Tears For Fears Caricature

Tears For Fears Caricature, shown here in 1989 with Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal, both age 28, in a publicity photo for their newly released third album, “The Seeds Of Love”.

Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981. They were initially associated with the new wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into mainstream rock and pop, which led to international chart success.

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 on the US Billboard 200, achieving multi-platinum status in both the UK and the US. Their second album contained two Billboard Hot 100 number ones: “Shout” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”‘, the latter winning the Brit Award for Best British Single in 1986.

After the release of their third platinum-selling album, “The Seeds of Love” (1989), Smith and Orzabal parted company in 1991.

Orzabal and Smith met as teenagers in Bath, Somerset, England. The duo became session musicians for the band Neon. In 1980 they joined the group Graduate, a mod revival/new wave act.

By 1981, Orzabal and Smith had become more influenced by artists such as Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno. They departed from Graduate and formed a band called History of Headaches, which they soon changed to Tears for Fears. The band’s name was inspired by primal therapy, developed by the American psychologist Arthur Janov.

Hits such as “Mad World”, “Change”, “Pale Shelter”, “The Way You Are”, “Mothers Talk”, “Shout”, “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”, “Head Over Heals”, “I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)”, “Sowing The Seeds Of Love”, “Woman In Chains”, “Closest Thing to Heaven” to name a few.

After The Seeds of Love, Orzabal and Smith had an acrimonious falling out and parted company in 1991. The split was blamed on Orzabal’s intricate but frustrating approach to production and Smith’s desire to slow down the pace of their work (prior to the release of The Seeds of Love, Smith’s marriage had also broken down).

Another factor in the break-up was the band’s manager, Paul King, (not me!) who declared bankruptcy in 1990 and was later convicted of fraud.

In 2000, routine paperwork obligations led the duo to re-establish contact with each other; they decided to work on a new album together. The ensuing album, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending was released in September, 2004 to great success. Since 2013, the duo have been working on their seventh album. Tears for Fears have sold over 30 million albums worldwide.

The band still continues to tour.