Platinum Weird

Platinum Weird

David Allen Stewart, often known as Dave Stewart (born September 9, 1952 in
Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England), is a British musician and record producer best
known as a member of the rock duo Eurythmics.

In 1971, whilst still in his teens, he secured a record deal on Elton John’s Rocket
Records label as part of folk-rock band Longdancer, but they did not achieve
commercial success.

In the mid-1970s he was promoted through the progressive rock band “Child” just as
the market for progressive rock died. Stewart then spent several years living in squats
in London, taking copious amounts of drugs.

In late 1976, he was introduced to Annie Lennox by a mutual friend. Soon Stewart and
Lennox became lovers. By 1977, the pair had teamed up with Sunderland musician
Peet Coombes, releasing a single on Logo Records as The Catch. This band developed
into The Tourists who enjoyed modest success, including a hit with a cover of the Dusty
Springfield standard “I Only Want To Be With You”.

Both the Tourists and Stewart & Lennox’s romantic liaison ended in 1980. At this point,
Stewart began a new musical project with Lennox – Eurythmics. Eurythmics proved to
be one of the most consistent and creative pop-rock duos of the 1980s. With the
success of the Eurythmics, Stewart became a much sought-after producer and
collaborator, working with such artists as Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Feargal Sharkey and
Mick Jagger. When Eurythmics went on hiatus in 1990, Stewart released a solo album,
“Dave Stewart and the Spiritual Cowboys”.

In the 90’s, Stewart released three more solo albums, “Honest” (with the Spiritual
Cowboys), “Greetings from the Gutter” and “Sly Fi”. Stewart, styled a “Cultural
Engineer”, appeared in an Apple Computer advertisement in 1993 for the Power
Macintosh in which he ruminated on the word “Power”. Stewart was married for several
years to Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama with whom he has two children. In 1999,
Eurythmics reunited to release the acclaimed album “Peace”, which re-affirmed the
duo’s creative bond. Stewart continues to be involved in a variety of projects, recently
relocating to the United States.

In November 2002 former South African president Nelson Mandela gave his prison
number 466/64 to Dave Stewart so that he could use it to help in the fight against
HIV/AIDS in South Africa by raising money for the Nelson Mandela Foundation, leading
to the 46664 campaign and series of concerts.

Recently Stewart has written a musical, “Barbarella”, which is based on the 1968 movie
and which premiered in Vienna, Austria on March 11, 2004.

Only recently Dave Stewart collaborated with Rolling Stones vocalist, Mick Jagger, to
record songs which appear on the soundtrack to the “Alfie” movie, released in 2004.
The soundtrack includes the critically acclaimed “Old Habits Die Hard”, for which both he
and Jagger received a Golden Globe award in 2005 for Best Original Song from a Motion
Picture. He also recently co-wrote “Friend or Foe” for the Russian pop duo t.A.T.u, a
song which features on their 2005 album Dangerous and Moving.

Dave Stewart’s entire catalogue – from Eurythmics classics to hits he has written for
other artists, to film scores – has been published by BMG Music Publishing since 1982.
Stewart also has his own record label, Weapons of Mass Entertainment, home to many
emerging and important artists, many of whom he has produced and mentored.

In early 2006, Stewart began promoting Platinum Weird, a collaboration with songwriter
Kara DioGuardi. Begun about 2004, it was accompanied by a documentary placing the
band in 1974.

Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi (born in New York City on December 9, 1970) is an American
songwriter, record producer and singer who has contributed to numerous popular songs
since the 1990s. Her father is Joseph J. DioGuardi, a former congressman from New
York.

After completing a political science degree at Duke University, DioGuardi worked in the
editorial and marketing departments of Billboard Magazine from 1993 while pursuing a
singing career. During this period, she collaborated with recording engineer Jon
Wolfson to create independent recordings under the name MaD DoLL (1999-2001).

While her solo and band efforts did not result in major commercial successes, she
became a much-sought songwriter, writing or co-writing hit songs for Céline Dion
(“Right In Front of You”), Enrique Iglesias (“Escape”), Kelly Osbourne (“Shut Up”),
Ashlee Simpson (“Pieces of Me”), Hilary Duff (“Supergirl” and others), Lindsay Lohan
(“Confessions of a Broken Heart”), Kelly Clarkson (“Walk Away” and others), The
Pussycat Dolls (“Beep” and others) and many others including Australians Kylie Minogue
(“Spinning Around”), Delta Goodrem (“Predictable”), Bardot and The Veronicas.
DioGuardi can also be heard performing backup vocals on some of these recordings.
Notable writing collaborators include Greg Wells, John Shanks, Guy Chambers and
Steve Morales.

In July 2006, a 30-minute documentary movie for Platinum Weird, a collaboration
between DioGuardi and Dave Stewart, was produced, accompanied by a three-song EP.
The full album is scheduled for release in early 2007.


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