A Certain Ratio have announced the release of a brand new studio album this September. Their brand new studio album is entitled ACR Loco and it will be their first long player in 12 years. So far they have released two singles to promote its release, "Always in Love" and "Friend Around Us". Like all the previous album it will be released by Mute. Save the date, September 25th.
Born out of the ashes of their first band the Tourists, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart soon went on to explore new grounds with music which laid the foundation for Eurythmics. With their creative rebirth however the success was not instant, moreover with the release of their debut album, In the Garden, Dave and Annie used the opportunities to transform their post break up emotions into sounds and experimented with new instruments and sound patterns.
With the release of the single “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” the international breakthrough was kicking in and Eurythmics were among the top selling artists in the world. Where their music was not striking enough, their visual image was pretty much eye-catching and the music video revolution and in particular Annie Lennox's sharp looks and transformations certainly contributed to the overall popularity of the duo. Certainly her most authentic role on display was the gender bending and androgyny image which made her iconic. But, this was only a start and throughout their career she continued to transform herself and that has certainly been a roller-coaster ride of roles, characters, dresses and a real wig parade. She was part drag king, part drag queen and definitely a unique artist. Not to underestimate Dave Stewart contribution, he jumped in and out of roles too, but he was the man behind the music and the Eurythmics' sound engineer.
With the years passing, Eurythmic's music also changed, adopting new instruments and music styles and also becoming more a band profile, most notably with the release of their albums Be Yourself Tonight and Revenge. By the end of the decade, it seemed that the duo was exhausted with ideas by having released 8 studio albums in the 80's and it seems as they needed some space and time apart.
In the early 90's, both felt like going for their own music projects; Annie Lennox pursued a successful solo career and released her debut album Diva in 1992 while Dave Stewart continued to work as an established producer, not only in the domain of music, but also Film and television. Eurythmics however never officially split and in 1999 they reunited for one final album called Peace and went on a tour to promote it.
Image courtesy of zimbio.com
Overall Eurythmics released eight studio albums, 33 singles and 37 videos and it is estimated that the band sold around 75 Million records worldwide. The duo have won an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in 1984, the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1987, the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 1999, and in 2005 were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame.
Below is the selection of 7 tracks, by personal preference with the aim to encompass the whole artist career.
Never Gonna Cry Again
“Never Gonna Cry Again” comes from the highly experimental period when the duo was still under the influence of their former band, the Tourists. The song was released in May 1981 and it was taken from their debut album In the Garden. This album was produced by Conny Plank and this certainly had contributed to the overall atmosphere on the record. Unlike the commercial sound we would hear in the years to come, this was art pop, drenched in synths and garnished with dreamy, ethereal vocals. It even included rare moments where Lennox was playing flute.“Never Gonna Cry Again” did not reach a wider audience and the video for the song was never commercially available, but it remains as one of the finest Eurythmic's releases.
Love is a Stranger
“Love is a Danger” was the fifth single release for Eurythmics and the first one that was taken from the second album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These). The song was not a success upon the initial release, but after “Sweet Dreams..” became an international hit, the duo decided to re-release it. In this danger of obsession episode, Lennox androgynous image and brilliant theatrics came out for the first time in this video causing a slight controversy in the USA. The song itself was a dark synth enchantment, intense enough to capture the essence and coldness of the emotional heart break the duo was still going through after the early 80’s breakup.
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)
In 1983, Eurythmics released their most successful single to date which became an international hit everywhere in the world. Musically the song was very addictive with the booming synth lead and catchy tense chorus whose lyrics were also written after Dave and Annie’s breakup. As innovative as it was on the musical end, Eurythmics visual image and in particular that of Annie Lennox caused stir with her androgynous visual image, close-cropped, orange hair dressed in man’s suit. And this was not the only weird thing about the music video. “Sweet Dreams..” went three times Platinum and three times Gold and is still pretty much appreciated by the music community and it is certainly Eurythmics’ signature song.
Who’s That Girl
After the success of “Sweet Dreams” Eurythmics were on a roll, and they continued to enjoy their momentum with the smoky, icy and synth single “Who’s That Girl” taken from their third album The Touch. This music video saw Lennox's appearing as nightclub singer with a whole variety of guest stars including Cheryl Baker and Jay Aston of Bucks Fizz, Kiki Dee, Hazel O'Connor, Kate Garner of Haysi Fantayzee, the gender-bending pop star Marilyn and all members of Bananarama including Dave Stewart’s future wife Siobhan Fahey. The song became a huge hit both in Europe and the USA.
Thorn in My Side
Towards the second half of the decade Eurythmics moved more towards band style and AOR pop/rock sound compared to earlier synthopop song arrangements. “Thorn in My Side” was just one example of this change in sound and the song was strongly affected by Annie Lennox divorce. It was released in 1986 and it was taken from their fifth studio album Revenge. “Thorn in My Side” reached several top 10 charts around Europe and the Top 10 in the UK and Ireland.
