When Eurythmics was nominated for the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame earlier this week, the news was greeted with a wave of support, and a resounding “about time” from the duo’s legion of admirers.
It was the second nomination for Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart’s new wave act, after a nod for induction into the class of 2018. They missed out on that occasion to Nina Simone, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Bon Jovi, the Cars and the Moody Blues.
Lennox, the firebrand Scott, and Stewart, the English polymath, joined forces in the late 1970s in The Tourists, then changed the game with Eurythmics.
As Eurythmics, the pair sold over 75 million records, with a long string of hits including “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This),” “Who’s That Girl?,” “Love Is a Stranger,” “Here Comes the Rain Again,” and “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves.”
If their sound was fresh as a daisy back in the day, it’s flowered into a movement in music that can be heard in synthwave, electro-pop and many other sub-genres that continue to flourish.
Speaking exclusively with Billboard, Lennox says the Rock Hall nomination is a triumph for all music industry survivors. “Dave and I have a long history. We’ve pretty much done everything it takes to survive in the industry of music, just like all the artists who’ve been nominated for the Hall of Fame,” she explains in a statement. “We each have our individual pathway and our own unique life stories, through music making, recording and performance.”
During her career, Lennox has collected four Grammys, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and with Stewart scored the BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music in 1999. In 2002, Lennox received a Billboard Century Award, the trade title’s highest accolade. Outside of music, Lennox is an activist for women’s rights, and a campaigner for HIV and AIDS awareness.
“We were both passionate about being creative above anything else,” she says of the Rock Hall nom. “It’s lovely to be nominated and to be seen as a contributor to the ever-changing cultural zeitgeist. Thanks must go to everyone we ever worked with and all the peeps who have loved our music, without whom ….”
Joining the hitmakers on the shortlist of 17 artists nominated for the Rock Hall’s 2022 class are several other seminal acts from the ’80s, including Kate Bush, Duran Duran, Devo, and Pat Benatar. Inductees will be announced in May 2022, with a ceremony proper to follow this fall.
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Tagged: entertainment blog, music, music blog, Music News, Rock Hall