Tears for Fears formed in Bath, England in 1981 around Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith and became one of the essential English synth-pop bands. Songs from the Big Chair (1985) — Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule the World — sold over 8 million copies and still towers; The Hurting is the darker gem. Find Tears for Fears vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Tears for Fears formed in Bath, Somerset, England in 1981 around Roland Orzabal (born August 22, 1961, Portsmouth) and Curt Smith (born June 24, 1961, Bath). They had previously been friends since age 14 and shared a early-1980s band Graduate. They are widely cited as one of the most important English new wave and synth-pop bands. The band's name was taken from Arthur Janov's primal therapy theory book Prisoners of Pain (Janov primal therapy influence on Orzabal's lyrical content). Their 1985 album Songs from the Big Chair - featuring the international #1 singles Everybody Wants to Rule the World and Shout, plus Head over Heels - sold over 8 million copies worldwide and is widely cited as one of the most important albums of the 1980s. Curt Smith departed in 1989/1991 amid creative tensions with Orzabal, with Orzabal continuing as solo Tears for Fears (Elemental 1993 / Raoul and the Kings of Spain 1995). They reformed in 2000, with Smith's return, and released Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (2004) and The Tipping Point (2022). Their foundational influence on synth-pop and broader contemporary popular music is widely cited.
Tears for Fears's sound is foundational to 1980s English synth-pop - combining new wave, synth-pop, alternative rock, pop rock, art pop, and progressive pop with the distinctive Orzabal / Smith dual-vocalist arrangements, virtuosic synthesizer-driven arrangements (use of layered synthesizers and atmospheric production), and lyrical content addressing primal therapy, anti-establishment politics, mental health, and broader confessional themes drawing on Janov primal therapy influences.
Original Mercury Records, Phonogram, Fontana Records, and Concord Records pressings of the Tears for Fears catalog have been issued in extensive color variant editions and elaborate limited deluxe pressings, with collector demand.
Listeners new to Tears for Fears typically start with Songs from the Big Chair (1985).
