Be Yourself Tonight

Be Yourself Tonight is the fifth album by the British pop duo Eurythmics, released in 1985.

This album saw Eurythmics move away from their previous more experimental, synthesizer-based songs, to a more commercial pop/rock sound, incorporating a more traditional band line-up/instrumentation. Nonetheless, the recordings still possessed an atmospheric and cutting edge sound, winning Stewart awards for his production work on the album. The release of the album also coincided with a new look for singer Annie Lennox, who ditched the androgynous look of the previous albums and became, in biographer Lucy O’Brien’s words, “a bleach-blonde rock ‘n’ roller.”

The album sold well, and was top 3 in the UK and top 10 in the US, as well as spawning several hit singles. It included guest appearances by notable artists such as Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and Elvis Costello. The album included the duo’s first (and only) UK number-one “There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)” and the American Top 5 and Australian number-one hit “Would I Lie to You?”.

No tour followed the album’s release, due to Lennox’s continuing recuperation from nodules on her larynx. This condition also caused her to miss 1985’s Live Aid concert, making Eurythmics one of the handful of successful 80’s groups not to perform.