“I Need a Man” is a powerful, gritty track by Eurythmics, released in March 1988 as the single from their sixth studio album, Savage. Written and produced by the duo Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, the song marked a return to rawer, rock-infused energy following their more polished pop successes earlier in the decade.
In contrast to the slick synthpop that made Eurythmics international stars with hits like “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” and “Here Comes the Rain Again,” “I Need a Man” is bold, aggressive, and bluesy. Built around a stomping rhythm and a snarling guitar riff, the song finds Annie Lennox delivering one of her most confrontational and theatrical performances.
“I Need a Man” is a fierce, ironic takedown of inauthentic masculinity. Lennox’s narrator demands strength, honesty, and substance in a partner, rejecting what she portrays as shallow, self-obsessed men who lack emotional depth or conviction. The song both plays with and subverts gender expectations, with Lennox’s androgynous image adding another layer of complexity to the performance.
The track’s music video, directed by Sophie Muller, further emphasized this performative duality. It was part of a longer conceptual visual piece created for the Savage album, in which Lennox appeared in exaggerated makeup and wigs, moving between personas—a bored housewife, a glamorous diva, and a seething rebel. In the video for “I Need a Man,” Lennox channels an aggressive, punk-inspired character, full of defiance and disdain for the constraints placed on women and gender roles in general.
While “I Need a Man” was not a major chart success compared to previous Eurythmics singles—it reached #46 on the UK Singles Chart and #26 on the US Billboard Hot 100—it has since been recognized for its boldness and theatricality. The song also performed well on dance charts and resonated particularly strongly within queer communities, where Lennox’s boundary-pushing style and themes of identity and empowerment found lasting relevance.
Musically and visually, “I Need a Man” is a quintessential late-’80s Eurythmics production: sharp, stylish, and unapologetically challenging. It showcases Annie Lennox’s formidable stage presence and vocal power, while Dave Stewart’s arrangement reinforces the track’s gritty edge with slashing guitars and pounding rhythms. More than just a demand for romantic satisfaction, the song is a statement of independence, identity, and resistance.
“I Need a Man” may not have topped the charts, but it remains a fan favorite and a fierce anthem of empowerment—unapologetically loud, unfiltered, and unforgettable.