" in 1993, in which many Lennox lookalikes were featured...all dressed as her many different personae from past videos—both solo and Eurythmics eras.

The 1988 single with Al Green, "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" (a cover version of Jackie DeShannon's 1969 hit), was recorded for the soundtrack of the movie Scrooged. Though it was produced by Dave Stewart, it was credited to Lennox and Green, and can be considered her first release outside a band identity. This one-off single peaked at #2 on the US Adult Contemporary chart, #9 on the US Hot 100 and was a top 40 hit in the UK. Lennox performed the song "Everytime We Say Goodbye," a Cole Porter song, that same year for a cameo appearance in the Derek Jarman film Edward II. She then made a memorable appearance with David Bowie and the surviving members of Queen at 1992's Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at London's Wembley Stadium, performing "Under Pressure".

1992-93: Diva

Lennox began working with former Trevor Horn protegé Stephen Lipson, beginning with her 1992 solo début album, Diva. It was a commercial and critical success, charting #1 in the UK, #6 in Germany, and #23 in the US. Lennox's profile was boosted by Diva's singles, which included "Why" and "Walking on Broken Glass". "Little Bird" also formed a double A-side with "Love Song for a Vampire", a soundtrack cut for Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 movie Bram Stoker's Dracula. The B-side of her single "Precious" was a self-penned song called "Step by Step", which was later covered by Whitney Houston for the soundtrack of the film The Preacher's Wife. Houston's cover was a hit in its own right. The album entered the UK album chart at no.1 and has since sold over 1.2 million copies in the UK alone, being certified quadruple platinum. It was also a success in the US where it was a top 30 hit and has sold in excess of 2,700,000 copies there.

In 1993 the album was included in Q magazine's list of the "50 Best Albums Of 1992". Rolling Stone magazine (25 June 1992, p. 41) described the album as "...state-of-the-art soul pop..." and it is included in Rolling Stone's (13 May 1999, p. 56) "Essential Recordings of the 90's" list. Several songs from the album were released as singles with "Why", "Walking on Broken Glass" and "Little Bird" being the most successful. The song "Keep Young and Beautiful" was included on the CD release as a bonus track (the original vinyl album had only ten tracks). Another bonus track, "Step by Step", appeared on the Mexican and Japanese editions of the album and was also included as the B-Side on the single "Precious". The song was later recorded by Whitney Houston for the 1996 film soundtrack The Preacher's Wife and subsequently became a hit single. The album won Best British Album at the 1993 Brit Awards.

1995-2000: Medusa and return to Eurythmics

Although Lennox's profile decreased for a period due to her desire to bring up her two children outside of the media's glare, she continued to record. Her second album, Medusa, was released in March 1995. It consisted solely of cover songs, all originally recorded by male artists including Bob Marley and The Clash. It entered the UK album chart at No. 1 and peaked in the US at number 11, spending 60 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and selling a total of 1,900,000 to date in the United States^[11][12]. It has since achieved double platinum status in both the UK and the US.^[13] ." The album yielded four UK singles: "No More I Love You's" (which entered the UK singles chart at No. 2, Lennox's highest ever solo peak), "A Whiter Shade of Pale", "Waiting in Vain" and "Something So Right". The album was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the Grammy Awards of 1996, losing to Turbulent Indigo by Joni Mitchell, however, Lennox took home the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance award for her work on the first single "No More I Love You's". Though Lennox declined to tour for the album, she did perform a large scale one-off concert in New York's Central Park, which was filmed and later released on home video.

In 1997, Lennox re-recorded the Eurythmics track "Angel" for the Diana, Princess of Wales, tribute album, and also recorded the song "Mama" for The Avengers soundtrack album. In 1998, following the death of a mutual friend (former Tourists member Peet Coombes), she re-established contact with Dave Stewart. Following their first performance together in eight years at a record company party, Stewart and Lennox began writing and recording together for the first time since 1989. This resulted in the album Peace, the first new Eurythmics record in a decade. The title was designed to reflect the duo's ongoing concern with global conflict and world peace. The record was promoted with a concert on the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior II, where they played a mixture of old and new songs. "I Saved The World Today" was the lead single, reaching number eleven on the UK singles chart (their highest charting hit since 1986). Another single, released at the beginning of 2000, "17 Again", made the UK top 40, and topped the US dance chart. Critics were impressed overall with the record, although some commented that it "lacked the power" (NME) of their previous releases and "quietly acknowledged that their solo careers had failed" (Q Magazine), despite the fact that both of Lennox's solo efforts reached the number one position in the UK charts, Diva going quadruple platinum in the UK and double platinum in the US (Q magazine, themselves placing it in their top 50 albums of 1992) and Medusa going double-platinum in both countries, respectively. On 14 November 2005, SonyBMG repackaged and released Eurythmics' back catalogue as "2005 Deluxe Edition Reissues." Each of their eight studio albums' original track listings are supplemented with bonus tracks and remixes.

