After Dinner Speakers: Annie Lennox, Latoya Jackson, Mary Archer

b. 25 December 1954, Aberdeen, Scotland. Following the amicable dissolution of the Eurythmics in 1991, the component parts of that band have gone on to widely varying degrees of success. Both of Lennox's first two solo albums would reach number 1 in the UK charts, the second of which doing so while fellow David A. Stewart was underachieving with Greetings From The Gutter, which failed to break the UK Top 75. In fairness to Stewart, this may have more to do with the public's perceptions of the artists than any measure of their individual talents; Lennox was always the visual focus of their records, while her vocal presence defined their musical charm. She had already enjoyed a US Top 10/UK Top 30 solo hit in 1988, duetting with soul legend Al Green on "Put A Little Love In Your Heart", taken from the soundtrack of Scrooged. In 1990, after winning her fourth Best British Female Artist award at the BRITS ceremony, Lennox returned backstage to tell reporters that she intended to take a two-year sabbatical, and to concentrate on her family life. While pregnant she worked with computer expert Marius de Vries on songs she had recorded as rough demos, a process happily interrupted by the birth of Lennox's first child, Lola, in December 1990. Her debut solo album was produced with Steve Lipson (Simple Minds) at her home and at Mayfair Studios in London, with co-writing collaborations with the Blue Nile and Jeff Lynne. Diva was released in February 1992 and its number 1 status confirmed that Lennox was still the subject of considerable affection among the British public. The album included the UK Top 10 hit singles "Why" and "Walking On Broken Glass" (which also reached the US Top 20). In February 1993, Lennox reached UK number 3 with "Little Bird"/"Love Song For A Vampire", featured on the soundtrack of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Released two years later, Medusa offered a wide-ranging selection of cover versions, mainly of songs which had previously been aired by a male vocalist. The classics included "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" ("the first serious record I bought", according to Lennox) and "Take Me To The River", though others were drawn from less familiar sources, including the Lover Speaks' "No More 'I Love You's'" (a UK number 2 hit), the Clash's "Train In Vain" and Blue Nile's "The Downtown Lights". Aided by Anne Dudley's string arrangements, harmonica, tabla and accordion, it allowed the artist to escape the rigours of lyric writing which had proved such a strain on the previous album. Further delay in hearing new material was created by the release of the limited edition live album Live In Central Park. In 1998, Lennox teamed up with Stewart for select live dates which were successful enough for the duo to re-form the Eurythmics and record a new album, Peace.