Tears for Fears

Tears for Fears is a British new wave duo founded by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal in 1981. The band took their name from a chapter in the psychotherapy book "Prisoners of Pain" ("Prisoners of pain") by the American psychologist Arthur Janov. His pop rock style, a combination of new wave and soul, is reflected in each of his musical productions. His main musical influences have been The Beatles, Human League and Duran Duran, although they have also come to sound similar to Supertramp and Spandau Ballet. Songs like "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", "Shout" and "Sowing the Seeds of Love" made Tears for Fears one of the most important groups of the 80s, and one of the most recognized groups worldwide.

Their debut album, "The Hurting,", released in 1983, reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, while their second album, Songs from the Big Chair, released in 1985, reached number one. one on the US Billboard 200, achieving multi-platinum status in both the UK and US. Their second album contained two Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: "Shout" and 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World', the latter winning the Brit Award for Best British Single in 1986.

Tears for Fears has been a group with specific ideas^{[citation required]} that have been reflected throughout their history in lyrics that have to do with humanity and its problems, psychosocial disorders among others, including criticism of the political trends of the time. They tended towards the use of electronic instruments in a Synth Pop - New Wave style on their first two albums, "The Hurting" (1983) and Songs From The Big Chair (1985), and later they evolved to mix styles such as rhythm and blues and jazz, achieving great ballads such as "Sowing the Seeds of Love", "Woman in Chains" and "Advice for the Young at Heart", all of which form part of the material on "The Seeds of Love" (1989).

In the productions "Elemental" (1993) and "Raoul and The Kings of Spain" (1995) the group ventured into sounds more oriented towards Progressive Rock and Soft Rock, in addition to the fact that the themes of these albums were completely different from their predecessors.

Tears for Fears has always been one of the most outstanding groups of the wave of bands that emerged in the late 70's and early 80's as well as Duran Duran, Depeche Mode or Spandau Ballet among others. The sales of their first 3 productions (1983-1989) have exceeded 20 million copies around the world and they were considered the best musical group of 1985 thanks to songs like "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Shout", earning themselves a place among the most outstanding bands of the music of the 80s and 90s. It is precisely the album "Songs from the Big Chair" the biggest success they had in their career, and that would consecrate them in the mid-80s ^{[citation required]}.

Smith and Orzabal parted ways in 1991, after the release and promotion of their third album, the platinum-selling The Seeds of Love (1989), though Orzabal retained the Tears for Fears name for the remainder of the 1990s. The duo reconstituted in 2000 and released an album of new material, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, in 2004. Since 2013, the duo have been working on their seventh album, The Tipping Point, which was released in 2022, to great acclaim. Tears for Fears has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.

Origin

Orzabal and Smith met as teenagers in Bath, Somerset, England. The duo became session musicians for the band Neon, where they met future Tears For Fears drummer Manny Elias. Neon also featured Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher who became Naked Eyes. Smith and Orzabal's professional debut came with the band "Graduate", a mod revival/new wave band, but, in the wake of the early "ska" 3. 4; from "The Specials", "The Selecter", "Madness", "The Akrylykz" or "Bad Manners", had no further consideration. In 1980, Graduate released an album, Acting My Age, and a single "Elvis Should Play Ska" (referring to Elvis Costello, not Presley). The single simply missed the top 100 in the UK, although it did well in Spain and in Switzerland. The sound engineer was Jonathan Gilligan.

By 1981, Orzabal and Smith had become more influenced by artists such as Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno. Since they discovered in each other their affinity for music and similar proposals in concepts and projections, they decided to form a group called History of Headaches in 1981, which soon changed to Tears for Fears. The band's name was inspired by Primal Therapy, developed by American psychologist Arthur Janov, which gained widespread publicity after John Lennon became Janov's patient in 1970. Many songs on their first two albums were related to primary therapy, including the song 'Ideas as Opiates,' which was a chapter in Janov's book, Prisoners of Pain. In a 2004 interview with VH1 UK Orzabal and Smith said that when they finally met Janov in the mid-1980s, they were disappointed to discover that he had become quite 'Hollywood'. and they wanted the band to write a musical for it.

Already as Tears for Fears, Orzabal and Smith tried to form the group more solidly and brought musicians from around them to help them complete a stable line-up. Around this time they met local musician Ian Stanley who offered them free use of his 8 track studio. Stanley began working with the duo as their keyboard player, and after recording two demos, Tears for Fears were signed to Phonogram Records, UK in 1981, by A & R, Dave Bates. His first single, "Suffer the Children" (produced by David Lord), was released on that label in November 1981, then followed by the first pressing of "Pale Shelter" (produced by Mike Howlett)) in March 1982, although none of these releases were successful.

Early years and The Hurting (1982-1983)

Once the group was formed by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith and joined by keyboardist Ian Stanley and drummer Manny Elias, the band finally began to take shape.

They achieved success with their third single, "Mad World," which reached no. 3 in the UK in November 1982. Their first album, The Hurting, which began recording in early 1982 in a small studio in Bath, was released in March 1983. For this album (and the next), the keyboardist and songwriter Ian Stanley and drummer Manny Elias were considered full members of the band, although Smith and Orzabal remained essentially the band's leaders and public face.

