Dave Stewart announces homecoming Sunderland Empire date on Eurythmics Songbook tour

The world-famous singer, songwriter, musician and producer is fiercely passionate about his home city – so he made sure to include Sunderland on his new tour, which will be the only date in the UK outside of London.

It will see him return to Sunderland Empire, after performing there for his 65th birthday in 2017, on November 10, 2023.

The only other UK date will be at the London Palladium on November 17, with other dates around Europe in Switzerland, Paris, Brussels, Germany, Vienna and The Netherlands.

Celebrating 40 years since the release of the timeless Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), the tour will take fans through the Eurythmics’ unique blend of synth-pop, new wave, soul and rock including Sweet Dreams, Who’s That Girl, Here Comes The Rain Again, Thorn In My Side, Missionary Man, There Must Be An Angel and many more.

The Eurythmics Songbook: Sweet Dreams 40th Anniversary Tour marks the first time in more than 20 years that fans can see a full length show of Eurythmics classics performed on tour by Dave and a full live band.

Dave won’t be joined by Annie Lennox on stage, as she no longer tours, but it will feature a line-up of world-class musicians, with an all-female band of Vanessa Amorosi - vocals, RAHH - vocals, Dave’s daughter Kaya Stewart - vocals, Hannah Koppenburg - keyboards, Indiara Sfair - harmonica & backing vocals, Julia Lamb - bass guitars & backing vocals and Ellie East - drums.

Eurythmics were one of the greatest musical success stories of the 1980s, who continuously experimented with their sound, spanning many genres and going on to sell more than 75million albums worldwide.

Dave, from Barnes, says he’s looking forward to heading home to put on an “epic show.”

Speaking about how it came about to the Echo, he said: “Not that long ago Nile Rodgers asked me to play as part of the Meltdown Festival in London and he said will you put together and play Eurythmics songs. I thought about it, and Nile is a friend of mine, so I said yes. We put together this show and it was so fun and so good that I thought I’d play it live but then Covid hit, so this is a delayed version of that."

Speaking about his famous musical partner Annie, he said: “Annie decided she didn’t want to tour anymore, she felt it was too much to go touring around.

"We played together at the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame (the duo were inducted last year by The Edge in honour of their lifetime achievements) and at the Songwriters Hall of Fame and both times were great, but that was a one off thing for 2/3 songs, it’s not a 2 hour show, flying about and on buses."

He added: “I love playing live and I miss playing live and I love these songs we wrote together. I was being bombarded about when I’d play places like Berlin and Zurich, so I decided this was the time to put together a show and get together some great players who are all amazing.

“It’s like a gang that gets on really well and I’m really looking forward to it.”

As well as up to 20 hits, audiences can also expect a visual long screen that will show imagery associated with the songs.

Dave was last in the city to play the new Fire Station in September 2022, which sold out soon after going on sale, and in May 2022 he performed a private gig in Pop Recs alongside the late Faye Fantarrow, for whom he was a great supporter and mentor.

And Dave says he’s looking forward to raising the roof at the Empire once more.

"I love Sunderland Empire, it reminds of a Beatles show at the London Palladium with all the tiers and the slippers. It’s like a classic theatre, it’s beautifully designed, inside and out.

"And when you’re backstage there you get a real feeling of history and all who’ve played there.”

Dave’s childhood in 1960s Sunderland played a pivotal role in what would become his hugely-successful career, hanging out at places like West One and Sgt Pepper's where he found a form of expression in fashion and music.

Dave has always stayed true to his roots, and still to this day makes trips home when he’s not producing in his studios in Nashville and the Bahamas.

He’s seen the landscape of the city change dramatically over the decades and he says it’s great to see the city entering a new chapter as it undergoes a wave of regeneration and investment.

"Every now and then a city becomes the lightning rod for many other things and now, at last, it’s Sunderland’s chance again. Ok, we won the 1973 FA Cup, but this is different: this is a whole cultural shift.

"There’s film studios coming, new restaurants opening up, a new hotel and all these boutique little places. It’s not as if it’s been gentrified, it’s more that people from the city who are now in their 30s / 40s have travelled around. They want to live in Sunderland, but they also want to do things.

"A perfect example of that is Pop Recs, who got that very early on. I love that place and I love those guys.”

:: Eurythmics Songbook: Sweet Dreams 40th Anniversary Tour plays Sunderland Empire on November 10, 2023

::How to get tickets

Tickets for the Eurythmics Songbook: Sweet Dreams 40th Anniversary European Tour will go on general sale from 12noon on Friday, September 8 from www.davestewartent.com/p/tour/ or https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/sunderland-empire/

::Full European Tour Dates:

7th November - Baloise, Basel, Switzerland

10th November - Sunderland Empire, Sunderland, UK

13th November - Salle Pleyel, Paris, France

14th November - La Madeleine, Brussels, Belgium

15th November - Mitsubishi Electric Halle, Dusseldorf, Germany 17th November - London Palladium, London, UK

25th November - Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria

26th November - Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt, Germany 27th November - Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, Germany

28th November - Vredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands