Tears for Fears

Bio

Tears for Fears, named after a phrase found in Arthur Janov's book Prisoners of Pain, is a British pop/rock outfit formed in 1981 in Bath, England. Founder members Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith had been friends since their early teens and had already been in the shortlived ska band Graduate. Initially associated with the new wave and synthesiser bands of the early 1980s, Tears For Fears' earlier work, as evidenced on their 1983 debut album The Hurting , was explicitly based around the emotional angst of adolescence. The album reached number one in the UK and contained three UK Top 5 singles. Orzabal and Smith made their major international breakthrough with their second album, Songs from the Big Chair (1985), which sold over 10 million copies worldwide and topped the US album charts for five weeks (it peaked at #2 in the UK and spent six months in the Top 10). Five singles from the album reached the UK Top 30, with Shout reaching #4, and their highest charting hit, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, reaching #2. Both singles reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. After a lengthy break from the music industry, the band's third album was the jazz/blues/Beatles influenced The Seeds of Love, released in 1989. The album featured American soul singer/pianist Oleta Adams whom the duo had discovered playing in a Kansas hotel bar during their 1985 tour. The Seeds of Love became their second #1 album in the UK, after the title track Sowing the Seeds of Love, had given them another UK and US Top 5 hit. However, after another world tour, Orzabal and Smith had an extremely acrimonious falling out and went their separate ways. The split was ultimately blamed on Orzabal's intricate but frustrating approach to production and Smith's desire to lead the jetset lifestyle now afforded to him which lessened his involvement in the studio. The two spent the next decade working separately. Orzabal retained the band name and, now working with longterm associate Alan Griffiths, released the 1992 single Laid So Low (Tears Roll Down), which appeared on that year's compilation Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92). In 1993, Orzabal released the full-length album Elemental, also under the Tears for Fears name, though still effectively him and Griffiths. Another album, Raoul and the Kings of Spain, was released in 1995. Orzabal released Tomcats Screaming Outside, his first album under his own name, in 2001. Smith also released a solo album, Soul on Board, in 1993, but this sank without trace in the UK and was not released elsewhere. Finding his own writing partner (Charlton Pettus) in the US where he now lived, he released another album in 1997 under the name Mayfield. In 2000, routine paperwork obligations led to Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith's first conversation in nearly a decade. The two patched up their differences and decided to work together again. Fourteen new songs were written and recorded, and the ensuing album, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, was eventually released in September 2004. By this time, the band's earlier song Head Over Heels, as well as a cover of Mad World performed by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews, appeared in the 2001 film Donnie Darko, providing the band with some rejuvenation for newer generations. The Jules/Andrews version of "Mad World" was released as a single in 2003 and became a UK number 1. Since the reunion, Tears For Fears has been touring internationally on a semi-regular basis. In April 2010, they joined the reformed 80s pop group Spandau Ballet on their 7-date tour of Australia and New Zealand, before a 4-date headlining tour of their own in South East Asia (Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan) and a 17-date tour of the USA.[14] The band, then, continued to perform small scale tours on an annual basis. In 2011 and 2012, they played dates in the US, Japan, South Korea, Manila and South America. In May 2013, Smith confirmed that he was writing and recording new Tears for Fears material with Orzabal and Charlton Pettus. 3-4 songs were worked on in the UK at Orzabal’s home studio, Neptune’s Kitchen, in April of 2013. Further work on a new Tears For Fears album commenced in L.A. in July of 2013. According to Orzabal, they have been producing of more dark, dramatic pieces of music, which gave the pending album the tongue-in-cheek working title of Tears for Fears: The Musical. “There’s one track that’s a combination of Portishead and Queen. It’s just crazy,” Orzabal stated. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the band’s debut album The Hurting, Universal Music are re-releasing it in two Deluxe Editions (one a 2-disc set and the other a 4-disc set with a DVD of the 1983 In My Mind’s Eye concert) in October 2013. In August 2013, Tears For Fears released their first newly recorded material in nearly decade, with a cover of Arcade Fire’s “Ready to Start” made available on SoundCloud. . User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Similar artists

Duran Duran, Simple Minds, Howard Jones, Thompson Twins, A Flock of Seagulls

Genres

80s,new wave,pop,rock,synth pop,psychedelic pop,art pop,classic pop and rock,british,english,uk,pop rock,synthpop,sophisti-pop,new romantic,new wave,new wave pop,permanent wave,rock,sophisti-pop,synthpop,

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On Tour: No

country: GB

city: Bath

Begin Date: 1981

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Videography

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Jan/2014

Everybody Wants To Rule The World The Collection

Everybody Wants To Rule The World The Collection

Jan/2013

The Hurting - 30th Anniversary Edition - Sampler

The Hurting - 30th Anniversary Edition - Sampler

Jan/2013

Head Over Heels (Talamanca System Remixes)

Head Over Heels (Talamanca System Remixes)

Apr/2018

Head Over Heels (Mark Barrott Remixes)

Head Over Heels (Mark Barrott Remixes)

Apr/2018

Head Over Heels (Remixes)

