DAVE STEWART: RENAISSANCE MAN

The long and varied career of Dave Stewart, other half of iconic 80s band the Eurythmics, is in the spotlight with news he will be the 2015 recipient of the Music Producers Guild’s (MPG) Outstanding Contribution to UK Music Award. Stewart will receive his accolades at the MPG 2015 Awards, next February .

Recognised as one of the most respected and accomplished talents in the music industry today, Stewart’s music career spans three decades and more than 100 million album sales, highlighted by his collaboration with Annie Lennox in the aforementioned pop-rock duo Eurythmics.

During his long Eurythmics hiatus, he has produced albums and co-written songs for Bono, Tom Petty, Leonard Cohen, Bob Geldof, Bryan Ferry, Gwen Stefani, Stevie Nicks, Katy Perry, Mick Jagger, Sinead O’Connor, Joss Stone, and many more, garnering numerous Producer, Songwriter, Golden Globe and Grammy Awards along the way.

MPG Awards Director Tony Platt says: “Dave Stewart embodies all the qualities of a modern music producer, embracing all forms of media including music, film, TV and photography. His various roles from musician to producer, director and co-founder of a highly successful creative member’s club [link] underpin his collaborative attitude towards creativity. In this respect he is a shining example of everything that is great about the UK music industry, which is why we, with the support of PPL, are honouring him with this prestigious MPG Award for Outstanding Contribution to UK Music – in short because he is outstanding.”

This year alone saw Stewart produced four albums, one for Hollie Stephenson (Youtube link), a 16 year old singer/songwriter from London whom Stewart has been developing since she was 13 years old. Along with Stevie Nicks’ eighth solo album 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault comprised of unrecorded songs written between 1969 and 1995. He also produced for a one-of-a-kind young male singer from Louisiana, Thomas Lindsey; and Los Angeles-based, London-born 14 year old soulful female singer/songwriter, KAYA (Youtube link), who recently signed her first deal with Warner Bros Records.

Recently he expanded the management and production divisions of his company, Dave Stewart Entertainment (link) which now has offices in Los Angeles and Nashville overseeing the careers of seven young artists while acting as Brand Manager to legend artists. The company has also produced videos for Deadmau5, Neon Trees, Lionel Richie, Kaskade, and many more.

Stewart has said that “People ask me if I think outside the box. I haven’t seen the box” (source).  It’s certainly true when you look at his other pursuits.

Beyond working as a musician/producer, Stewart has co-authored a number of comics and a creativity guide (with accompanying iPad app). He’s worked as a director for the documentary Deep Blues (Youtube link), and the HBO series Off the Record, which saw him interview famous musicians in a ‘rock and roll’ version of Inside the Actors Studio.He’s worked as a photographer, shooting celebrities for his exhibitions. In addition, he’s scored films for several directors, including Robert Altman, Paul Verhoeven, and Ted Demme, and has written and produced the title songs for many hit movies. Together with Mick Jagger, he wrote and produced the score for Alfie, starring Jude Law, which won the pair a Golden Globe for Best Original Song.

When discussing the creation of the Eurythmics break-out hit Sweet Dreams, Stewart has said:

“Annie and I were scribbling away, trying to write songs. We didn’t really have any money at the time, but we had managed to get this weird drum computer. It was one of the first audio/visual ones where you could actually see the screen in black and white. I remember I started to get this rhythm going and suddenly Annie perked up and said, “Oh, what’s that?!”

Then she started playing a different part and the two of them together made that familiar riff. That’s when Annie really got inspired, and the very first words that came out of her mouth (literally, without even thinking) were “Sweet dreams are made of this.” The whole song was written in about 15 minutes” (source).

Peter Leathem, CEO of PPL (MPG Awards event sponsor) said when discussing the award, “Dave Stewart has had a phenomenal career and has long been recognised as one of the most respected and sought after producers in the industry. Having collaborated with many of the world’s leading artists as well as co-founding Eurythmics alongside Annie Lennox, it is only fitting that he receives the MPG’s Outstanding Contribution to UK Music Award in 2015.” 

If you’re interested in attending the MPG Awards show next year, than you can purchase tickets for the event, here.

Below: Stewart and Lennox reunite earlier this year, for the Grammy’s Beatles 50th Anniversary concert.

Excerpts from PR