Eurythmics – There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)

Stevie Wonder Almost Didn’t Show Up For The One-Take Miracle

Released on June 24, 1985, “There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)” became the crowning achievement Eurythmics had been chasing since their formation five years earlier. The song climbed to number one in the UK on July 27, holding the top spot for one week—their first and to date only British chart-topper. It also reached number one in Ireland, Norway, Finland, and Poland, while peaking at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. The gospel-infused track featured a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder that nearly didn’t happen. Stewart and Lennox left the Los Angeles studio after waiting hours, convinced Wonder had forgotten about the session. He arrived several hours later, recorded the entire solo in one take, and vanished back into the night. That spontaneous performance became one of the most recognizable harmonica solos in 1980s pop music.

The single dominated charts across Europe, hitting number five on the European Hot 100 and securing Top 10 positions in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Australia, and New Zealand. The song climbed higher than “Would I Lie to You?” in most territories, proving Eurythmics could pivot from rock-edged pop to ethereal soul without losing commercial momentum. In 2013, NME voters ranked it the third best number one song of all time, placing it above classics by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. The track spent multiple weeks in the UK Top 5 during the summer of 1985, outselling releases from Duran Duran and Madonna during their peak commercial periods. Two weeks after reaching number one, Eurythmics were conspicuously absent from Live Aid—not because of the usual rock star ego clashes, but because Lennox was recovering from vocal fold nodule surgery.

The song emerged from sessions in the outer suburbs of Paris where Lennox and Stewart had set up shop in what journalist Neil Tennant described as an unglamorous studio far from the city’s glamorous center. They’d spent months crafting Be Yourself Tonight, their deliberate pivot away from synth-heavy experimentation toward Motown-influenced pop-rock. Lennox had recently married Radha Raman, though the relationship was already fracturing—that turmoil fueled the bitter “Would I Lie to You?” on the same album. But “There Must Be An Angel” captured something entirely different. Lennox wanted to write about overwhelming joy, the sensation of falling so deeply in love it feels supernatural. The lyrics describe hearing orchestras of angels and hearts going boom in empty rooms—metaphors for emotional overload that bordered on hallucinatory. Stewart built shimmering synth layers that gave the track an otherworldly sparkle, deliberately echoing the celestial production of “Here Comes the Rain Again.”

Additional recording sessions in Detroit and Los Angeles brought in heavyweight collaborators who elevated the track beyond typical synth-pop. Michael Kamen, fresh from scoring Brazil and working with Pink Floyd, provided lush string arrangements that soared during the choruses. Angel Cross contributed ethereal backing vocals that blended with The Charles Williams Singers to create a gospel choir effect. But the game-changer arrived when Stevie Wonder walked into the LA studio around midnight. Stewart had invited him after watching his harmonica work on Chaka Khan’s “I Feel for You” the previous year. During the session, Wonder’s signature beaded braids kept clacking against the microphone as he moved his head, forcing engineers to carefully tie them back. Stewart asked Wonder to improvise for 16 bars. Wonder obliged, then started playing sea shanties as a joke, breaking the tension in the room. Stewart captured everything on cassette, preserving Wonder’s playful humor alongside the legendary take that made the final cut.

Be Yourself Tonight, released April 29, 1985, became Eurythmics’ best-selling studio album. It reached number three in the UK and number nine in the United States, eventually selling over two million copies globally. The album marked a radical shift in both sound and image. Lennox ditched the orange crew cut and androgynous suits that defined “Sweet Dreams,” transforming into what biographer Lucy O’Brien called “a bleach-blonde rock ‘n’ roller.” Four singles from the album became international hits: “Would I Lie to You?” went Top 5 in North America and number one in Australia, “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” featured Aretha Franklin, and “It’s Alright (Baby’s Coming Back)” showcased the duo’s versatility. Stewart won Best Producer at the 1986 BRIT Awards largely based on this album’s ambitious production, which balanced raw rock energy with pristine pop craftsmanship.

German girl group No Angels recorded a cover for the 2001 reissue of their album Elle’ments, and it became their second number one single in both Austria and Germany, staying atop German charts for five consecutive weeks. Kylie Minogue performed a dance-pop version live that emphasized the track’s euphoric qualities. In 1999, Eurythmics reunited at the BRIT Awards to accept the Outstanding Contribution to Music trophy. Stevie Wonder presented the award, then joined them onstage for the first live performance of “There Must Be An Angel” featuring all three original contributors. Lennox opened with an a cappella intro that sent the London Arena crowd into delirium before Wonder’s harmonica cut through the noise. The performance became one of the ceremony’s most memorable moments, proof that the song’s magic hadn’t diminished across 14 years.

Dave Stewart later reflected that the song represented everything Eurythmics had worked toward—the perfect balance of Lennox’s powerhouse vocals and his increasingly sophisticated production techniques. It remains their signature achievement in the UK, the only time they conquered the charts in their home country. For Lennox, the song captured a fleeting moment of pure happiness before life’s complications crashed back in. As she explained in interviews years later, everyone has dreams they’re chasing, impossible aspirations that feel like angels playing tricks on their hearts. “There Must Be An Angel” freezes that moment of believing, that instant before doubt creeps in, and turns it into four minutes of transcendent pop perfection.