The literary influences of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith on the psychological level were reflected practically throughout the entire album "The Hurting". Songs like: "The Hurting", "Change", "Mad World" and "Pale Shelter" they contained a heavy load of phrases and references to the work of the American author Arthur Janov "The Primal Scream".

The album, produced by Chris Hughes and Ross Cullum, showcased guitar and synth-based songs with lyrics reflecting Orzabal and Smith's bitter childhoods. The Hurting can be considered Tears for Fears' only true concept album, as references to emotional distress and primal scream therapy are found in almost every song. The album itself was a huge success and had a long chart run (65 weeks) in the UK where it reached #1 and platinum status. It also reached the top 20 in several other countries and produced the international hit singles "Mad World" (top 5 hit in the Philippines and South Africa), "Change"(top 40 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland and South Africa). It also became their first US Billboard Hot 100 single and a re-recorded version of " Pale Shelter "(top 10 hit in the Philippines). All three singles reached the Top 5 in the UK.

Towards the end of 1983, the band released a new, slightly more experimental single, "The Way You Are," intended as a stopgap while they worked on their second album. The single was a top 30 hit in the UK, but did not live up to the success of her previous three hits, despite a nationwide concert tour in December of that year (one of which was released on live video titled In My Mind's Eyes). The single, which featured a large number of samples and programmed beats, was a departure from Tears for Fears' previous musical approach. In the liner notes to their 1996 B-sides compilation album "Saturnine Martial & Lunatic" they wrote that "this was the point where we realized we had to change direction", though the single's somewhat experimental style continued to be reflected on its subsequent B-sides.

The Claim to World Fame: Songs from the Big Chair (1984-1986)

In 1984 after some tours throughout England the group went back to the studio to prepare what would be their new record material, they began working with a new producer, Jeremy Green, to record "Mothers Talk&# 3. 4;. However, the band was ultimately not happy with the results, so producer Chris Hughes returned to the group and the single "Mothers Talk" it was eventually released in August 1984. Unlike his previous work, the single became a top 20 hit in the UK, but was the follow-up single "Shout" (released in the UK in November 1984) the real beginning of the band's international fame.

"Shout", paved the way for the second album, Songs from the Big Chair (released February 1985), which entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 2 and stayed in the upper reaches for the next 12 months. He showed a more revolutionized sound with respect to "The Hurting" shedding the predominantly synthpop feel, achieving a more sophisticated sound that would become the band's stylistic hallmark. Anchored around the creative center of Orzabal, Stanley and producer Hughes, the new Tears for Fears sound helped propel Songs from the Big Chair to become one of the biggest sellers of the year worldwide, ultimately being certified triple platinum at the UK and 5x platinum in the US (where it remained the #1 album for five weeks in the summer of 1985).

The title of the album, was an allusion to the plot of the television series "Sybil" in which a young woman had multipersonality issues that she could only alleviate by sitting in her therapist's chair. Orzabal and Smith stating that they felt that each song on the album had a distinctive personality of its own. In fact, the band had also recorded a song titled 'The Big Chair', which was eventually released as a B-side to 'Shout', but was not included on the album.

The success of the album came along with the collection of hit singles it produced: "Mothers Talk" (re-recorded once more for its 1986 US release), "Shout" (#4 UK, #1 US, Australia, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland) and a huge hit in other territories, making it one of the most successful songs of the 1980s, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" (their biggest UK and Irish #2 hit and another #1 in the US and Canada), "Head over Heels" (#12 UK, #3 US, #5 Ireland, #8 Canada), and " I Believe (A Soulful Re-Record) "(UK #23 & Ireland #10). Some countries even saw the release of limited edition 10' singles for these hits, and a variety of double packs and picture discs, in addition to the regular 7' formats.; and 12'.

Thus, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Shout" They were mainly the two masterpieces that allowed the band to enter the US market and reach superstar dimensions by being part of the second generation of groups linked to the MTV music video channel. Other outstanding songs from this production were: "Head Over Heels" and "The Working Hour".

After the release of the album, the group undertook tours throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan, having great popularity and acceptance among youth audiences and the contemporary adult genre. This world tour, which lasted most of the year, summoned them to appear at the Golden Rose Rock and Pop Festival in Montreux in May 1985. In September 1985, the band performed "Shout" at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York. During the tour, Orzabal and Smith discovered an American singer and pianist, Oleta Adams, who was performing at a Kansas City hotel bar, and whom they would later invite to collaborate on her next album. Towards the end of the year, the band released a video documentary/collection titled Scenes from The Big Chair.

On July 13, 1985, Tears for Fears were scheduled to perform at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia for the Live Aid benefit. However, on the morning before the event, it was announced that the band (who had originally been accused of appearing at the event before they had been called) had withdrawn from the show. They were succeeded by the blues rock group George Thorogood and The Destroyers, which has a strong following in the Philadelphia area.

The official reason given for Tears for Fears not appearing was that two of their live backing musicians, guitarist Andrew Saunders and saxophonist Will Gregory, had resigned due to the expiration of their contract, so they were they were replaced by Alan Griffiths on guitar and Josephine Wells on saxophone for the remainder of the 1985 world tour. Instead of appearing, the band pledged to donate proceeds from their concerts in Tokyo, Sydney, London, and New York.

