When MTV first launched, there simply weren’t enough music videos to fill their 24 hour format. This forced the young channel to take a chance on previously-unknown-in-the-US artists to fill time, including A Flock of Seagulls, Adam and the Ants, The Buggles, U2, Spandau Ballet & Visage. It paid off: within a couple of years a whole wave of videogenic British New Pop bands would take over the Billboard Chart, almost single-handedly creating what was called The Second British Invasion.

But even in the age of MTV, The Eurythmics were striking. Annie Lennox's orange close-cropped hair and sleek tailored suit stood apart from other female pop stars of the time. The swirling darkness of their breakthrough single would define the sound of the 80s forever more. This is New British Canon and this is the story of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).”

#eurythmics #80spop #musicdocumentary

Fact-checking by Serenity Autumn and Chad Van Wagner.

00:00 Introduction
01:38 It Starts With The Tourists
05:22 Goodbye The Tourists, Hello Eurythmics
08:49 Creating "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
13:09 MTV & The Second British Invasion
20:34 Aftermath & Enduring Influence of Eurythmics

Bibliography
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I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution by Rob Tannenbaum & Craig Marks, 2012, Penguin
Eurythmics - 17 Again Documentary (1999) dir. unknown
Discovering Eurythmics (2013) Cal Saville
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"Eurythmics" Johnny Black, Smash Hits, Jun 1983
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"Flashback: Eurythmics Perform ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)’ in 1983" Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, Dec 2019
"The Number Ones: Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)”" Tom Breihan, Stereogum, Jul 2020
"13 essential Eurythmics songs" uncredited, Classic Pop, Nov 2021
"Eurythmics: The genre-fluid music ahead of its time" Arwa Haider, BBC Culture, Nov 2021
"Annie Lennox's 30 greatest songs - ranked!" Alexis Petridis, The Guardian, Apr 2022
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) — how a drum machine helped create Eurythmics’ biggest hit" Helen Brown, Financial Times, May 2022
"Dave Stewart" Carl Wiser, Songfacts, Jul 2022
"40 Years Ago: Eurythmics Finally Make It With ‘Sweet Dreams’" Tyler Sage, Ultimate Classic Rock, Jan 2023
"40 years of Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams, the 'home recording' that took the world by storm" Matt Neal, ABC News Australia, Jan 2023

Soundtrack
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Jesse Gallagher - The Golden Present
Luar - Anchor (  / luarbeats  )

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