Songfacts®:

• Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox of Eurythmics were a couple, but broke up shortly after forming the group. In 1984, Lennox got married for the first time, but divorced soon after. This song came out of that relationship.
  
  In The Dave Stewart Songbook, Stewart explains: "On 'Thorn In My Side' Annie was channeling her anger and was so focused when she opened her mouth and delivered her cutting lyrics, 'Thorn in my side you know that's all you ever were,' it was icy cold yet burning with passion. She carried on and did the whole song in one single take. She truly is one of the greatest singers of all time."
• Released as a single from Eurythmics fifth album, Revenge, "Thorn In My Side" is one of their most popular songs in their native UK, but fared less well in America, as MTV and pop radio began favoring homegrown acts like Madonna, Prince, and Tina Turner.
• By Eurythmics standards, the video is fairly straightforward, with lots of tight shots of Annie Lennox performing the song in a room backed by a band and a small audience, including a shirtless dude with a rose tattoo. The rose motif returns at the end when she scatters some petals.
  
  Dave Stewart often came up with the concepts for their videos. He worked on this one with director Chris Ashbrook.