As an added donation, the band also recorded a slightly rewritten version of one of their biggest hits and released it for the UK fundraising initiative Sport Aid, a sister project to Band Aid in which people took part in runs of varying length and earnestness to raise more money for famine relief projects in Africa. Sport Aid's motto was "I Run the World", so Tears for Fears released " Everybody Wants to Run the World " (#5 in the UK and #4 in Ireland). Indirectly, the band was involved in the previous single " Do They Know It's Christmas? &#3. 4; from Band Aid from 1984, which featured a slowed-down sample of their song 'The Hurting'.

In February 1986, having completed the long and grueling Big Chair world tour, Tears for Fears were honored at the 1986 Brit Awards in London, where the band won Best British Single for " Everybody Wants to Rule the World". The group was also nominated for Best British Group and Best British Album, and Chris Hughes was nominated for Best Producer. At the ceremony, the band performed the song, which became the last public performance for drummer Manny Elias, who left the group shortly thereafter. A new version of the hit "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", was released as part of the promotion of the Sport Aid charity event.

The same year, Orzabal and Stanley worked together on a side project called Mancrab and released a single, "Fish for Life," which was written for the soundtrack of the film The Karate Kid II. The song was written and produced by Orzabal and Stanley, and featured vocals by American singer/dancer Eddie Thomas, who was one of the dancers in the video for 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World'.

Recess and new musical inspiration: The Seeds of Love (1989-1990)

After the extensive tour of "Songs From the Big Chair" the group was exhausted and decided to take a break from the stage while new ideas arose for what would be their third record production. Roland Orzabal declared that they had been playing musical styles that, despite their great success, did not give him total satisfaction, since he considered returning to the most elementary musical bases. It was here that Orzabal recalled that in a hotel in Kansas City, while he and Curt Smith were resting after a presentation of the "Big Chair" tour, they had decided to go to the hotel show where they met the singer Oleta Adams, who inspired them in some way by her voice and the simplicity of the sounds in her songs.

At the end of 1986 the group meets again and they begin to work on their third material, which was planned to be released by mid-1987, however, complications in terms of the composition of the songs and not being clear yet towards which musical style to direct the disc, they made it finish until the end of 1988. Manny Elias no longer continued in the group for this period and Ian Stanley would only collaborate on some songs. The album was largely written by Orzabal along with keyboardist Nicky Holland, who had toured with the band on their "Big Chair" in 1985. After moving from various studios and trying their luck with various producer groups over many months, the band finally decided to scrap the recordings and take over with the help of engineer Dave Bascombe. Much of the material was recorded in jam sessions and then edited. The length of the production had a negative impact on the band's finances, as they had been financially overextended on business matters and they were waiting for an earlier release date to pay off their debts.

Finally, the new album was titled: "The Seeds of Love", which featured the participation of Oleta Adams, that pianist who captivated them at the hotel a few years ago.

The album retained the band's epic sound and showcased influences ranging from jazz and blues to the Beatles, the latter being evident on the single Sowing the Seeds of Love. The album's second single was Woman in Chains (a top 40 hit in the UK, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the US), charting which Phil Collins played the drums and Oleta Adams - whom Orzabal would later guide to a successful solo career - provided her powerful voice.

After a long journey, finally the album "The Seeds of Love" It goes on sale in September 1989 with a very different sound compared to the previous ones. The influences of jazz, rhythm and blues, soul and the psychedelia of the Beatles combined to create a material that many fans of the band consider the best of all.

The album was a worldwide success, entering the UK album charts at no. 1, reaching the top 10 in the US and many other countries, eventually selling millions of copies. The band began an extensive "The Seeds of Love" sponsored by Philips to start recovering the debt incurred.

A 64-page companion book, titled simply Tears for Fears - The Seeds of Love, was released by Virgin Books in 1990 and offered Orzabal, Holland and Adams' extensive insight into the process of composition and production of the album, as well as a musical score for each track and also promotional photographic rarities of the time.

"The Seeds of Love" contained 8 songs of which "Sowing the Seeds of Love", "Woman in Chains" and "Advice for the Young at Heart" were the most prominent, positioning the group again in the first places of popularity on radio stations around the world, as previously stated. The closest resemblance to the Beatles was with the song "Sowing the Seeds of Love", which had some resemblance to "I am the Walrus" of the Beatles. The album itself was widely accepted and with it the decade of the 90's arrived for this group that was in a great musical moment.

The "The Seeds of Love" it occurred mainly in the United States and Europe. However, the group was invited to perform in Argentina alongside the Argentine sensation group Soda Stereo, within the framework of the Derby Rock Festival and in Brazil to perform at the Hollywood Rock festival. This tour, which began in January 1990 until June of the same year, had the exact number of 100 performances.

One of the band's shows, specifically one performed in Santa Barbara, California (USA), in May 1990, would be recorded on the live video Going To California.

Meanwhile, the singles Advice for the Young at Heart and Famous Last Words would sound, which showed modest success in the world.

Finally, Tears for Fears would perform on June 30, 1990 at the "Live at Knebworth" alongside other musical personalities such as Phil Collins, Pink Floyd, Robert Palmer and Paul McCartney among others. This show had the particularity of being the last of the "The Seeds of Love" and also the last one with Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal together until they met again at the beginning of the 2000s.

