Eurythmics – Miracle of Love

Born In A Kitchen With Stone Floors And Perfect Reverb

Released on November 17, 1986, “The Miracle of Love” was the third single from Eurythmics’ fifth studio album Revenge. The ballad peaked at number 23 in the UK but claimed number two in Spain and cracked the top 20 across Europe, Ireland, and Australia. What makes its creation remarkable is that the entire foundation came from an accident of acoustics in Dave Stewart’s London kitchen.

The song reached number 23 on the UK Singles Chart and spent 11 weeks in the top 100. But it wasn’t Britain where it made its biggest impact. In Spain, it soared to number two, while reaching number 10 in Ireland, number 14 in Australia, and number 17 on the European Hot 100. At a time when rock was getting louder and synth-pop more aggressive, this tender ballad carved out its own emotional territory, proving Eurythmics could deliver power through vulnerability.

Stewart was alone in his kitchen one day when inspiration struck. The room had a stone floor that created natural reverb, and as he strummed his acoustic guitar, he loved how the sound bounced around. He came up with the chords and one crucial line: the miracle of love will take away your pain. The next time he got together with Annie Lennox, he played it for her. She immediately crafted the melody and verse lyrics, transforming Stewart’s kitchen experiment into something much bigger. Their collaboration was so instinctive that the song essentially wrote itself in one session.

Recording took place at Conny’s Studio in Cologne and Studio de la Grande Armée in Paris, with Stewart handling production. The duo brought in Blondie’s drummer Clem Burke, bassist John McKenzie, and keyboardist Pat Seymour to flesh out the sound. But the real magic came when they enlisted film composer Michael Kamen to arrange sweeping orchestral strings for the middle section. Kamen, who was Dave Stewart’s close friend and had already worked his orchestral wizardry on Here Comes the Rain Again, created a soaring instrumental passage that gives the song its emotional climax. Lennox finished the recording with improvised ad-libs at the end, her voice carrying the raw emotion that became the song’s signature.

Revenge marked a shift for Eurythmics toward a rockier, more organic sound compared to their earlier synth-driven work. Released in June 1986, the album featured three other singles: When Tomorrow Comes, Thorn in My Side, and Missionary Man, which won the 1987 Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group. This was the duo at their commercial and creative peak, balancing radio-friendly hits with artistic ambition, and The Miracle of Love showed they could deliver intimacy amid the bombast.

The song became a concert staple, often used as the closing number during their tours. Stewart later recalled that people were always crying during performances. Gregorian, the German band known for Gregorian chant versions of pop songs, covered it, as did artists like Susan Wong and Celtic Angels. Dave Stewart himself revisited it with his Rock Fabulous Orchestra. The song’s inclusion in Eurythmics’ 1991 Greatest Hits compilation cemented its status as one of their essential tracks.

In a career filled with bold synth experiments and chart-topping hits, The Miracle of Love stands out as Eurythmics at their most emotionally direct. Stewart summed up Lennox’s contribution perfectly: her voice has an element soaked in emotion that can literally move people to tears. That kitchen floor reverb, those sweeping strings, and Lennox’s heart-on-sleeve vocal created something that transcends its era, a ballad that still resonates because it speaks to something universal and unguarded.