Best known as one-half of the groundbreaking synth pop duo
Eurythmics,
Dave Stewart was also a highly successful producer and, on occasion, a solo artist.
David A. Stewart (as he also sometimes was credited on record) was born September 9, 1952 in Sunderland, England; the product of an upper-middle class family, he enjoyed his first taste of musical success during the early '70s while fronting the band Longdancer. The group seemed poised for big things after signing to
Elton John's Rocket Records, but they quickly fizzled out;
Stewart soon resurfaced in a variety of short-lived groups, and eventually began writing songs with friend Peet Coombes. In the late '70s he was also introduced to an aspiring singer named
Annie Lennox; the two became lovers, and with Coombes they formed a group dubbed
the Tourists, issuing a trio of new wave-influenced LPs between 1979 and 1980.
When
the Tourists came to a halt in late 1980,
Stewart and
Lennox's romance ended as well; they agreed to continue their musical partnership, however, rechristening themselves
Eurythmics. Their soulful synth pop sound was created solely via
Stewart's technological mastery, capped off by
Lennox's powerful vocals; after the title track of 1983's Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) became an international smash, the
Eurythmics rose to become one of the '80s most successful and innovative artists, scoring such major hits as 1984's "Here Comes the Rain Again," 1985's "Would I Lie to You?," and 1986's "Missionary Man." In 1985,
Stewart also scored his first outside success as a producer, working on
Aretha Franklin's comeback album Who's Zoomin' Who; that same year, he also helmed
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' hit
Southern Accents. In the years to follow, he went on to produce music for
Mick Jagger,
Bob Dylan, and
the Neville Brothers.
By the end of the '80s,
Eurythmics' popularity was on the decline, and after 1989's
We Too Are One failed to recapture the magic of their earlier work, they essentially disbanded, with only a hits compilation and a live LP to follow.
Stewart, who in 1987 had married
Bananarama/
Shakespear's Sister vocalist
Siobhan Fahey, initially turned to soundtrack work, scoring the Dutch film Lily Was Here in 1989; a year later, he put together a new band,
the Spiritual Cowboys, with ex-
Pretenders drummer
Martin Chambers. Sporting a more atmospheric, guitar-driven sound than his previous work,
the Spiritual Cowboys issued two albums, a 1990 self-titled effort and 1991's Honest, neither of which caught on with audiences.
Stewart then spent the next several years in relative silence, accepting a few production jobs but otherwise staying out of the limelight. In 1995, he finally issued his proper solo debut,
Greetings from the Gutter.
In 1997,
Stewart co-produced the album Destination Anywhere for
Jon Bon Jovi. He emerged as an artist again in 1999; this time as a film composer scoring director
Robert Altman's film Cookie's Fortune in 1999. In November 2002, he worked with former South African president
Nelson Mandela.
Stewart came up with the idea of turning
Mandela's prison number into a telephone number. He wrote and recorded songs with
Paul McCartney,
Bono, and
the Edge (among others) that could only be heard if you dialed this number; the cost of the call was in fact a donation in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the newly independent but beleaguered nation. Along with an ad agency,
Stewart organized the entire campaign. In 2004, he collaborated with
Jagger on the score for a remake of the film Alfie, and in 2007 scored Ted Demme's film The Ref. In March 2007,
Stewart unveiled an initiative called "Greenpeace Works," which he labeled a "think tank" to dream up ways celebrities and Greenpeace could work together on green issues. For the project, he issued The Dave Stewart Songbook, a large coffee table-size book full of stories and photographs. It was accompanied by a newly recorded CD of 21 songs that been co-written or co-produced by him. Also included was the song "American Prayer," written with
Bono. In 2008,
Stewart shot a video for the tune as support for
Barack Obama's presidential bid.
In 2011, he completed work on his musical, Ghost, which opened in England in March; he also finished work on
Stevie Nicks'
In Your Dreams album, which was co-produced by
Glen Ballard and released in May. Simultaneously, he also completed his first album of new material in 13 years in Nashville, with help from
Martina McBride,
Joss Stone,
Colbie Caillat, and
the Secret Sisters. Entitled
The Blackbird Diaries, the set was recorded at
McBride's husband
John's Blackbird Studios and issued in late May.
Stewart also helmed the sessions and co-wrote the songs for
Stone's
LP1, which was released in the summer of 2011. That same year, both
Stewart and
Stone joined
SuperHeavy, a supergroup that also featured
Mick Jagger, Damian Marley, and
A.R. Rahman. A self-titled
SuperHeavy album arrived in the fall of 2011, and then
Stewart returned to Blackbird Studios, recording and releasing his solo effort The Ringmaster General in 2012. A year later,
Stewart released
Lucky Numbers, another solo album laden with guest stars, this time including
Martina McBride and
Karen Elson.
Stewart published his memoir, Sweet Dreams Are Made of This: A Life in Music, in February 2016 and then turned his attention to
The Nashville Sessions. A series of collaborations with superstars and emerging artists, the first volume of the project -- entitled
The Nashville Sessions: The Duets, Vol. 1 -- arrived in October 2017. ~ Jason Ankeny & Thom Jurek