The separation and the first hit record: Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 1982-1992)

The tour and promotion of the album "The Seeds of Love" in 1991 Curt Smith decides to separate from the band. The split was attributed to several causes, one being Orzabal's convoluted but frustrating approach to production and Smith's desire to slow down the pace of his work. In addition, differences with Roland Orzabal were attributed mainly on the musical plane, since versions assure that Smith had another way of understanding and managing success as well as other musical ideas that Orzabal did not fully follow. In addition to these differences, Smith was going through very strong personal problems, since his marriage ended just before the release of The Seeds of Love.

Another factor in the breakup was the band's manager, Paul King, who filed for bankruptcy in 1990 and was later found guilty of fraud. The duo had signed with King's Management Agency in 1982 and remained a client for the rest of the decade (the agency also managed the band's fan club, "Tears For Fears World Service", between 1983 and 1986). By the late 1980s, the agency had run into debt, and after discrepancies in King's financial management were discovered, Orzabal became increasingly concerned that Smith was unwilling to drop King as his manager.. He retired in 1990 with almost £1 million in debt, when King declared bankruptcy. Finally, in 2004, after fraudulent activities with his other businesses, King was prosecuted for fraud and imprisoned for three and a half years, as well as being disqualified from serving as a director of the company for ten years.

The combination of these factors culminated in the separation of Tears for Fears leaving only Roland Orzabal as the leader of the band.

After Smith's departure, Orzabal kept the band's name alive by releasing a previously unreleased single in 1992 Laid So Low (Tears Roll Down). The single was released to promote the band's biggest hits collection, Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92), which charted in the Top 20 in the UK and internationally. The album peaked at no. 2 in the UK, where it was certified double platinum, and also reached the Top 10 in France and Italy. promotes "Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 1982-1992)", the group's first material based on the hits from (1983-1989) accompanied by an unpublished song called: "Laid so Low (Tears Roll Down).

Smith for his part moved to New York, and embarks on a solo career. In 1993 he released his first solo album, Soul on Board. The album was a commercial failure and Smith himself has said on numerous occasions that he despised it, claiming that he only did it to fulfill his recording contract. In 1995, he met local songwriter and producer Charlton Pettus. The two formed a self-described "organic" partnership, writing simple melody-based songs and recording them at home on vintage analog equipment. The result was released in 1997 under the name Mayfield and a short US tour followed.

Change of the decade and a new Tears for Fears: Elemental (1993) and Raoul and The Kings of Spain (1995-1996)

A short time later, Orzabal returns to the studio and with a brand new lineup he decides to change the sound and style of Tears for Fears. Musicians like Alan Griffiths and Gail and Dorsey were part of this change in the early 1990s.

In June 1993 the album "Elemental" was released, showing a Tears for Fears very different from that of the 1980s, thus achieving a generational change. Together with collaborator Alan Griffiths and co-produced by Tim Palmer, the album was internationally successful. The song Break It Down Again charted within the top 20 in the UK, Canada, France and Italy and went on a successful world tour, with many performances in the US, where "Break It Down Again" it reached number 25. Sounds based on styles of progressive and alternative rock predominate in this new material.

The album was a top 10 hit in the UK, France and Italy, and top 30 in several other countries. Although its success was considerably less in the United States compared to the previous two studio albums, it still earned a gold record in that country for sales of more than half a million copies. The singles Cold, Elemental and Goodnight Song had minor success in other countries. As a curiosity, the lyrics of "Cold" it contained a scathing reference to the band's former manager, Paul King, in which Orzabal sings "King was caught with his fingers in the box. Where is your calculator? Did you leave it in your will?".

The "Elemental" It would start at the end of 1993 and would reach places for the first time like Mexico, where the group would perform at the National Auditorium. Likewise, the promotion of the album extends to television programs where Roland Orzabal is shown with greater maturity and a marked change of look.

By the end of 1994 the group meets again to record the next album. Thus, Orzabal, who continued working with Griffiths and Palmer, released another album: Raoul and the Kings of Spain, which would be released in October 1995. This would really be material with little commercial success. However, in Orzabal's own words, this was a more contemplative work in which he wanted to show himself more natural as a person than as a musical star, including in his songs content from passages with and from his family, as well as those close to him.. Thus, he delved into his own Spanish heritage and displayed a new Latin musical influence (Raoul was originally the name Orzabal's parents wanted him to be, and it also ended up being the name of his first child). The album also included a meeting with Oleta Adams, who duetted with Orzabal on the song "Me and My Big Ideas."

The album was not a commercial success by Tears for Fears standards, although minor successes came through the single release of the title track "Raoul and the Kings of Spain" (ranked in the top 40 in the UK) and to a lesser extent, from the single God's Mistake. The album's release had been delayed for almost a year due to a last-minute label switch from Mercury to Epic (part of Sony Music), and the resulting confusion (Mercury had already started promoting it) didn't help the album's chances either.. Although the track listing for the album had been changed at the request of the record company, Sony did not extend Tears for Fears' contract after the album's release. The songs "God's Mistake", "Falling Down" and "Secrets" they sounded in Europe from the end of 1995 to the middle of 1996.

In 1996, a world tour "Live Kings Tour" followed, which would even lead them to appear on several dates in Latin America, specifically in South America, although Orzabal refused to tour for his home country, the United Kingdom, except for a single show in London.

In the same year, a collection of B-sides, Saturnine Martial & Lunatic, on Mercury, which included more B-sides and some rare songs from the hit period 1982-93. This included some liner notes, penned by Orzabal and Chris Hughes, that gave fans an insight into the songwriting process, as well as a rare glimpse of self-deprecating humor on some tracks they'd rather forget.