Head Over Heels (Remixes)

Apr/2018

Live in Concert

Live in Concert

Mar/2018

Rule The World The Greatest Hits

Rule The World The Greatest Hits

Dec/2017

Raoul And The Kings Of Spain (Expanded Edition)

Raoul And The Kings Of Spain (Expanded Edition)

Nov/2017

Head Over Heels (Talamanca System Tribal Persuasion Remix)

Head Over Heels (Talamanca System Tribal Persuasion Remix)

Nov/2017

Rule The World - The Greatest Hits

Rule The World - The Greatest Hits

Nov/2017

Rule the World: The Greatest Hits

Rule the World: The Greatest Hits

Nov/2017

I Love You But I'm Lost

I Love You But I'm Lost

Oct/2017

Rule The World

Oct/2017

Ready Boy & Girls?

Ready Boy & Girls?

Apr/2014

The Hurting (Digitally Remastered)

The Hurting (Digitally Remastered)

Feb/2014

My Girls

Dec/2013

The Hurting - b-sides and remixes

The Hurting - b-sides and remixes

Oct/2013

And I Was a Boy From School

And I Was a Boy From School

Sep/2013

Ready to Start

Aug/2013

Everybody Wants To Rule The World: The Collection

Everybody Wants To Rule The World: The Collection

Jan/2013

Advice For The Young At Heart (Italian Radio Edit)

Advice For The Young At Heart (Italian Radio Edit)

Sep/2020

Tears Roll Down (Alternate Mix)

Tears Roll Down (Alternate Mix)

Oct/2020

Standing On The Corner Of The Third World (Townhouse Live Jam Sessions)

Standing On The Corner Of The Third World (Townhouse Live Jam Sessions)

Sep/2020

Woman In Chains (Townhouse Live Jam Sessions)

Woman In Chains (Townhouse Live Jam Sessions)

Sep/2020

Sowing The Seeds Of Love (Early Mix / Instrumental)

Sowing The Seeds Of Love (Early Mix / Instrumental)

Sep/2020

Rhythm Of Life (Demo)

Rhythm Of Life (Demo)

Aug/2020

Live in Concert (feat. Oleta Adams)

Live in Concert (feat. Oleta Adams)

Mar/2018

I Love You But I'm Lost

I Love You But I'm Lost

Oct/2017

Back in Time

Aug/2016

Ready Boy & Girls?

Ready Boy & Girls?

Apr/2014

Live at Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada 1985

Live at Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada 1985

Jun/2021

Live At Massey Hall Toronto, Canada / 1985

Live At Massey Hall Toronto, Canada / 1985

Jun/2021

The Seeds Of Love (Super Deluxe)

The Seeds Of Love (Super Deluxe)

Oct/2020

The Tipping Point

The Tipping Point

Feb/2022

Break The Man

Jan/2022

Live At Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada, 1985

Live At Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada, 1985

Jun/2021

No Small Thing

Dec/2021

The Tipping Point / No Small Thing

The Tipping Point / No Small Thing

Jan/2022

The Big Black Smoke

The Big Black Smoke

May/2022

Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Sped Up Version)

Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Sped Up Version)

Aug/2022

Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Sped Up Version) - Single

Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Sped Up Version) - Single

Aug/2022

The World Is Yours To Take (feat. Lil Baby) (Budweiser Anthem Of The FIFA World Cup 2022) - Single

The World Is Yours To Take (feat. Lil Baby) (Budweiser Anthem Of The FIFA World Cup 2022) - Single

Sep/2022

The World Is Yours To Take (feat. Lil Baby) [Latin Remix / Budweiser Anthem Of The FIFA World Cup 2022] - Single

The World Is Yours To Take (feat. Lil Baby) [Latin Remix / Budweiser Anthem Of The FIFA World Cup 2022] - Single

Nov/2022

Atura o Baile (The World Is Yours To Take) [feat. Lil Baby] [Funk Remix / Budweiser Anthem Of The FIFA World Cup 2022] - Single

Atura o Baile (The World Is Yours To Take) [feat. Lil Baby] [Funk Remix / Budweiser Anthem Of The FIFA World Cup 2022] - Single

Nov/2022

Shout - Single

Mar/2023

Pale Shelter (Blinky Blinky Computerband remix)

Pale Shelter (Blinky Blinky Computerband remix)

May/2023

Rule The World (Everybody) - Single

Rule The World (Everybody) - Single

Oct/2023

Familiar Faces

Mar/2024

Songs for a nervous Planet

Songs for a nervous Planet

Oct/2024

The Girl That I Call Home

The Girl That I Call Home

Sep/2024

Astronaut

Oct/2024

Rule The World (Everybody) [DEPARTAMENTO Remix] - Single

Rule The World (Everybody) [DEPARTAMENTO Remix] - Single

May/2024

The Big Black Smoke (The Classic FM Broadcast 1985)

The Big Black Smoke (The Classic FM Broadcast 1985)

Aug/2024

Greatest Hits In Concert

Greatest Hits In Concert

May/2025

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