Annie Lennox’s Life And Career As Told Through Her New Visual Memoir

Annie Lennox

credit: Pamela Hanson, Trunk Archive, provided by Rizzoli

As one of the greatest singers in pop music, Annie Lennox has been documented extensively in numerous images from her time as one-half of the legendary musical act Eurythmics to her work as an esteemed solo artist (Who can forget Lennox’s iconic androgynous look as seen in Eurythmics’ 1983 video for “Sweet Dreams,” or the elaborate Moulin Rouge-like outfit she wore in the 1995 “No More ‘I Love You’s’” clip?).

So after decades in the public eye, Lennox decided now was the right time to tell her story through her new visual memoir, Retrospective, published by Rizzoli. “There are so many images that have been out in the zeitgeist,” the Scottish musician explains. “It’s just endless. So in a way, I wanted to revisit some of these images.

“A lot of the way we communicate is through a visual medium,” she continues. “Words are great, don’t get me wrong. I’ve been a lyricist a lot of my life. Lyrics are very different from poetry; they have their own peculiar individualism. But images are powerful. I’m not being morbid, but I realize my own mortality. So I thought, ‘This is a good time to do it.’ I’ve been so busy throughout my life just moving forward, creating, moving forward…It’s a great feeling to stop, turn back and gather all these images together and go, ‘Wow.’”

Opening with archival photos of her family line going back to at least the early 20th century, Retrospective spans from 1976 through the present, including: the period in which Lennox and musician Dave Stewart were in the group the Tourists; the duo’s formation of Eurythmics, which became wildy successful during the 1980s; and Lennox’s solo career that began with 1992’s Diva album. Accompanied by Lennox’s commentary, the dazzling images consist of album covers; photo and music video shoots; Polaroids from Lennox’s personal archives; and live performances.

“There’s a lot of nostalgia,” she says about the book. “When I look at it, I don’t feel like it’s passe. If I were someone else looking at that, I would be like, ‘Whoa. What was that all about?’ It’s like a slice of culture.”

In this new interview, which was edited for length and clarity, Lennox candidly discusses some of the images featured in Retrospective and the stories behind them.

David Chiu: Were there things that you rediscovered for the first time as you were putting together the book?

Annie Lennox: That was the beauty of it. I was able to place them in a context. It’s like retracing a journey, for sure, and being a bit astonished by it. The amount of effort and work it took — because we as Eurythmics were so passionate about what we were doing, and then later on in my own sort of solo expression. It’s tremendous attention to detail, passion for creativity, and lots of struggle to ensure that whatever we, or I, were releasing into the world was of a certain caliber.

Chiu: It was through Retrospective that I saw, maybe for the first time, images of you and Dave Stewart in the Tourists, your late 1970s pre-Eurythmics band

Lennox: We were really connecting ourselves to the culture: the musical and visual culture of our time. We were trying to make a contribution that was meaningful. And we almost did, but we were so far away from it, too, for all the reasons that I know now. It was very important for me to put that in. It’s good for me to see it in hindsight because that — without me realizing it — was an opportunity to have so many experiences of being on stage and performing, making records, singing behind a microphone, and dealing with record companies. All of that that we went through [in the Tourists] — the little successes and failures — it was all a preparation for what was to come. But we didn’t know that.

Chiu: Eurythmics’ first record, 1981’s In the Garden, wasn’t a commercial success upon its initial release. But then things really took off with 1983’s Sweet Dreams album and its title song. Did it surprise you?

Lennox: It did. It is a big deal to have a number one record in any country, and especially if you are aspiring, because you want to put some kind of foothold into where you’re going. Otherwise, you’re going round and round in the same space. But “Sweet Dreams” was the point where it felt like it was coming together, and the door was opening to a massive sense of fame. We knew the vibe of fame [from the Tourists], but not on an international scale. That was when the door opened to it. We were like, “Oh my God.” Because at that point, what you are aiming for sort of completes itself, and it’s bigger than you.

Chiu: You became famous for your distinct look during Eurythmics’s 1983-1984 period, with the cropped orange hair and the men’s suit as seen in several images from the book. Were you trying to make a feminist statement at the time?

