Tears for Fears

Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears in 2017. Curt Smith (left) and Roland Orzabal (right)
Tears for Fears in 2017.
Curt Smith (left) and Roland Orzabal (right)
Background information
OriginBath, Somerset, England
Genres
Years active1981–present
Labels
Spinoff of
Members
Past members
Websitetearsforfears.com

Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands of the 1980s, and attained international chart success as part of the Second British Invasion.[8]

The band's debut album, The Hurting (1983), reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, and their first three hit singles – "Mad World", "Change", and "Pale Shelter" – all reached the top five in the UK Singles Chart. Their second album, Songs from the Big Chair (1985), reached number one on the US Billboard 200, achieving multi-platinum status in both the US and the UK.[9][10] The album contained two US Billboard Hot 100 number one hits: "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", both of which also reached the top five in the UK with the latter winning the Brit Award for Best British Single in 1986.[11] Their belated follow-up, The Seeds of Love (1989), entered the UK chart at number one and yielded the transatlantic top 5 hit "Sowing the Seeds of Love".

After touring The Seeds of Love in 1990, Orzabal and Smith had an acrimonious split. Orzabal retained the Tears for Fears name as a solo project, releasing the albums Elemental (1993) – which produced the international hit "Break It Down Again" – and Raoul and the Kings of Spain (1995). Orzabal and Smith reconciled in 2000 and released an album of new material, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, in 2004. The duo have toured on a semi-regular basis since then. After being in development for almost a decade, the band's seventh album, The Tipping Point, was released in 2022,[12] giving the band their sixth UK Top 5 album and their highest chart peak in 30 years, and reaching the Top 10 in numerous other countries, including the US.

In 2021, Orzabal and Smith were honoured with the Ivor Novello Award for 'Outstanding Song Collection' recognising their "era-defining Tears for Fears albums" and "critically acclaimed, innovative hit singles".[13]

  1. ^ Rayner, Ben. "Tears for Fears, Wings, Ella Fitzgerald: Reasons to Live". The Star. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference CoS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Whitmire, Margo (11 September 2004). "Tears for Fears Try New Door". Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 37. pp. 5, 60. ISSN 0006-2510.
  4. ^ Adams, Gregory (2 August 2013). "Tears for Fears Treat 'The Hurting' to 30th Anniversary Reissue". Exclaim!. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  5. ^ Pryweller, Joseph (13 February 1990). "Music: New Model Tears Hits the Road". Daily Press. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  6. ^ Reynolds, Simon (2009). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0-5712-5227-5.
  7. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Tears for Fears – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  8. ^ Sujansky, Joanne; Ferri-Reed, Jan (2009). Keeping the Millennials: Why Companies Are Losing Billions in Turnover to This Generation- and What to Do About It. John Wiley & Sons. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-4704-3851-0.
  9. ^ "RIAA – Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – Songs from the Big Chair". RIAA. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  10. ^ "Tears for Fears – Songs from the Big Chair". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Tears For Fears". Brit Awards. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013.
  12. ^ Skinner, Tom (7 October 2021). "Tears for Fears announce first album in 17 years, 'The Tipping Point'". NME. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  13. ^ "The Ivors with Apple Music 2021 winners announced". The Ivors Academy. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2022.