I’m an 80s baby through and through, deeply in love with the decade that defined pop culture like no other. It wasn't always clear how this passion would shape my journey, but my love for both 80s-inspired music and jams straight from the era has led me on a wild journey from depressed corporate girly to embodying the essence of 80s pop-rock on stages across the world with my band, Guardians of the Jukebox.
So whether you're an 80s aficionado, a fellow artist drawing inspiration from this colorful decade, or someone curious about my transformation from mundane 9-to-5 to musician living a retro-tinged dream, you've found your crew. Let’s be kind, rewind, relive, and re-love the 80s together.
Welcome to “80s, Baby!” I’m your host, Seersha.
Ok, you all know I’m an 80s baby, so as hard as it may be to believe, I am actually old enough to remember the era of mixtapes and making mixtapes. As a pre-teen, I would make sure I tuned into The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown regularly so I could tape record my new favorite songs. And most of those new favorites, I heard for the first time on the radio in the car.
I loved hearing female voices on pop radio as a kid and I was specifically obsessed with the Annie Lennox song, “Walking on Broken Glass.” I was really shy about singing out loud back then, but when that song came on, I couldn’t help myself. I would be belting along with Annie. Her vocal style is a big influence for me, and while we’re not going to dive into her solo career today, we are going to dig into the story behind one the most iconic songs of the 80s, a track that still sounds as fresh and groundbreaking as it did over 40 years ago: Eurythmics' “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).”
This is one of the first songs I started singing with the Guardians, so it has a very special place in my heart. In fact, I’m pretty confident it was the second song I sang lead on after Like A Prayer, and that’s the song our pilot episode was about–be sure to check out that episode if you haven’t yet!
Another reason this song feels like the perfect second episode for 80s, Baby! is because when this episode drops, I will be in London with the Guardians! We’re playing a show in London and headlining a tribute band festival in Nottingham. Ok, so the London connection – While Annie Lennox is Scottish and Dave Stewart is from Sunderland, England, the two met in London in 1976 at Pippins Restaurant, a health-food cafe, where Annie Lennox was working as a waitress.
On each episode of our journey, we’ll explore the origins of an 80s song. We’ll look at the creative process behind it, the context surrounding its release, and then consider any deeper learnings we can take away from the story behind the song.
Today, we’re exploring the story of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Eurythmics. This track is not just a testament to the resilience and creativity of Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox but also a landmark in the evolution of 80s synth-pop.
To set the scene for the creation of "Sweet Dreams," imagine Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox of Eurythmics in a hotel room in Wagga Wagga, Australia. [add link to show notes] Really quickly, I just have to share this tangent with you, when I first shared this story in short form on social media, it went a little viral and clocked over 138,000 views on Instagram; in that original video, I horribly mispronounced “Woh-guh Woh-guh” as “Wah-gah Wah-gah” and the Aussies were so incredibly kind in the way that they corrected me. In fact, I think their engagement with that video explaining to me in the comments how to pronounce “Wagga Wagga” helped it gain traction!
Ok, back to Dave and Annie in Wagga Wagga, Australia. They were there on tour with their band, The Tourists, and the band had just broken up. Dave Stewart says of this time, “I had a little black and yellow Wasp synthesizer [in the hotel room] and was making didgeridoo sounds. When Annie started singing along, we thought: Maybe we could make weird and experimental electronic music?” On the flight home, Annie and Dave ended their five-year romantic relationship. They were in an incredibly vulnerable state, both personally and professionally.
In the face of this turmoil, they decided to keep making music together. In Dave’s words, “At one gig, we played to four people, drove home through the night in the snow and had to stop the car. It was 6am and Annie was crying. I realised we needed some proper equipment, so we went to see the bank manager.” They managed to secure a bank loan – Dave’s on the record saying it was for £5,000, I’ve seen Annie say £3,000 – to buy some proper equipment.
Dave recalls struggling to get any of the synthesizers to work, while Annie was completely despondent, curled up on the floor in the fetal position. Then, as Dave finally managed to produce a beat and riff, Annie leapt up and started playing another synthesizer. Between the two dueling synths, the beginnings of "Sweet Dreams" were born.
In Annie’s words, “From that first line, it’s not a happy song. It’s dark. “Sweet dreams are made of this” is basically me saying: “Look at the state of us. How can it get worse?” I was feeling very vulnerable. The song was an expression of how I felt: hopeless and nihilistic.”
More disillusionment was in store, as the record company didn’t see the potential of the song as a single; in their view, it didn’t have a traditional chorus. But when a radio DJ in Cleveland kept playing it from the album, the label relented, and it became a global hit, reaching number 1 in the US.