Beethoven (I Love to Listen to)
After the commercial success of the previous two albums, the duo tried to return to their experimental roots releasing an album whose concept was based on synths and sample sounds combined with Lennox’ vocals. The music video is one of the best Eurythmics have recorded and it features a middle class housewife who displays characteristics of dissociative identity disorder or split personalities eventually turning into overly sexual vixen towards the end of the video. The video itself was recorded by Sophie Miller and all videos from the album Revenge will run this concept
I’ve Got a Life
This is so far the last official release by Eurythmics which was recorded in 2000 for their second best of package Ultimate Collection. It is an electro dance track which did well on the US dance charts. Yet again we see Annie Lennox’s image in a man's suit which in a way is homage to the image that made them popular and their biggest hit “Sweet Dream (Are Made of this)”. Furthermore we see Lennox and Stewart performing the song in front of many television screens showing scenes from videos spanning throughout their Eurythmics career.
Singles cover photos courtesy of discogs.com
For the complete Eurythmics discography, as documented in music videos, please check the following the link below.
Sparks have revealed a new video for yet another song from their latest studio album A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip released in May. The video for the song "The Existential Threat" was animated and directed by Cyriak.
"Love at the First Sight" was the second single Stuart Moxam released under the name The Gist. He was previously a member of Young Marble Giants who split soon after the release their only album Young Colossal Youth. The song could also be found on The Gist's debut album Embrace the Herd which was released through Rough Trade records during the same year. The song became a hit in France when it was covered by French pop singer Étienne Daho under the title "Paris, Le Flore".
Here comes the first singles round up, summer edition. These are mostly new comers for us but we also see some interesting comebacks. Like every month, we celebrate the diversity of sounds and styles.
Private World - Hypnagogia
Zero Call - Stellar Wind
The Midnight - Dance with Somebody
Gus Gus - Out of Place
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Cameo Ängie, Harrison First - Basic
The Cardiff based Private World have revealed the video for their first single "Hypnagogia" which is going to be taken from their debut album Aleph to be released end of August through Dais Records. This very stylish video was directed by Sion Thomas.
Paul Banks of the Interpol fame is back with a brand new music project called Muzz. The trio consists of Banks, Matt Barrick and Joshua Kaufmann and they have been playing demos since 2015. This year, Muzz have released their self titled debut album and a string of singles. Different to the noisy sound of Interpol, here it softens a bit by the inviting baroque pop notes. Muzz is out this month and this very Interpolish video was produced by the band.
After 9 years, the dark minimal synth duo Alison Lewis and Ryan Ambridge have reunited for the second album titled LP II. The album is announced for release in September whereas the first single "Solar Flare" and the full track listing have already been revealed on Bandcamp. All these years in between, Alison has been busy with her solo project Zanias and Keluar with Sid Lamar.
Nation of Language is one of the outstanding synth pop acts in 2020 to release their debut album. The Brooklyn based trio made their first appearance with the "Nation of Language" EP in 2015 which was followed by a string of single releases. Now, most of this singles have been incorporated into their debut album Introduction, Presence. The band draws inspiration from 80's New wave and Post punk when synth pop evolved from experimental to a commercial music genre. High praised by the music critics, they manage to deliver retro synth pop, by giving their own personal note. "Friend Machine" has been put forward as the lead single from the album and can be streamed below.
"Wheel Me Out" was the debut single released by Was (Not Was) in 1980. Forty years after this is still enjoyable and nice offering of pop funk and electro groove in a Post disco wrap. In 1981 the song appeared in Seize the Beat (Dance Ze Dance) compilation.
It is almost ten years now since A Terrible Splendour released their marvelous "Slaves to the City" tune and their New Romantic half, a good friend Lyle, has recently been experimenting with synth pop on a solo basis as Marcel Wave. The video for the new song "The Moon King" was revealed on Monday. This pleasant piece of synth pop takes us on an artistic and cinematic trip in the realm of The Moon King. The b-side isn't less interesting as it is Marcel Wave take on the French classic "Les Nuits Sans Kim Wilde", originally performed by Laurent Voulzy The video for the song was created with the help of another old friend, Soft Riot's very own Mr Jack Duckworth (JJD). We hope to hear and see more creative collaboration materializing from these two.
I Like Trains have returned with a new single "The Truth" which is also announcing the release of their fifth studio album Kompromat to be released in August. The music video for "The Truth" was premiered recently and it was directed by directed by Michael Connolly.