Other projects

Tears for Fears did not release any new material or singles in the latter part of the 1990s. Roland Orzabal practically dedicated himself to promoting new talents such as Emiliana Torrini, for whom he produced his album & # 34; Love in the time of Science & # 34; in 1999.

In the same year, Mercury Records released remastered editions of the first three Tears for Fears albums, including B-sides, remixes, and extended versions. Overseen by producer Chris Hughes, the remasters also included new liner notes for each album providing details and new insights into the music.

Due to record company mergers and acquisitions in the late 1990s, Tears for Fears' record catalog was subsequently brought into the Universal Music fold.

For his part, Curt Smith would form a band next to Charlton Pettus in 1997 which would be called Mayfield. The group would release an album that went practically unnoticed commercially, limited only to being promoted in small presentations in bars or clubs in the United States.

After undertaking production work and writing songs for the Icelandic singer-songwriter Emilíana Torrini, in mid-2000 Roland Orzabal called Alan Griffiths to design a personal project that would be marked by the musical influences that Orzabal had obtained in recent years. years. Thus he reteamed with Alan Griffiths and released a solo album titled Tomcats Screaming Outside (2001), released on Eagle Records as a solo project under his own name. While Tears for Fears' work had been guitar-based, Tomcats Screaming Outside exhibited a predominantly electronic style. This album lacked success and adequate promotion, since unfortunately, on the day of the release of said material, the United States suffered the worst terrorist attack in its history (September 11).

Reunion after 10 years: Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (2004-2005)

In the early 2000s, Curt Smith was working on his next album called "Halfway, Pleased" when for reasons of administrative paperwork he had to meet with Roland Orzabal. After some brief exchanges of opinion, both decided to reconcile and release a new Tears for Fears album. Songwriting sessions included Charlton Pettus (Smith's collaborator since the mid-1990s), and fourteen songs were written and recorded in just 6 months.

The next album was scheduled for release on Arista Records in late 2003, but a change in management at Arista led the band to opt out of the deal and switch to the New Door label (a new offshoot of Universal Music), and delayed the release until September 2004, when they finally released their production Everybody Loves a Happy Ending returning to their signature late-1980s post-Beatles-influenced sound, making a interesting and that has put them back on the music scene. The songs: "Closest Thing to Heaven" and "Secret World" They played on the radio worldwide and although they did not repeat the success of previous years, they did put Tears for Fears back in the minds of their longtime fans and some new ones. The song Who Killed Tangerine? was used in the movie Fever Pitch.

"Everybody Loves a Happy Ending" was released in the UK and Europe in March 2005 on Gut Records, shortly after the single "Closest Thing to Heaven" became Tears for Fears' first Top 40 hit in a decade. The promotional video for the single was a colorful fantasy that featured Hollywood actress Brittany Murphy riding in a hot air balloon. The European versions of the album contained all fourteen tracks recorded during the ELAHE sessions (the US version only contained twelve), and a short tour of larger UK venues was given in April.

In 2005, the band began discussions with Universal Music for the release of a new comprehensive anthology of their work to date, including a new song titled Floating Down the River. However, the subsequent release (at least in the US) was a compilation released as part of the generic "Gold" of Hip-O Records, a subsidiary of Universal that specializes in back catalog compilations.

Also in that same year, the group carried out a short tour highlighting the concert held at the Parque de los Príncipes Stadium in Paris, France, in which a good number of followers gathered to enjoy the band's successes as well enough to be part of the Live Album Secret World. The disc is published in three formats: CD, CD + DVD and DVD. It was released on the XIII Bis label in early 2006 and became a best-seller, with over 70,000 physical copies sold in addition to downloads. The CD contained the aforementioned new studio song, "Floating Down the River", and a remastered Curt Smith/Mayfield song, What Are We Fighting For?. The relationship with XIII Bis proved so successful that Smith chose the comparatively small French label to release his next solo album in 2007, Halfway, Pleased.

In 2006, "Songs from The Big Chair" was re-released again, by Universal Music, this time as a 2-disc Deluxe edition with more B-sides and added rarities, expanding beyond the 1999 remastered version. The release did not include the lyrics as the band had intended with the original release, but came with a 24-page booklet that included rare photographs and written notes. The 28-track set contained four sections, with the first disc containing the original album and several B-sides taken from the earlier 1999 remastered edition. It also included a rare piano version of 'The Working Hour', which had previously only been available as a limited edition item. The second disc contained several versions of 7" of the singles (including the aforementioned "The Way You Are", the re-recording of "I Believe" and the 1986 US remix).

For the year 2007 and onwards, Tears for Fears began to make some presentations as part of the tour in European stages in the concerts called: "The Nigh of the Proms" carried out in Germany and Belgium; where the band's classics were performed accompanied by a symphony orchestra giving way to versions of remarkable musical quality.

In August 2009, the album Raoul and the Kings of Spain was also re-released by Cherry Red Records, featuring seven bonus B-side tracks from the time of its original release.

In the same year, the group toured the west coast of the United States.

News

In April 2010, Tears for Fears joined the reformed 1980s group Spandau Ballet for their seven-day tour of Australia and New Zealand, followed by their own tour with four performances in the South East Asian (Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan), plus a 17-date tour of the United States.