If you haven’t seen the music video for "Sweet Dreams," you’ve got to check it out, I’ll link it in the show notes. “We wanted our visual statements to be strong and powerful because we knew they’d be there forever,” Lennox told The Guardian. With her cropped hair and suit, she challenged the clichés of the female singer image. She wanted to be perceived as strong as a man, equal to Dave. She said, “Wearing wigs and taking them off again was about the affectations that women create to become acceptable or beautiful to men, about removing masks and how none of it is real.” Dave said of the video, “People went bonkers for the video, which was constantly on MTV. I wanted to make a commentary on the music business but also make something a bit performance art – weird and dreamlike. So we mocked up a record-company boardroom in a studio in Wardour Street and put a cow in it, to signify reality. There we were: Annie and I laid flat on a table, and this cow, which was peeing everywhere.”
I’ve shared with you the highlights of the story behind "Sweet Dreams" – now I’d like to offer two takeaways for us as creatives that stood out to me from our deep dive.
The first takeaway is my take on what feels a little cliche, but it’s cliche because there’s truth to it. If pursuing your dream is like a hallway, keep going down it, because you never know when it’s going to turn the corner. I don’t know if any of you have worked in a service industry job; one of my first jobs as a teenager was as a dishwasher at a pretty upscale restaurant; and like so many service industry jobs in tight quarters, one of the first things they trained me to do is to yell “CORNER” when coming around the corner from the back rooms, because you couldn’t see who was on the other side of the corner, and they couldn’t see you. In any creative pursuit or the pursuit of your calling or dream, success could be flying in from around the corner; but that success tends to not announce itself before the fact, it’s actually probably not going to yell “CORNER” at you. Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox knew they had written a magical song in Sweet Dreams, yet the record label said to them, yeah, it’s not a single. But guess what–they didn’t give up on it, that radio DJ in Ohio didn’t give up on it, and it rocketed around the corner to number 1. What if Dave and Annie had left the music industry after The Tourists broke up? After THEY broke up as a couple? After playing that show for only 4 people? So whatever challenges you’re facing right now, I am encouraging you – no, I am begging you – do not give up. In fact, take it a step further and believe that your dream, that success you’ve been working towards, is coming around the corner right now.
The second concept I want to offer is: write from right now. Write from right now. What I mean by that is, imagine for a moment, if Annie and Dave, despite the fact they were coming from a very low emotional point in their lives, to say the least, what if they had looked at each other and said, you know what? We need to write an upbeat, happy-sounding pop song today. Imagine the cognitive and emotional dissonance that that would have created. No, they let themselves be totally present so that they could write from right now. And that is the art that is going to resonate with people, is art that comes from a deeply present, honest place. I’m so thankful they let themselves be vulnerable and create that way, and your fans will be, too, when you show up in your art that way. Let’s take a moment right now and ask ourselves this question: What would “writing from right now” look like in my creative life today? And I know I’m using the word “write” here, but that doesn’t have to be your medium; said another way, how can I show up in a vulnerable, honest way, today, in my creative journey?
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" embodies the power of resilience and genuine expression. Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox's journey reminds us that even in the face of rejection or personal setbacks, we must keep pushing forward, believing that our breakthrough might be closer than we think.
"Sweet Dreams" underscores the importance of being present and true to ourselves in our creative process. By writing from their immediate emotions and experiences, Dave and Annie crafted a song that resonated deeply with audiences. This authenticity is what makes art timeless and relatable. As creatives, showing up vulnerably and honestly in our work allows us to connect with others on a profound level.
So, as we bid farewell to this episode, I encourage you to stay determined on your path, knowing that your dream could be just around the corner. Embrace your present emotions and experiences in your creative endeavors. Dare to be vulnerable and let your true self shine through your art. This is your host, Seersha, reminding you to keep the music playing, the inspiration flowing, and to always turn up the volume on your unique voice. Until next time – Shine bright and love on your friends!
And that's a wrap! Be sure to tune in next time as we uncover the secrets behind another beloved 80s anthem. Until then, keep that creativity flowing, babes!
And of course, a big thank you to our production team for making this all possible:
Written and Produced by: Seersha
Edited by: Kacie Willis Luaders (Lew-Aiders)
Theme Music by: Seersha and Richard James Smith
Special thanks to Could Be Pretty Cool
For more information, or to suggest a song you'd love us to explore, DM me on social media @seershamusic or find me online at www.seershamusic.com.
