''Be Yourself Tonight'' is the fourth studio album by British

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

duo

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...

, released on 29 April 1985 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

. It spawned four singles – " Would I Lie to You?", "

There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart) "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" is a song by the British musical duo Eurythmics, released as the second single from their fifth studio album, ''Be Yourself Tonight'' (1985). It features a harmonica solo by American musician Ste ...

", "

Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" is a song by British pop duo Eurythmics and American singer Aretha Franklin. A modern feminist anthem, it was written by Eurythmics members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and featured on both Eurythmics' ...

" (a duet with

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

) and "

It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back) "It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)" is a song written and recorded by the British pop music duo Eurythmics. It was released as the fourth and final single from their 1985 album '' Be Yourself Tonight''. The song was produced by Dave Stewart, and ...

". The album has been described as their most commercially successful album, and has been pitched as "one of the greatest pop and rock albums of the 1980s". A notable departure from both the musical composition and image of their previous albums, ''Be Yourself Tonight'' was widely regarded as an example of their finest work due to their continued "innovation" of their music. It was a major commercial success for Eurythmics on international albums charts, reaching the top five in regions including Australia (where it reached number one), New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Canada, Finland and the United Kingdom. Elsewhere, it reached the top ten in the United States, Switzerland and Germany. It was nominated for the

Billboard Music Award for Top Billboard 200 Album This article lists the winners and nominees for the ''Billboard'' Music Award for Top ''Billboard'' 200 Album. The award has been given since 1991 and since its conception only five artists have won the award twice: 50 Cent, Adele, Drake, Eminem, ...

and Top Compact Disk Award at the 1985

Billboard Music Awards The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by '' Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of ...

and the

Brit Award for British Album of the Year The Brit Award for British Album of the Year is given annually by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of ...

at the

1986 Brit Awards The 1986 Brit Awards were the sixth edition of the biggest annual pop music awards in the United Kingdom. They are run by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 10 February 1986 at Grosvenor House Hotel in London. This year marke ...

. Two of the albums singles – "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" and "Would I Lie to You?" were nominated for two awards at the

28th Annual Grammy Awards The 28th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1986, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year, 1985. The night's big winner was USA for Africa's "We Are the World", which won ...

in 1986 for

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as th ...

and

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011. The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories. Beginning in 2012, all solo or duo/group ...

respectively.

Background

Largely recorded in Paris, with additional recording in Detroit and Los Angeles, this album saw Eurythmics move away from their previous more experimental, synthesizer-based songs, to a more pop/rock sound with some R&B elements. Songs, such as " Would I Lie To You?" were influenced by 1960s style music, as well as utilising American soul and British pop. Combining elements of

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

and rock music, the album incorporates a more traditional band line-up/instrumentation. Nonetheless, the recordings still possessed an atmospheric and cutting edge sound, winning

David A. Stewart David Allan Stewart (born 9 September 1952) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for Eurythmics, his successful professional partnership with Annie Lennox. Sometimes credited as David A. Stewart, he won Best British ...

awards for his production work on the album. The release of the album coincided with a new look for singer

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...

, who ditched the androgynous look of the previous albums and became, in biographer Lucy O'Brien's words, "a bleach-blonde rock 'n' roller". ''Be Yourself Tonight'' includes guest appearances by notable artists such as

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, and

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

. The album features a range of genres performed by the duo, many of which were performed by the band for the first time. It has been described as both a "masterpiece" and "one of the best pop/rock albums of the 1980s" largely in part a result of their "innovation and ability to not succumb to the machine”.

Release and promotion

No tour followed the album's release, due to Lennox's recuperation from

vocal fold nodules Vocal cord nodules are bilaterally symmetrical benign white masses ( nodules) that form at the midpoint of the vocal folds. Although diagnosis involves a physical examination of the head and neck, as well as perceptual voice measures, visualizat ...

(which also caused her to have to miss 1985's

Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...

concert).

Chart performance

''Be Yourself Tonight'' reached the top 3 in the UK and top 10 in the US, as well as spawning several hit singles. The album includes the duo's first (and only) UK number-one "

". The first single released was " Would I Lie to You?". It would hit #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, #6 on the Cash Box Top 100 and also hit #1 in Australia. The album was certified double platinum by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI), indicating sales in excess of 600,000 copies, and Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for sales in excess of one million copies.

Track listing

Notes

* Track 9 is incorrectly labelled "Better to Have Lost in Love (Then Never to Have Loved at All)" on the 2005 remastered reissue. * Track 13 of the 2005 remastered reissue is listed as the "ET Mix", but it is actually the "Extended Mix" from the "Would I Lie to You?" 12-inch single. * The live version of "Conditioned Soul" (track 14) was recorded on 14 February 1987, not in 1985. It was captured during Eurythmics' ''

Revenge Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more fo ...

'' Tour at the

Sydney Entertainment Centre Sydney Entertainment Centre, later known as Qantas Credit Union Arena, was a multi-purpose arena located in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia. It opened in May 1983, to replace Sydney Stadium, which had been demolished in 1970 to make way for the ...

, and it's the same performance featured in their '' Eurythmics Live'' video. This was omitted from the final video release but remains part of the audio recording used for the bonus track.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Be Yourself Tonight''.

Eurythmics

– vocals ; keyboards ; keyboard sequencers *

– guitars ; sequencers ; keyboards ; bass sequencer, drum computer program ; electric guitar,

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

; six-stringed octave guitar

Additional musicians

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass guitarist and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts ...

– bass *

Olle Romo Olle Romö is a Swedish music producer, songwriter, and drummer. Romo rehearsed with Swedish progressive rock group Kaipa in early 1982; however, he left the group after a few weeks to join Eurythmics, and he was a drummer for them from the mid ...

– drums ; wood stomping *

Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin M ...

– organ * Dave Plews – trumpet * Martin Dobson – saxophones *

Dean Garcia Dean Garcia (born 3 May 1958) is an English multi-instrumentalist musician, best known as a member of the alternative rock duo Curve from 1990 to 2005. He also released solo work and collaborated with many other artists. Biography Garcia was ...

– bass ; wood stomping *

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, record producer and musician. Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born in ...

– strings ; celeste ; brass arrangement idea ; keyboard solo, string parts *

– harmonica * Angel Cross – backing vocals * The Charles Williams Singers – backing vocals ; gospel choir * Adam Williams – drum computer program * Sadie (and other uncredited performers) – gravel stomping *

– "super" vocals *

Stan Lynch Stanley Joseph Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994. Early years Lynch was born in Cincinn ...

– drums * Mike Campbell – lead guitar *

– harmony vocal

Technical

* David A. Stewart – production, mixing * Adam Williams – mixing ; engineering * Don Smith – special help ; engineering ; mixing ; additional engineering * Jay Willis – engineering assistance *

Shelly Yakus Sheldon Gershon "Shelly" Yakus (born November 1945) is an American music engineer and mixer. Formerly chief engineer and vice president of A&M Records, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Yakus is referenced ...

– drum recording *

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and distri ...

Background

Release and promotion

Chart performance

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

Eurythmics

Additional musicians

Technical

Artwork

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

Bibliography

Further reading