2003-07: Bare and work in Africa

In 2003, Lennox released her third solo album, Bare. The album peaked at #3 in the UK and #4 in the US - her highest charting album in the US to date. She also embarked on a short tour, mainly in the US (and her first as a solo artist) to promote the album. The album has been certified Gold in both the UK and the US and was nominated for "Best Pop Album" at the 46th Grammy Awards. The album was released with a DVD which included interviews and acoustic versions of songs by Lennox. The Japanese edition of the album features a version of Lennox's earlier hit "Cold" recorded live in Toronto.

In 2004, Lennox won the Academy Award for Best Song for "Into the West" from the film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which she co-wrote with screenwriter Fran Walsh and composer Howard Shore. The song also won a Grammy award and a Golden Globe award. She had previously recorded "Use Well the Days" for the movie, which incorporates a number of quotations from Tolkien in its lyrics. This song was not used in the film, but it appears on a bonus DVD included with the "special edition" of the movie's soundtrack CD. In mid-2004, Lennox embarked on an extensive North American tour with Sting. In July 2005, Lennox performed at Live 8 in Hyde Park, London, along with Madonna, Sting, and other popular musicians.

2007-08: Songs of Mass Destruction and AIDS activism

Ending her long association with Stephen Lipson, Lennox's fourth solo album, Songs of Mass Destruction, was recorded in Los Angeles with veteran producer Glen Ballard (known for producing Alanis Morissette's album, Jagged Little Pill). It was released on 1 October 2007, and was the last studio album of Lennox's contract with BMG. It peaked at #7 in the UK and #9 in the US. Lennox stated that she believed the album consisted of "twelve strong, powerful, really emotive songs that people can connect to." If she achieves that, she says, "I can feel proud of [it], no matter if it sells ten copies or 50 million."^[14] Lennox described it as "a dark album, but the world is a dark place. It's fraught, it's turbulent. Most people's lives are underscored with dramas of all kinds: there's ups, there's downs - the flickering candle."^[15] She added, "Half the people are drinking or drugging themselves to numb it. A lot of people are in pain."^[15]

A limited edition version of the album was released in the UK which included a second disc featuring the promo video for the song "Dark Road" and an audio commentary from Lennox about the new album. A similar edition was released in the US by the retailer Barnes & Noble, which also included two bonus tracks: an acoustic version of "Dark Road" and a new song, "Don't Take Me Down".

The album's first single was "Dark Road", released on 24 September 2007. It was Lennox's first proper solo single release since 1995, as was the accompanying promo video (no singles were commercially released from her Bare album in 2003). Another song on the album, "Sing", is a collaboration between Lennox and 23 prominent female artists: Anastacia, Isobel Campbell, Dido, Céline Dion, Melissa Etheridge, Fergie, Beth Gibbons, Faith Hill, Angelique Kidjo, Beverley Knight, Gladys Knight, k.d. lang, Madonna, Sarah McLachlan, Beth Orton, Pink, Kelis, Bonnie Raitt, Shakira, Shingai Shoniwa, Joss Stone, Sugababes, KT Tunstall, and Martha Wainwright. The song was recorded to raise money and awareness for the HIV/AIDS organization Treatment Action Campaign. Included among the group of vocalists are TAC activist members' own vocal group known as "The Generics", whose CD of music inspired Lennox to make "Sing". The track was released as a download single in December 2007, featuring different mixes, and then as a limited CD-single, sold in UK branches of The Body Shop in March 2008.

To promote Songs of Mass Destruction, Lennox embarked on a primarily North American tour called "Annie Lennox Sings", which lasted throughout October and November 2007. The tour included 18 stops: San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boulder, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Washington, D.C., Nashville, Atlanta, Miami, New York City (two dates), Philadelphia, and Boston. The venues generally were at medium-size theatres, except in New York, where one of the dates was a United Nations fundraiser at the midtown restaurant Cipriani. Though this was the third solo tour of Lennox's career, she has yet to tour her home country as a solo artist.

