Sweet Dreams: How Eurythmics Shocked America and Made MTV I New British Canon

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 Sweet Dreams: The Story of the New Romantics by Dylan Jones, 2020, Faber 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 "The Tourists: Overcoming A Bad Press" Cynthia Rose, A.M., 1980 "The Tourists: It's Good To Be Back" Rosalind Russell, Record Mirror, Feb 1980 "Tourists But Not Exiles" Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, Jun 1980 "Eurythmics" Dave Rimmer, Smash Hits, Mar 1983 "We're Not Tourists, We Live Here" Cynthia Rose, NME, Mar 1981 "Eurythmics" Johnny Black, Smash Hits, Jun 1983 "Eurythmics: Sweet Soul Music (Is Made of This)" Betsy Sherman, Boston Rock, Aug 1983 "Eurythmics" Cynthia Rose, NME, Oct 1983 "Eurythmics: Sweet Dreams And Constant Friction" Jim Sullivan, Record