In 2011 Tears for Fears announced performance dates in South America and Mexico, returning to countries they had not visited for almost 15 years.

In 2011 and 2012, they also had dates in the United States, Japan, South Korea, Manila and Brazil, culminating the tour in this country until starting another tour only in 2014.

In 2013 Tears for Fears announced that they are working on their new studio material, in fact Curt Smith confirmed that he has been writing and recording new material for Tears for Fears, along with Roland Orzabal and Charlton Pettus. Several songs were worked on in the UK at Orzabal's home studio, Neptune's Kitchen (La Cocina de Neptuno), during April 2013 and then in July 2013 continuing in Los Angeles. According to Orzabal, they have been producing darker and more dramatic pieces. "There is a track that is a combination of Portishead and Queen. It's crazy,' said Orzabal. By August 2013, Tears For Fears released their first newly recorded material in almost a decade, a cover of Arcade Fire, "Ready to Start" which is available on SoundCloud, that the song would later be included on a vinyl EP titled "Ready Boy & Girls", released exclusively for Record Store Day in 2014, which also included covers of "Boy From School" by Hot Chip and Animal Collective "My Girls". All three songs were recorded while the band was working on their seventh studio album.

Meanwhile the group celebrated the 30th anniversary of their debut album (The Hurting), launching a special edition (box set) with 4 CDs with photographs and all the versions around the aforementioned album. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the band's debut album The Hurting, Universal Music reissued it in October 2013 in two Deluxe versions (one a 2-disc set and the other a 4-disc set with a DVD of the 1983 concert "In My Mind's Eyes').

In an interview on BBC Radio Devon in October 2014, Orzabal stated that the band had signed to Warner Music Group and around five or six songs had been completed so far for the new album. Deluxe editions of the band's second album, Songs From The Big Chair, were released on November 10, 2014 that include a 6-disc set that features various rarities and two DVDs. On November 12, 2014, Tears for Fears performed on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! to play some of his classics like "Everybody Wants To Rule The World".

In mid-2015, the band began a series of live dates across the US and Canada.

In February 2016, the band performed at the iHeart80s festival. For July 2016, the band are scheduled for their first UK live dates in over ten years. These include an appearance at the Newmarket Nights festival at Newmarket Racecourse on 29 July, and a headline appearance at the closing festival Camp Bestival at Lulworth Castle in Dorset on 31 July, which would also be the the band's first UK festival appearance since Knebworth in 1990. The band have stated that their new record should be ready by the time of the scheduled live dates. During September and October 2016, the band has again been on tour in Canada and the United States.

In March 2017, the band announced that they would be touring the US from May to the end of July 2017, also playing concerts in London and Israel. The tour consisted of 29 dates sharing the headliners with Hall & Oates. The band also performed at the British Summertime Festival in London's Hyde Park on July 8, 2017. In the middle of that month, they had to suspend part of the tour, including dates in California, due to a family emergency. Then, at the end of July, they have published on their official website and on social networks (such as Facebook) that previously canceled dates have been re-established, including the return to the mythical Santa Barbara Bowl in California, where they have been on The Seeds of Love in 1990 and the video "Going to California" It was recorded. In a July 2017 interview, Orzabal said the band had collaborated with songwriter/producer Sacha Skarbek on their new album, tentatively titled "The Tipping Point", and divulged various song titles such as "My Demons", "I Love You But I'm Lost", & #34;End of Night" and "Up Above the World". In the same month, in an interview with SiriusXM Canada, Orzabal disclosed that although the band had signed with Warner Music to release their new album (which had been slated for October 2017), Universal Music had approached Warner Music to purchase the records. rights to the album so they can release it (Universal owns the rights to the vast majority of the band's catalogue).

On October 12, the band released the apparent first single from their upcoming album. This single called "I Love You But I'm Lost" premiered on Chris Evans' morning show (The Chris Evans Breakfast Show) on BBC Radio 2. Likewise, they have announced that they will release for pre-sale on October 13 a compilation of hits called & #34;Rule The World". This will include the single "I Love You But I'm Lost" and will also contain another new single titled "Stay". On October 26, 2017, the band presented a 65-minute live show at London's BBC Radio Theater for the Radio 2 In Concert series, which was broadcast on the same radio and television (via the BBC service Red Button). The following night, October 27, the band played their first full-length UK concert since 2005, at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

On November 10, the hits compilation titled 'Rule The World' was finally released for sale worldwide, released by Universal Music. This includes fourteen Top 40 hits from the previous six Tears For Fears albums along with the two new songs from the forthcoming studio album, as stated above. The new album is said to have a release date set for mid-2018. The band have also announced an 11-date UK tour for May 2018, which will feature Alison Moyet as a support act. To this tour called "Rule The World Tour", they have added 7 more dates in Europe: The Netherlands, Germany (2 shows), France, Belgium, Italy and the United Kingdom back (for the dates of the Festivals from Bath, where they are from). Likewise, on their website and on social networks they announced that they will also perform at the BBC Radio 2 Biggest Weekend event on May 27.

In April 2018 the band issued a statement via social networks and through their website indicating that due to medical orders and health issues they must postpone the shows they had scheduled for May, with new dates at the beginning of 2019. However However, they have not provided further details.