Duran Duran have been around for four decades now, with great music and a whole variety of styles and transformations. Formed in Birmingham in 1978, they were broadly speaking a New Wave band that rode the New Romantic trend to end up as the leading force in the Second British Invasion of the US in the early 80s. If you didn’t hear them on the radio, you saw them on TV as they were the ultimate poster boys for a whole new generation. With their fancy good looks and sharp fashion styles, they mastered the medium of the music video and in a way became MTV’s best ambassadors. At the height of their career, they were even referred to as the new "Fab Five" who managed to blend glam, disco and punk, making rock music ready for dance floors.
The group was formed by keyboardist Nick Rhodes and bassist John Taylor, with the later addition of drummer Roger Taylor, and after numerous personnel changes, guitarist Andy Taylor and lead singer Simon Le Bon joined, which eventually became the band’s classic line-up. The group never disbanded, but underwent several line-up changes throughout their career, which also resulted in several offshoot projects, both in the 80s and 90s, including The Power Station, Arcadia, The Devils and TV Mania.
Duran Duran have released 14 studio albums and 39 singles in total. Their best-selling albums are Rio, released in 1982, and Seven and the Ragged Tiger from 1983. These two albums also contain Duran Duran’s most successful singles, “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Rio” and “The Reflex”, and also mark the band’s classic era. The group have had 14 singles in the UK Singles Chart top 10 and 21 in the US Billboard Hot 100, selling over 100 million records worldwide.
Even though their career peaked way back in the 80s, the band has been around in the last decade, teaming up with a great line-up of producers and artists. Their album All You Need Is Now was even released to critical acclaim. We are positive that their musical story is not over yet and expect the 20s to bring new, exciting prospects.
The seven selected tracks which are featured below do not necessarily reflect our favorite Duran Duran tunes, although they have a slight tendency to this. Moreover, these are milestone records with interesting stories behind the music, video production or something else.
Planet Earth (1981)
"Planet Earth" is Duran Duran’s futuristic debut single, released in January 1981. It was fairly a hit in their native UK, but also did surprisingly well in Australia, where the band was relatively unknown. Hailing from Birmingham which was also considered as one of the strongholds of the New Romantic movement, the band illustrated such visual image with flamboyant and eccentric fashion style as well as by the sharp and atmospheric synth sound of which was typical for this genre.
Girls on Film (1981)
The wild "Girls on Film" finally got the band a breakthrough in the UK top 10 and the controversial music video for the song, which beside others, featured a naked female models in a pillow fight, certainly helped in gaining prominence. It was too hot and spicy for early MTV's and also got banned on BBC, but an edited version was adjusted to keep the high up in the daily airplay. Over the years, "Girls on Film" has become a staple of the encores for
Duran Duran's live performances.
Save A Prayer (1982)
The release of Duran Duran’s second album Rio and its success meant slowly parting from the New Romantic, more towards a jet set image style. With more investment in their visual image, the group went to travel around the world, in between touring, and delivered vivid travelogues with their music videos. The video for “Save a Prayer” was recorded in Sri Lanka, illustrating the island's monuments and beauties on a bed of dreamy synths and flirty guitars.
Rio (1982) The next stop for Duran Duran was the Caribbean Sea and the beauties of Antigua, where the band recorded their video for the song “Rio”. It looked like a luxurious yacht ride with the group members wearing Antony Price suits while some of them even got seasick. The song was driven on a carbonated synthesizer and bass was breaking on the tenor sax waves. The b-side song “Chauffeur” also received the video interpretation, and it was the completely opposite of “Rio”, dark and intriguing, more akin to the Depeche Mode catalogue of late 80s.
New Moon on Monday (1983) The band’s commercial success followed with the release of their third album Seven and the RaggedTiger, when Duran Duran grew into a full-on teen heart-throb status. Their single “New Moon on Monday” was not the most successful single to be taken from this album, yet it remains as one of Duran Duran’s all-time favorites. In the music video, the band appear as members of an underground resistance movement in France.
Ordinary World (1992)
After some boisterous years in the first half of the 80s, a more quiet period followed for Duran Duran in which the band member worked on different projects. When the band reunited – now under a different line-up – they could not really regain the old popularity until the release of “Ordinary World” in 1992. The song was a surprise hit when no one really expected it could make such an impact when Grunge and Brit pop artists were ruling the charts. By the release of “Ordinary World”, Warren Cuccurullo was already a standard member of the band, and he arranged the remarkable guitar solo in the song. He remained in the band until the end of the 90s.
Girl Panic (2011)
Duran Duran were having another career peak in 2011 with the release of their 13th studio album All You Need is Now, which seemed like a return to the old charm. "Girl Panic" was the second single to be released from the album, and it was released on Record Store Day. The music video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund featured appearances of 90s top models Naomi Campbell, Eva Herzigova, Cindy Crawford, Helena Christensen, and Yasmin Le Bon who were portraying Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor, and Dominic Brown, respectively.
