Tears for Fears are an English pop/rock band formed in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the new wave synthesizer bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into mainstream rock and pop, which led to international chart success. They were part of the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US.
Their platinum-selling debut album, The Hurting, reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, while their second album, Songs from the Big Chair, reached number one on the US Billboard 200, achieving multi-platinum status in both the UK and the US. Their second album contained t...
Tears for Fears are an English pop/rock band formed in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the new wave synthesizer bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into mainstream rock and pop, which led to international chart success. They were part of the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US.
Their platinum-selling debut album, The Hurting, reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, while their second album, Songs from the Big Chair, 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.
Smith and Orzabal parted company in 1991, after the release of their third platinum-selling album The Seeds of Love (1989), though Orzabal retained the Tears for Fears name throughout the remainder of the 1990s. The duo re-formed 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. To date, Tears for Fears have sold over 30 million albums worldwide,including more than 8 million in the US.
In April 2010, Tears for Fears joined the reformed 80s group Spandau Ballet on their seven-date tour of Australia and New Zealand, before a four-date headlining tour of their own in South East Asia (Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan) and a 17-date tour of the USA.
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. Several songs were worked on in the UK at Orzabal's home studio, Neptune's Kitchen, in April 2013, and continued in Los Angeles in July 2013. According to Orzabal, they have been producing more dark, dramatic pieces of music. "There's one track that's a combination of Portishead and Queen. It's just crazy," Orzabal stated. In August 2013, Tears For Fears released their first newly recorded material in nearly a decade, with a cover of Arcade Fire's "Ready to Start" made available on SoundCloud. In 2014, the track was included on a limited edition 3-track 10" vinyl EP from the band called Ready Boy & Girls?, released exclusively for Record Store Day, which also featured covers of Hot Chip's "Boy From School" and Animal Collective's "My Girls". All three songs were recorded while the band worked on their seventh studio album. In an interview on BBC Radio Devon in October 2014, Orzabal stated that the band had now signed to Warner Music Group and that around five or six songs had so far been completed for the new album.
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the band's debut album The Hurting, Universal Music reissued it in October 2013 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). Deluxe Editions of the band's second album, Songs From The Big Chair, were released on 10 November 2014 including a 6-disc set that features various rarities and two DVDs. On 12 November 2014, Tears for Fears performed "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! TV programme. In mid 2015, the band began a series of live dates in the US and Canada.
In July 2016, the band are scheduled to play their first live dates in the UK in over ten years. These include an appearance at the Newmarket Nights festival at Newmarket Racecourse on 29 July, and a closing night headlining appearance at Camp Bestival at Lulworth Castle in Dorset on 31 July, which also mark the band's first UK festival appearances since Knebworth in 1990. The band have stated that their new album should be completed by the time of the live dates. A series of live dates in the US and Canada will take place in September and October 2016.