Lennox: It was a feminist statement, but I wasn’t couching it in that language. At that point in time, I wasn’t really thinking of feminism in the way [of], “What is my feminism? How do I see feminism?” I was just thinking in terms of, “I want to be as strong as a man and my partner. I want to be his equal.” [Dave and I] often said we felt like twins because we were like joined at the hip. We knew each other so well. It’s a language, the imagery, that you put together. Whether it’s on an album cover, whatever you put out visually — we work in a visual language. We work in a visual environment.

So whatever you release, it’s messaging people: “Why are people talking about this orange hair so much?” At the time, I thought, “This is how I feel.” It’s not your usual pretty girl, for sure.

The makeup was so perfect—I must’ve had a makeup artist…And the suit and tie, at the time, it really shocked people. They didn’t know what to make of it. It was as if I became this creature.

My statement at the time was equality: “I’m equal, I’m good enough. I’m strong enough.” It wasn’t about my sexuality. Of course, it gets a label, which in those days they called me a “gender bender.” And I felt that it was a diminishing title. I wasn’t keen on it. Also, it didn’t quite belong to me because I didn’t feel like I was bending my gender. I felt I was bending the values placed upon women and men, but not my gender per se.

Chiu: There is a photo of you from Retrospective and Dave lying on the floor surrounded by your gold records that seems to represent Eurythmics’ popularity and success during the ‘80s.

Lennox: We were always asked to do the usual things with the record company: you stand and take pictures. And I think Dave had this idea of “Let’s just do it differently, let’s not just stand there and go, “Look at us with our gold discs.” We were exhausted, I think we’ve been working so hard (laughs), we’re just sliding down on the floor. And the record company was looking at us like “What?” But we were always thinking out of the box — “Let’s shake this up a little bit. Let’s not be like we’re from the corporate world.”As an artist, there was always this push to conform to corporate expectations. So we were always trying to protect our individualism and fight off whatever they might try to do, to make us more palatable, I suppose.

Chiu: I loved seeing your Polaroids of the behind-the-scenes production of “There Must Be an Angel” video, and of you and Aretha Franklin during the shoot for the “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” clip.

Lennox: I felt that all this stuff was like little treasures. It’s like going into your grandmother’s jewelry box and finding all these amazing things. It’s a treasure trove. And I thought it’s a pity to let everything just be hanging around and displaced. There are 200 images in the book… I think it’s a nice deep dive into the world of creation from that lens.

Chiu: The cover photo from Eurythmics’ 1987 album, Savage, and the Polaroids from the music video shoots for that record depict a very sexy vamp persona. But the concept was actually a commentary about women and the male gaze.

Lennox: It was representing female archetypes. It’s a deep dive into the world of femininity and what that actually represents. It was deliberate but wasn’t so deliberate. I suppose one of the biggest expressions of that and the strongest one was on Savage [in the music videos for] ”I Need a Man” and “Beethoven (I Love to Listen to).” “Beethoven” has got everything in that living room. It’s the woman who has been betrayed, and she’s tightly in the conformist role and knitting neurotically…And all around the room, there’s this young girl who would’ve been maybe her, but then the young girl turns into this nasty little demon putting on the lipstick of the type of thing she’s going to have to aspire to when she’s older. I can pick it all out…It’s all about the experience of being a woman in the world.

Chiu: Eurythmics went on hiatus after 1990, and you launched your solo career with the release of the Diva album two years later. Was there any trepidation about going out on your own after being associated with Dave for a decade at that point?

Lennox: It’s a funny thing, that relationship [of] you make something and obviously you want it to be well received. However, things aren’t always well received. So over the years, I learned to always put the best of myself into anything I do creatively, and I don’t tend to overthink about how it will be received because I have no control over that. What I have control over is the creative work, and if it’s well received or not, there’s not a lot you can do about that. You want to tell the world, “Hey, I’ve got this out and I’m proud of it,” or “I think it’s something worth listening to.” You’ve got to be able to believe in what you are doing creatively.

Chiu: You and David Bowie performed Queen’s “Under Pressure” at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at London’s Wembley Stadium in 1992, a major highlight mentioned in Retrospective. One thing that I didn’t know until later was that your black eye makeup was something you thought moments before coming on stage with Bowie, who earlier suggested an Antony Price dress for you to wear.