2008-09: The Annie Lennox Collection

Lennox in 2009 in Hyde Park attending a demonstration for Gaza, January 2009.

Finishing out her contract with Sony BMG, Lennox released the compilation album The Annie Lennox Collection. Initially intended for release in September 2008, the release date was pushed back several months to allow Lennox to recuperate from a back injury.^[16] The compilation was eventually released in the US on 17 February 2009, and in the UK and Europe on 9 March 2009. Included on the track listing are songs from her four solo albums, one from the Bram Stoker's Dracula soundtrack, and two new songs. One of these is a cover of Ash's single, "Shining Light". The single became Lennox's first UK top 40 solo hit since 1995, peaking at #39. The other is a cover of a song by the English band Keane, originally the B-side of their first single in 2000. Lennox renamed the song from its original title "Closer Now" to "Pattern of My Life". The track was released as the second single (download only), in the UK on 24 May 2009. A limited 3-disc edition of the album included a DVD compilation featuring most of Lennox's solo videos since 1992, and also featured a second CD of rarer songs including a version of R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" with Alicia Keys and Lennox's Oscar winning "Into the West" from the third Lord of the Rings film. The album entered the UK album chart at #2 and remained in the top 10 for seven weeks. It is Lennox's fifth UK Top 10 solo album and fourth Top 3 album. The collection debuted and peaked at #34 on the US Top 200 Billboard Album chart.

Lennox's recording contract with Sony BMG concluded with the release of "Songs Of Mass Destruction" and the subsequent retrospective album "The Collection", and much was made in the press in late 2007/early 2008 about the apparent animosity between Lennox and the record company. Lennox stated that while on a trip to South Africa in December 2007 to appear at the 46664 campaign in Johannesburg, the regional company office of the label failed to return phone calls and e-mails she made to them for three weeks, and had completely failed to promote the Sing project as planned. Upon her return to the UK, Lennox met with the head of Sony BMG UK, Ged Docherty, who was "mortified" by the problems she had encountered with the South African branch. However the debacle (partly enflamed when Lennox's dissatisfaction with the South African office was made public on her blog) led to press reports falsely stating that she was being dropped by Sony BMG. The record company themselves quickly refuted the rumour stating that Lennox's contract with them had merely been fulfilled and that they hoped she would consider remaining with them. The British tabloid, Daily Mirror, subsequently printed a retraction of its story about her being dropped by the label.^[17]

2010: A Christmas Cornucopia

In August 2010, Lennox signed a new contract with Island Records in the UK and Decca Records in the US (both part of the Universal Music Group). Her first release will be a Christmas album entitled A Christmas Cornucopia, scheduled for 22 November 2010. The album will be a collection of Lennox's interpretations of traditional festive songs, along with one new composition, "Universal Child", which Lennox had previously showcased on the American Idol Gives Back TV show in April 2010.

Gay icon

Lennox has garnered a significant following within the LGBT community. According to The Advocate, "[h]er distinctive voice and provocative stage persona have made Lennox a longtime gay icon."^[18] With Eurythmics' music videos earning regular rotation on MTV in the 1980s, Lennox took part in the shaping of popular culture alongside other gay icons such as Boy George, Madonna, Morrissey, and Michael Stipe.^[19]

Charity and Political Work

In 1990, Lennox recorded a version of Cole Porter's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" for the Cole Porter tribute album Red Hot + Blue, a benefit for AIDS awareness. A video was also produced.

Lennox has been a public supporter of Amnesty International and Greenpeace for many years, and she and Dave Stewart donated all of the profits from Eurythmics' 1999 "Peacetour" to both charities.^[20]

Her song "Sing" was subsequently born out of Lennox's involvement with Nelson Mandela's 46664 campaign and Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), both of which are human rights groups which seek education and health care for those affected by HIV. Lennox established a "Sing" website to promote her activities in support of AIDS awareness issues.^[21]

In October 2006, Lennox spoke at the British House of Commons about the need for children in the UK to help their counterparts in Africa.

On 25 April 2007, Lennox performed "Bridge over Troubled Water" during the American Idol "Idol Gives Back" fundraising drive.

