The_Annie_Lennox_Collection.jpgLast night I saw Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics at a Q&A event by The New York Times. I was moved by this HIV/AIDS warrior as she bore witness to the pandemic. She’s also promoting her new album The Annie Lennox Collection, a compilation of her solo hits with two new songs.

I’ve been a fan of hers ever since the 1983 single "Sweet Dreams," the first hit in the United States for the Eurythmics. Her gender-bending closely-cropped flaming red hair in the video for that song was seared into my young mind as a revelation.

She’s been a friend of the HIV-positive community for years. The SING Campaign is the most recent example. The single "Sing" launched the campaign, which focuses on women and children with HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Jon Pareles, the chief pop music critic for The New York Times, started the interview by highlighting her commitment to HIV/AIDS advocacy, then a video was shown commemorating the 1st anniversary of the SING campaign.

Watch it:


The video set up an in-depth discussion of her HIV/AIDS activism. Her responses clearly demonstrated her emotional connection to the topic. She spoke of the importance of personalizing the issue. To that end, another video was shown focusing on one family of AIDS orphans.

Watch it:


After the second video ended, Lennox sang “Why?” as she played the piano. It was a wonderful version that Lennox has been playing for years that she has associated with the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Watch her perform a similar version of “Why” at the 2006 LIVE 8 concert:


After her performance, the conversation switched to her career and her thoughts on the creative process for all artists. Her quirky, funny and straightforward personality was in abundance.

Lennox ended the evening by fielding questions from the audience, singing a touching version of “Little Bird” and showing the video for her new single, "Shining Light." I wish her much continued success as an artist and an ally.

Click here for a great interview with Annie Lennox about her new album and her HIV/AIDS activism by Trenton Straube.