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A pioneer for five decades, Annie Lennox remains as cutting-edge and influential now as when she first exploded onto the music landscape in the 1970s with new wave outfit The Tourists, thanks to her unmistakable appearance and remarkable vocal talent. She catapulted to global stardom when she teamed up with Dave Stewart - her former romantic partner - to create Eurythmics, shocking audiences in the 1983 Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) music video by sporting a gentleman's suit and vibrant orange cropped locks. But this week, the music legend revealed her neurodivergent diagnosis after recently discovering she has ADHD - cheekily telling Women's Hour host Nuala McGovern that she "passed the test with flying colours. "I'm a magpie, I observe things, I'm highly sensitive," Annie said on the BBC Radio 4 show. "And I found out that I actually am a bit neurodivergent. And it's explained a great deal to me about how my mind works and how other people with ADHD, how their mind works. "It's not an easy thing to live with but it's also a superpower. I think it does bring brilliance - I'm not saying that I am brilliant, but I'll take that!" She continued: "For most of my life I aspired to brilliance, let's say, through the medium of music, through the medium of language, lyrical, presentation, all of that. All that curiosity has brought me to this place today in 2025 when I'm 70," reports the Mirror . Annie, a highly successful solo artist, has re-released her 1992 hit single Why? from her debut solo album Diva, in aid of the charitable Together for Palestine fund. Her primary focus is now on contributing to peace in the Middle East. The mother to daughters Lola and Tali with her ex-husband, Israeli record producer Uri Fruchtmann, she speaks about the devastating conflict in Gaza : "I just want the war to end. Politicians are supposed to have dialogue and supposed to avoid conflict. We all know war is the most heinous destructive force on the planet, but I just want peace. "When I saw the violence on October 7 two years ago it was shocking. I knew it was going to unleash the gates of hell. I believed something terrible was going to happen and we have all been watching it since. On your phone you can see day to day what is going on. I have seen the most horrendous things and I don't want to see them again, ever." Every penny from Why? goes to Palestinian-led organisations at the forefront of the crisis, such as Taawon, Palestine Children's Relief Fund and the Palestinian Medical Relief Society. She says: "I have tried to contribute in my own way. I just want to see peace and see a ceasefire and see them stop killing men, women and children. Seeing people being displaced has hit me so hard. "I have two daughters and their father is from Israel . Having children is the biggest change one can ever experience. I am so grateful for it. It made me a nicer person and it fulfilled me. You love them so much." She adds: "I will tell you why I speak up: because it is nothing to what these people have to endure." In London, launching her fresh photographic memoir, Retrospective, chronicling her remarkable career - which has witnessed her scoop eight Brit awards, four Grammys, an Oscar, a Golden Globe plus numerous Ivor Novello song-writing accolades - Annie, 70, reveals success almost eluded her entirely. The straight-talking Scot, who entered the world in Aberdeen on Christmas Day 1954, recalls how executives at RCA Records simply couldn't grasp what Eurythmics represented when they emerged in 1980. She recalls: "We formed after our first band The Tourists split. We loved the name Eurythmics. As we loved being European and "rhythm" is in the name there. Nobody else got it but us. "We really struggled but a new A&R man really loved us and said 'Basically, there is only one band I am taking on' and it was us. They let a lot of bands go, which was a shame, but it was good for us. "If it had not had worked I thought I would have to go back to Scotland . Success takes you on these tremendous highs and it can take you down as well." The duo's first single Never Gonna Cry managed only a disappointing No. 63 chart position. Three years later, they achieved their breakthrough with the internationally acclaimed Love Is A Stranger, which climbed to No. 2 in the UK. What followed became legendary , as the pair ruled the charts throughout the 1980s with anthems including Sweet Dreams, Who's That Girl?, Right By Your Side, Here Comes The Rain Again and Sexcrime. Annie's powerful vocals were utterly distinctive, whilst her striking orange crop instantly sparked a fashion movement at the dawn of the power-dressing decade. But her status as a style pioneer happened by chance. "I had no idea the haircut would be iconic," laughs Annie. "I guess Dave and I were on a mission. We had gone through so much. We had nothing to lose. I felt I had nothing to lose. It was only later that we understood what we had done. We were in the pursuit of excellence. "We lived to make music. If you are going to pursue excellence that is what you have to do. You have to have a passion for it. The clothes gave us an identity. I guess we all have a sense of style. "When you have the opportunity you go for it. They wanted us in Australia, Japan, Germany, Holland. France so we travelled a lot. We were always on the road. "We were writing, recording, doing videos, performing and being exhausted after doing two hour shows, dancing, sweating and peeling off the leather at the end of the night." As well as globetrotting, the duo became highly sought-after and were soon collaborating with some of music's biggest legends, including soul icon Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, who contributed harmonica to their chart-topping 80s anthem There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart). However, Annie recalls how Stevie kept them waiting around, explaining: "He did keep us waiting in the studio. That is another story. But I sat on the floor in the studio in awe when he recorded with us. I remember his assistant put a bean bag around his head so his beads did not make any noise when we recorded." Overwhelmed by his brilliance, she continues: "It was intimidating and there you are with him, it was unbelievable." David Bowie commanded the same reverence, particularly at the star-studded Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium in 1992, staged to celebrate the late Queen frontman a year following his death from AIDS. "I sang Under Pressure with David, which he had done with Freddie. He did put his arm around me and you can see his thumb on my back in the photos. That is as close as we got, but that's not bad is it? I was drawn to connect with him, not just stand next to him. "I did not really know the song that well and when you take on a song you have to embody it. You have to really sing it over and over. I had to really get into that with David and the band which happened to be Queen. "Singing it was a lot of pressure like 'Under pressure...I am under pressure!'" Despite shifting over 75 million records, Annie admits that stardom still doesn't sit easily with her, explaining: "Being famous is like having two heads. Like you have one on your shoulder like one is Annie and one is Annie Lennox. I want to be remembered for who I am and I am Annie. "People do look at you. It ain't an easy gig. I don't mean like 'Oh poor me'. I did not have any thoughts about fame when it first happened. It is not until you have found success that there are rules. "I am just a normal person really. I am not starry starry or a 'friend of the stars'. I am a shy, modest person. I like to be modest and I like the quality of modesty." Looking ahead, Annie intends to continue her activism - carrying on using her distinctive voice and slogan T-shirts to spread her message on the global stage. She explains: "I wear T-shirts with slogans on because I don't need fancy gowns. I don't need any of that. I like to use my platform, you know. "Whenever my time comes to pop my clogs and depart this earth I want to feel I did the best I could."
