Dave Stewart

David Allan Stewart (born 9 September 1952) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for Eurythmics, his successful professional partnership with Annie Lennox. He won Best British Producer at the 1986, 1987 and 1990 Brit Awards. Stewart (along with Lennox) was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020 and the duo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. Outside of Eurythmics, Stewart has written and produced songs for artists such as Ringo Starr, Stevie Nicks, Mick Jagger and Tom Petty.

Stewart was born in 1952 in Sunderland, England, son of John ("Jack") and Sadie Stewart. Distantly related both to the Dukes of Northumberland and to pirates, Stewart was from a middle-class, "well-off family", with accountant parents; he "always wanted to play with the working-class kids, but they'd always call [him] 'richie' and whack [him] on the head with cricket bats and things." His father was a "keen harmonica player" with a "dedication to music of all types", having "invested in the latest hi-tech stereo system and wired it up to every room in the house." He attended Barnes Infants and Junior School and Bede Grammar School for Boys.

Stewart began "dropping acid" by the age of 15 and carried on taking it up to 3 times a week during his teenage years. He later told The Guardian newspaper "Everything changed at that moment, It’s a speeded-up version of sitting on a mountain for 60 years and meditating. 'Ah, now I get it.' The trouble is, it doesn’t last".