They also announced that they hope to finish working on the material for their new album in fourteen years, with the hope of releasing it this fall.

For 2019, the band has several dates for the tour that was postponed from April/May 2018. From January 30, 2019 and all of February they will have dates throughout Europe, including the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France Italy.

They also have dates at other UK festivals in the summer of 2019, starting with the Hampton Court Palace Festival on June 18 and 19, and the Nocturne Live Concert Series at the Palace of Blenheim on June 22. In addition to several more dates, in Europe again, during the month of July.

On January 28, they announced on their website that songwriter/vocalist Justin Jesso will join the band as support on their upcoming European tour.

In February 2020, Songs from the Big Chair was the subject of an episode of the BBC's Classic Albums series featuring new interviews with the band and all the key personnel from the album's creation and subsequent success. To coincide with the album's 35th anniversary, Universal Music reissued the 2014 deluxe box set, as well as a new 12-inch vinyl record of the album.

In October 2020, The Seeds of Love album was also reissued as several deluxe editions (including a 5-disc super deluxe set) and returned the band to the UK Top 20.

In November 2020, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending became available via various streaming services for the first time after Orzabal and Smith signed with Irving and Jeff Azoff's management company Full Stop. Also, when discussing the delay of their long-awaited new album, Orzabal said that he and Smith had reconsidered the direction of the project because the more they worked with other writers and producers, the less it felt like a Tears for Fears album to them. Consequently, they had opted to rework several tracks, along with composing new material, with the album now tentatively set for a 2021 release.

On June 12, 2021, Tears for Fears released the live double album Live at Massey Hall for Record Store Day.

In September 2021, the band was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection and 40 Years in Music, essentially for their first three studio albums. Also Roland and Curt were interviewed and confirmed that they have completed the new album.

Members

The following will list the formations of the band according to the period (album) and year.

1981-1983 (The Hurting)

• Roland Orzabal - Voice, Guitar
• Curt Smith - Low, Voice
• Ian Stanley - Keyboards
• Manny Elias - Battery

Other musicians who participated with the band during recordings and tours:

• Neil Taylor - Guitar
• Andy Davis - Keyboards
• Jerry Marotta - Percussion, Saxon

1984-1986 (Songs From The Big Chair)

• Roland Orzabal - Voice, Guitar
• Curt Smith - Low, Voice
• Ian Stanley - Keyboards
• Manny Elias - Battery

Other musicians who participated with the band during recordings and tours:

• Andrew Saunders - Guitar
• Alan Griffiths - Guitar (during the last part of the The Big Chair tour)
• Nicky Holland - Piano, Keyboards, Coros
• Will Gregory - Saxon
• Josephine Wells - Saxon (for the last part of the tour The Big Chair)

1987-1990 (The Seeds Of Love)

In this period, Ian Stanley and Manny Elias leave the band, leaving Orzabal and Smith as the main members of the band. As stated, Ian Stanley only collaborated on a few pieces on the recordings.

• Roland Orzabal - Voice, Guitar, Keyboards
• Curt Smith - Voice, Low, Keyboards

Other musicians who participated with the band during recordings and tours:

• Neil Taylor - Guitar
• James Copley - Battery
• Andy Davis - Keyboards
• Carole Steele - Percussion
• Oleta Adams - Piano, Keyboards, Coros
• Will Gregory - Saxon
• Biti Strauchn - Coros
• Adele Bertei - Coros
• Robbie McIntosh - Guitar (Grabs)
• Randy Jacobs - Guitar (Grabs)
• Manu Katché - Battery (Grabs)
• Chris Hughes - Battery (Grabs)
• Phil Collins - Battery (Grabs)
• Simon Phillips - Battery (Grabs)
• Pine Palladino - Low (Grabs)
• Jon Hasell - Trumpet (Grabs)
• Simon Clark - Piano (Grabs)
• Nicky Holland - Piano, Coros (Grabs)
• Ian Stanley - Piano (Grabs)
• Peter Hope-Evans - Harmonic (Grabs)
• Suzie Katayama - Violonchelo (Grabs)
• Luis Jardim - Percussion (Grabs)
• Tessa Niles - Coros (Grabs)
• Carol Kenyon - Coros (Grabs)
• Dollette McDonald - Coros (Grabs)
• Andy Caine - Coros (Grabs)
• Maggie Ryder - Coros (Grabs)

1991-1994 (Elementary)

For this period, Curt Smith had already left the band, so Roland Orzabal was left as the head of the group.

• Roland Orzabal - Voice, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards

Musicians who participated with the band during recordings and tours:

• Alan Griffiths – Guitar, Keyboards, Choos
• Jebin Bruni - Keyboards, Coros
• Gail Ann Dorsey - Low, Coros
• Brian MacLeod - Battery
• Jeffrey Trott - Guitar
• Guy Pratt – Low (Grabs)
• John Baker – Coros (Grabs)
• Julian Orzabal – Coros (Grabs)
• Bob Ludwig – Mix (Grabs)
• Mark O'Donoughue – Engineer (Grabs)
• Howard Jones - Piano, Keyboards (Grabs)
• David Austen – Designs

1995-1996 (Raoul And The Kings Of Spain)

Roland Orzabal continued as the sole leader of the band.