Lennox: He said, “Why don’t you get on a frock or a dress?” I was like, “Hmm, okay. If he is asking me to do that, I’m going to honor it. But what kind of dress?” I suppose it’s female archetypes again, and this one is like an avenger. And then I realized, later on, “Ooh, this is like a specter. This is like the specter of death.” As he stands there so beautiful, so upright, the specter of death comes up and almost wants to seduce him. Underneath that performance, if you look at it, you get a chill. I get a sort of chill from it.

Chiu: There’s this photo in Retrospective of you sitting next to the late Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Dec. 1, 2007, to mark World AIDS Day. You’re involvement with Mandela’s 46664 benefit inspired you to become an activist.

Lennox: He belongs in the book for me. Mandela in so many had a powerful effect on millions around the world. There’s no question about that. The fact I was personally given an opportunity to be in his company quite a few times, and every time I’m sort of profoundly in awe and with such respect for an individual. I talk about him in the present because he hasn’t gone in a sense: what he left behind is evidence of an individual who took the high ground. It was so difficult for him, his children and his wife. I think what I got from more than anything was a huge personal sacrifice just from that family. But he belonged to the world.

Chiu: You shared your thoughts in the book about performing to audiences and the demands that come with it. An example of that is a striking photo of you crouching on stage with a microphone in your hand.

Lennox: It’s a great shot. There’s no question about that. It’s a very hard thing to capture a performer doing something live. They’re moving from one moment to the next. So in that moment, when I see that picture, it’s that sort of singularity of being one person that is facing all these people in front of you, and you’re crouched down like that with a microphone. It’s a kind of lonely place to be, but at the same time, you’re very finally connecting with an audience. If you’re down like that, you could just whisper into the microphone and everybody will be listening. So it’s a very intimate moment. Yet at the same time, it’s very isolated.

Chiu: One of your most poignant albums is 2003’s Bare, whose album cover photo featured you makeup-less. It’s very stark.

Lennox: I had gone through a very painful divorce. I think most divorces are extremely painful. By the way, I am friends with my former husband, we are in a good relationship now. But at that time, I was so broken, I was so fragile and raw and trying to put the pieces together. You have to go through a very deep process of understanding better how you have been behaving in the world, how others behave in the world. I have explored the human condition very deeply over the years. I have a very different view of it now than I did when I was a teenager or in my 20s because of my experiences in life, and how hard lessons have become my greatest teachers in a way. But it takes a lot of survival to come out of that.

Chiu: There is a lovely photograph taken by your daughter Tali at the end of the book of you beaming and wearing a dress with pineapples printed on it. On the opposite page are the lyrics to your song “A Thousand Beautiful Things,” which has the line: “The glass is full and not half empty.” Both the photo and the lyrics appear to sum up where you are in your life at the present moment.

Lennox: I discovered in this late period of my life that I’m actually neurodivergent. It’s been a huge awakening for me. Because all my life, I was ashamed of not being quite up to standard. It took me years to learn how to drive because I thought there was something wrong with me – “Everybody is cleverer than me, I’ll never be able to learn how to drive.” And I did eventually because I had to. Now I’m going, “Ahhh, I understand why my brain thinks this way.” I’m easily distracted, and I find it hard to make fast decisions. But it’s all been part of the creative person, too.

The song “A Thousand Beautiful Things,” and the glass being half full or half empty — I’ve learned that how you look at things is exactly how they are. That sounds very obvious, but it’s not really, because how you look at things is so subjective. So the pineapple outfit was something – my selection of clothes is very weird, a lot of second-hand. I think I found that outfit on some sad sale rack that nobody wanted to buy. And it was typical for me to find it. Who else is going to wear an outfit with pineapples on it? It was perfect for me. And it worked. That’s the glass-half-full picture. And there are a lot of glass-half-empty pictures in there, and some of them are half full, too.

Chiu: In addition to your activism work, what other plans do you have?

Lennox: Activism is threaded into me like a piece of embroidery. I do see myself as a social activist or an influencer. The messaging that I put across is that when I see inhumane acts taking place on a grand scale, I feel it’s necessary for me to point them out. I can’t solve them, but I feel I want to be that person — “This is my truth, where my conscience lies.” If human rights are being pushed away, we need to speak for them. People in my position have that option — my platform isn’t massive, but it’s big enough to influence them to feel less hopeless. If that’s what I do, then it’s good.

I honestly don’t make too many plans about what’s in the future. And a lot of things just come to me. So I do have things in the works. We just have to see how it plays out.