Annie Lennox
b. 25 December 1954, Aberdeen, Scotland. Following the amicable dissolution of the Eurythmics in 1991, the component parts of that band have gone on to widely varying degrees of success. Both of Lennox's first two solo efforts would reach number 1 in the UK charts, the second of which doing so while fellow Dave Stewart was underachieving with GREETINGS FROM THE GUTTER, which failed to break the UK Top 75. In fairness to Stewart, this may have more to do with the public's perceptions of the artists than any measure of their individual talents; Lennox was always the visual focus of their records, while her vocal presence defined their musical charm. However, in 1990, after winning her fourth Best British Female Artist award at the BRITS ceremony, she returned backstage to tell reporters that she intended to take a two-year sabbatical, and to concentrate on her family life. While pregnant, she worked with computer expert Marius de Vries on songs she had recorded as rough demos, a process happily interrupted by the birth of Lennox's first child, Lola, in December 1990. Her debut solo album was produced by Steve Lipson (Simple Minds, etc.) at her home and at Mayfair Studios in London, with co-writing collaborations with Blue Nile and Jeff Lynne. DIVA was released in February 1992 and its number 1 status confirmed that Lennox was still the subject of considerable affection among the British public. Released three years later, MEDUSA offered a wide-ranging selection of covers, mainly of songs which had previously been aired by a male vocalist. The classics included Whiter Shade Of Pale ('the first serious record I bought,' according to Lennox) and Take Me To The River, though others were drawn from less familiar sources, including the Lover Speaks' No More I Love You's, the Clash's Train In Vain and Blue Nile's Downtown Lights. Aided by Anne Dudley's string arrangements, harmonica, tabla and accordion, it allowed the artist to escape the rigours of lyric writing which had proved such a strain on the previous album.