Artist Playlists
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Annie Lennox is the rare artist whose solo career nearly outshines that of the band in which she first rose to prominence. Dissolving the Eurythmics in 1990, Lennox released her solo debut in 1992 to both critical and commercial acclaim. In addition to countless No. 1 hits, she's won eight Brit Awards and four GRAMMY®s. Lennox is famous for her powerhouse pipes, which lend her synth-heavy compositions distinctive gravitas. From upbeat pop to introspective ballads, her oeuvre varies, but her singular voice is as unmistakable today as it was 30 years ago. - With Eurythmics and on her own, Annie Lennox has blazed a bright trail across pop, her rich alto and shape-shifting persona inspiring R&B belters and alt-rockers alike. Garbage's electro-pop crunch and Feist's restless genre explorations update Eurythmics' storming New Wave, while soul stylists like Adele and Duffy embrace the diva ideal that Lennox perfected on her '90s solo smashes.
- “I've been playing some of my songs, kind of exploring them and realising that they really suit the context of what is happening now,” Annie Lennox says about revisiting her extensive catalogue since lockdowns began. “It's almost like they're looking into the future. This experience is so unusual, so you try to carry on like everything is kind of normal and you're always aware that there's something not quite right.” In her comprehensive interview with Zane Lowe, the singer-songwriter talks about her continuing fight for marginalised people, singing Queen’s “Under Pressure” with David Bowie at a Freddie Mercury tribute show and the challenges of having a professional relationship with former Eurythmics partner Dave Stewart. She also dives into her love of soul music, represented here on this exclusive Apple Music playlist curated by Lennox herself featuring the likes of TLC, The Staple Singers, Tina Turner and Lauryn Hill. “Utter genius, you know? Pure genius,” Lennox says about Hill’s groundbreaking 1998 album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. “I feel like when music works, it's a transcendent thing. These songs contain cultural mythologies that are mirrored back to us.”
- Part of Eurythmics' thrill was their deliciously chilly take on New Wave, but Lennox's solo catalogue is as warm as a fire on a winter night. She renders “Mood Indigo” as cosy acoustic blues, and “Primitive” harnesses South Asian accents in its lush, sun-kissed exotica. The hot jazz of “Keep Young and Beautiful” sounds like it's been pulled straight from the grooves of a scratchy 78.