• Roland Orzabal - Voice, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards

Musicians who participated with the band during recordings and tours:

• Alan Griffiths – Guitar, Keyboards, Choos
• Jebin Bruni - Keyboards, Coros
• Louise Goffin - Guitar, Coros
• Linda Dalziel - Coros
• David Sutton - Low, Coros
• Nick D'Virgilio - Battery, Coros
• Gail Ann Dorsey - Low, Voice, Coros (Grabs)
• Brian MacLeod - Battery, Percussion (Grabs)
• Jeffrey Trott - Guitar (Grabs)
• Oleta Adams - Voice (Grabing "Me And My Big Ideas")
• Mark O'Donoughue – Coros (Grabs)

2003-2005 (Everybody Loves A Happy Ending)

Today, the brains of the band is a duo, as it originally was. Although the band has already officially presented this album during the years 2004 and 2005 in Europe and North America, since 2007 and currently the band occasionally makes appearances at festivals and short tours around the world, as described above maintaining almost the same staff of musicians since the band released the album. It is composed of:

• Roland Orzabal - Voice, Guitar, Keyboards
• Curt Smith - Low, Keyboards, Voice

Musicians who participated with the band during the tours:

• Charlton Pettus - Guitar, Keyboards
• Doug Petty - Keyboards
• Jamie Wollam - Battery, Coros (from 2010 to present)
• Nick D' Virgilio - Battery, Coros (up to 2009 on tours, occasionally replaces Jamie Wollam)
• Michael Wainwright - Voice, Coros (from 2009 to 2011, occasionally replaces Carina Round)
• Carina Round - Voice, Coros (from 2012 to present)

Musicians who participated with the band during the recordings:

• Fred Eltringham - Battery
• Brian Geltner - Battery (in "Size of Sorrow")
• Rick Baptist - Trumpet ("Everybody Loves a Happy Ending")
• Kenny Siegal - Guitar ("Size of Sorrow"), Coros ("Who Killed Tangerine?")
• Gwen Snyder - Coros ("Who Killed Tangerine?")
• Alexander Giglio - Coros ("Who Killed Tangerine?")
• Julian Orzabal - Coros de multitude ("Who Killed Tangerine?")
• Laura Gray - Coros de multitude ("Who Killed Tangerine?")
• Paul Buckmaster - Arrangement and Conduction of Orchestra ("Secret World")
  • Bob Becker - Viola
  • Charlie Bisharat - Violin
  • Denyse Buffman - Viola
  • Eve Butler - Violin
  • Mario de Leon - Violin
  • Joel Derouin - Violin
  • Stefanie Fife - Violonchelo
  • Armen Garabedian - Violin
  • Berj Garabedian - Violin
  • Barry Gold - Violonchelo
  • Gary Grant - Trumpet, Fliscorno
  • Maurice Grants - Violonchelo
  • Julian Hallmark - Violin
  • Vahe Hayrikyan - Violonchelo
  • Norm Hughes - Violin
  • Suzie Katayama - Violonchelo
  • Roland Kato - Viola
  • Peter Kent - Violin
  • Steve Kujala - Flauta
  • Gayle Levant - Arpa
  • Michael Markman - Violin
  • Miguel Martinez - Violonchelo
  • Robert Matsuda - Violin
  • Carole Mukogawa - Viola
  • Sid Page - Violin
  • Sandra Park - Violin
  • Sara Parkins - Violin
  • Joel Peskin - Baritone Saxon, Tenor Saxon
  • Bob Peterson - Violin
  • Karie Prescott - Viola
  • Dan Smith - Violonchelo
  • Rudy Stein - Violonchelo
  • Lesa Terry - Violin
  • Josefina Veraga - Violin
  • David Washburn - Trumpet, Fliscorno
  • Evan Wilson - Viola
  • John Wittenberg - Violin

2021-Present (The Tipping Point)

The duo continue to be the brains of the band. Some new people have also contributed to the new project such as Sacha Skarbek and Florian Reutter.

• Roland Orzabal - Voice, Guitar, Keyboards
• Curt Smith - Low, Keyboards, Voice

Musicians who participated with the band during the recordings

• Charlton Pettus - Guitar, Production
• Skarbek Sacha - Production
• Florian Reutter - Production

Timeline

The following is a diagram summarizing a bit the changes of the band's formations:

Discography

Studio Albums

• The Hurting (1983)
• Songs from the Big Chair (1985)
• The Seeds of Love (1989)
• Elementary (1993)
• Raoul and the Kings of Spain (1995)
• Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (2004)
• The Tipping Point (2022)

Compilation Albums

• Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92) (1992)
• Saturnine Martial & Lunatic (1996)
• Shout: The Very Best Of Tears For Fears (2001)
• The Hurting 39 Anniversary edition (2003)
• Raoul and the Kings of Spain (deluxe)' (2005)
• Colour Collection: Tears for Fears (2007)
• Songs from the Big Chair (deluxe) (2014)
• Songs from the Big Chair (super deluxe edition) (2014)
• Rule The World (Greatest Hits) (2017)

Live Albums

• In my mind's eye, Live at Hammersmith Odeon (1983)
• Cape Fear: Manchester '85 (1985)
• Secret World Live (2006)

Remix Albums

• Tears for Fears The Best of Remixes (2002)

Live Shows

• In My Mind's Eyes (1983)
• Scenes From The Big Chair (1985)
• Going To California (1990)
• Secret World Live (2006)