Annie Lennox has sold over 83 million records worldwide and is one of the most successful female British artists in UK music history.
Over a career spanning almost half a century, Annie Lennox has established herself as one of the true superstars of pop music and an icon of popular culture. With Dave Stewart as Eurythmics, and later as a solo artist, she is responsible for some of the best-selling records of all time, as well as some of the most memorable imagery created around music.
Raised in a working-class neighbourhood in Aberdeen, Scotland, Lennox demonstrated musical talent from a young age. Her parents noticed her playing a toy piano at age three. By age six she had joined a local choir, in which she sang every Saturday morning, and by age seven she had begun taking piano lessons. She decided to learn the flute at age 11, and when she turned 17 she went to London, where she studied classical flute, piano, and harpsichord at the Royal Academy of Music.
Celebrated and named as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone Magazine, Annie Lennox’s iconic musical career spans over four decades, going back to the early 80’s when the internationally renowned 'Eurythmics' was formed in collaboration with Dave Stewart. In the early 90’s she went on to establish an acclaimed solo career.
She has won eight Brit Awards, including Best British Female Artist six times – four Ivor Novello Awards and 26 ASCAPs. In the US she has been awarded four Grammy Awards, with fifteen nominations and three MTV Awards.
She was awarded both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award, as well as a Billboard Century Award; the highest accolade from Billboard magazine. She is the first woman to be recognised with an ASCAP Fellowship.
Over the years, she has worked on behalf of countless organisations, including Oxfam, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, The British Red Cross and Comic Relief. Working with UNAIDS as a Goodwill Ambassador, she became well known for her work as a tireless HIV/AIDS activist and advocate.
She has been a Special Envoy for the Scottish Parliament and the City of London, receiving the Woman of Peace Award at the 2009 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. In 2011 she was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of her humanitarian work. She became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 1997 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University of London by the Academy in 2017.
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