On 11 December 2007, she performed on the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway together with a variety of artists, which was broadcast to over 100 countries.^[22]

Lennox opened the 2009 Edinburgh Festival of Politics with a stinging attack on Pope Benedict XVI's approach to HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa. She said that the Pope's denunciation of condoms on his recent tour of Africa had caused "tremendous harm" and she criticised the Roman Catholic Church for causing widespread confusion on the continent. Lennox also condemned the media's obessesion with "celebrity culture" for keeping the AIDS pandemic off the front page. In an attempt to counter this, during her address, she wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "HIV positive".^[23] Lennox wore similar T-shirts at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concert at Madison Square Garden on 30 October 2009,^[24], while appearing on The Graham Norton Show on 30 November 2009 (where she performed the new song "Full Steam", a duet with singer David Gray), and most recently during a recorded performance for American Idol during a 21 April 2010 fund-raiser, Idol Gives Back. In June 2010 she was named as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for AIDS^[25].

Lennox also supports the Burma Campaign UK, a non-governmental organisation that addresses the suffering in Burma and promotes democratisation.

In 2006, in response to her humanitarian work, Lennox became patron of the Master's Course in Humanitarian and Development Practice for Oxford Brookes University. A spokesperson said that the university was "delighted that as a long-term supporter of human rights and social justice campaigns Ms Lennox has agreed to act as patron for its unique MA programme."[2]

Music videos

Both during her work with Eurythmics and in her solo career, Lennox has made a large number of music promo videos. Her 1992 album Diva was accompanied by a video album that included promos for every song except one (Eurythmics made a similar collection for their 1987 album Savage). Actors Hugh Laurie and John Malkovich appeared in the music video for "Walking on Broken Glass", while the video for "Little Bird" paid homage to the different images and personas that have appeared in some of Lennox's previous videos. The clip features Lennox performing on stage with several lookalikes (male and female) that represent her personas from "Why", "Walking on Broken Glass", "Sweet Dreams", "Beethoven", "I Need a Man", "Thorn in My Side", "There Must Be an Angel", and even her stage image from the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Many of her solo videos have a theatrical feel, often in period settings with dramatic and comedic flourishes.

Discography

Awards and nominations

Lennox has received a variety of major awards during her career:

American Music Awards

• 2008 – AMA Award of Merit for her work and her humanitarian efforts

Academy Awards

• 2004 – Best Original Song (for "Into The West")

Grammy Awards

• 1984 – Best New Artist (Eurythmics) (nominated)
• 1986 – Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal (Eurythmics) for "Would I Lie to You?" (nominated)
• 1987 – Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal (Eurythmics) for "Missionary Man"
• 1993 – Album Of The Year for Diva (nominated)
• 1993 – Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for Diva (nominated)
• 1993 – Best Music Video – Long Form for Diva
• 1996 – Best Pop Album for Medusa (nominated)
• 1996 – Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "No More I Love You's"
• 2004 – Best Pop Album for Bare (nominated)
• 2005 – Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media for "Into The West"

(dates listed above refer to year the awards ceremony was held; all recordings were released previous year to ceremony date)

BRIT Awards

• 1984 – Best British Female Artist
• 1986 – Best British Female Artist
• 1989 – Best British Female Artist
• 1990 – Best British Female Artist
• 1993 – Best British Female Solo Artist
• 1993 – Best British Album (for Diva)
• 1996 – Best British Female Solo Artist
• 1999 – Outstanding Contribution to British Music (Eurythmics)

Golden Globe Awards

• 2004 – Best Original Song – Motion Picture (for "Into The West")

Honorary degrees

• 2009 – Honorary Degree at the University of Edinburgh (awarded 20 October 2009), in recognition of her work on HIV/AIDS, and her success as a recorded artist.^[26]

Other Awards

• 2002 – Billboard Century Award by Billboard

Personal life

Both of Lennox's parents died of cancer.^[7] Her first marriage from 1984 to 1985 was to a German Hare Krishna devotee Radha Raman.^[27] From 1988 to 2000, she was married to Israeli film and record producer Uri Fruchtmann. They have two daughters, Lola (born 1990) and Tali (born 1993). A son, Daniel, was stillborn in December 1988.^[28][29] Lennox lives in London.

Footnotes

References

• Sutherland, Bryony; Ellis, Lucy (2002), Annie Lennox: The Biography, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0711991928, http://books.google.com/?id=AIvGU3nuZL0C 

External links

• Official Annie Lennox website
• Official Annie Lennox SING campaign website
• Eurythmics, Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart at ethrill.net
• Ultimate Eurythmics Discography Fansite
• Eurythmics Video Visionaries Fansite