Tears for Fears

Tears for Fears are an English pop rock group from Bath, United Kingdom, formed in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. The band is active from 1981 to the present and is associated with art pop, new wave, pop, pop rock, psychedelic pop and sophisti-pop, with early links to synth-pop and the new wave sound of the 1980s.

Formation and early line-up

Orzabal and Smith meet as teenagers in Bath and first work together in Graduate, a mod revival and new wave group influenced by the Jam and two-tone music. Graduate release the album Acting My Age in 1980 and the single “Elvis Should Play Ska”, then split in 1981. Orzabal and Smith go on to work as session musicians for Neon, where they meet drummer Manny Elias and also play alongside Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher, later of Naked Eyes. Around this time they move from the duo name History of Headaches to Tears for Fears, taking the name from primal therapy associated with Arthur Janov. Keyboardist Ian Stanley joins after offering use of his home 8-track studio and becomes part of the band’s early recording line-up.

First successes

The band signs to Phonogram Records in the UK in 1981 after recording two demos. Their early singles “Suffer the Children” and the first version of “Pale Shelter” do not succeed, but “Mad World” reaches number 3 in the UK. Their debut album, The Hurting, appears in 1983, produced by Chris Hughes and Ross Cullum. It reaches number 1 in the UK and goes platinum, with lyrics shaped by Orzabal’s difficult childhood and his interest in primal therapy. The album yields the hit singles “Mad World”, “Change” and “Pale Shelter”, all of which reach the UK Top 5.

International breakthrough

The second album, Songs from the Big Chair, is released in 1985 and becomes the band’s major international breakthrough. It reaches number 1 in the US and stays at number 1 on the Billboard 200 for five weeks, while also going multi-platinum in the UK and the US. The album moves beyond the more direct synth-pop approach of the debut into a broader, more polished sound. Its key singles include “Shout”, which reaches number 1 in several countries including the US, and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, which also tops the US charts and wins the Brit Award for Best British Single in 1986. Other singles from the album include “Mothers Talk”, “Head over Heels” and “I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)”.

During this period the band plays extensive live dates, including Montreux Golden Rose Rock and Pop Festival and the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards. Oleta Adams is discovered during the tour when the band sees her perform in a Kansas City hotel bar, and she later becomes an important collaborator.

1989 to the split

The Seeds of Love arrives in 1989 and is the last Tears for Fears album to include Ian Stanley as a member. It is written largely by Orzabal with keyboardist Nicky Holland and includes contributions from Phil Collins and Oleta Adams. The album draws on jazz, blues and Beatles-influenced ideas, and the single “Sowing the Seeds of Love” becomes a major hit. “Woman in Chains” also charts internationally and features shared vocals from Adams. After this release, Orzabal and Smith split in 1991, and Orzabal continues using the Tears for Fears name on the 1992 single “Laid So Low (Tears Roll Down)”, which promotes the greatest-hits collection Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82–92).

Orzabal-led releases and reunion

With Smith absent, Orzabal releases Elemental in 1993 with longtime collaborator Alan Griffiths and producer Tim Palmer. It includes “Break It Down Again”, a further international hit. He follows it with Raoul and the Kings of Spain in 1995, a more reflective album shaped by his Spanish heritage and a Latin musical influence. In 1996 the compilation Saturnine Martial & Lunatic appears on Mercury, collecting B-sides and rare tracks from the 1982–93 period.

Orzabal and Smith reconnect in 2000 and return with Everybody Loves a Happy Ending in 2004. The sessions include Charlton Pettus, Smith’s collaborator since the mid-1990s, and the album leads to further touring. The single “Closest Thing to Heaven” becomes their first UK Top 40 hit in a decade. A live recording from Paris is issued as Secret World - Live in Paris in 2006. During this period, “Mad World” is re-recorded by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules for the film Donnie Darko; its 2003 single release reaches number 1 in the UK and brings Orzabal another Ivor Novello Award.

Later activity and recent work

Tears for Fears tour intermittently through the 2010s, including dates in the US, Japan, South Korea, Manila, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Israel, the UK and at festivals such as British Summer Time, Rock in Rio, Newmarket Nights and Camp Bestival. In 2013 and 2014 the band releases cover versions of Arcade Fire, Hot Chip and Animal Collective tracks as part of work towards a new studio album, and signs to Warner Music Group. In 2017 they issue the compilation Rule the World: The Greatest Hits, which includes “I Love You But I’m Lost”.

The seventh studio album, The Tipping Point, comes out in 2022 on Concord Records. It follows singles “The Tipping Point”, “No Small Thing”, “Break the Man” and “My Demons”. The album reaches number 2 in the UK, number 8 in the US Billboard 200, and number 1 on the Billboard Top Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Album Sales charts, as well as the top spot in Scotland. The band also receives an Ivor Novello Award in 2021 for Outstanding Song Collection, recognising its catalogue of albums and singles.

Members and associated musicians

Over its history, Tears for Fears includes Roland Orzabal, Curt Smith, Manny Elias, Ian Stanley and Oleta Adams among its members and key collaborators. Other important contributors named in the group’s history include Chris Hughes, Ross Cullum, Dave Bascombe, Nicky Holland, Alan Griffiths, Charlton Pettus, Phil Collins and Sacha Skarbek.