Monday, August 04, 2014

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tears For Fears

Artist:Tears For Fears
Song:Everybody Wants To Rule The World
Album:Shout: The Very Best Of Tears For Fears




The British duo Tears For Fears had two number one hits in 1985. They were Shout and Everybody Wants To Rule The World. Of course nothing lasts forever in the music business. And four years without new music and internal bickering killed them by the early 90s. Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith met in high school in Bath, England and were part of the band Neon. The other half of Neon later became Naked Eyes. When Neon split up, Smith and Orzabal formed Graduate in 1979. Graduate recorded an album and had modest success with the single Elvis Should Play Ska. Orzabal and Smith left Graduate in 1981 and formed Tears For Fears. They decided to record as a duo and hire musicians to fill in when needed. Apparently even the band name was influenced by Orzabal's interest in primal therapy. He used music to release his anxiety. Too much angst in the music was one of the big complaints about Tears For Fears. Tears For Fears had success in England with their 1983 album The Hurting. Mad World was their biggest hit. But they wanted to break through in the US. They changed their sound somewhat with the 1985 CD Songs From The Big Chair. I'll sum it up in two words, fewer synthesizers. When Shout remained at the top of the British charts for most of 1985, they knew they had something. Shout and Everybody Wants To Rule The World both topped the Billboard Hot 100. Eveybody Wants To Rule The World was a song that Orzabal didn't like much and it wasn't going to be on the album. But producer Chris Hughes helped Orzabal rewrite the song. Of course Smith was lead vocalist. So now Tears for Fears were big stars partially because MTV played their videos to death. They would release their next CD The Seeds Of Love in 1989. It featured the hit Woman In Chains featuring soul singer Oleta Adams who was discovered by Orzabal. They toured but Smith and Orzabal weren't getting along. They split up in 1991 but Orzabal continued recording as Tears For Fears. Smith recorded a 1993 solo CD and then moved to New York and formed the band Mayfield. Orzabal recorded two more CDs as Tears For Fears and produced other artists. You can get all of Tears For Fears' 80s hits on this comp. Orzabal and Smith reunited for a 2005 CD. Tears For Fears have toured and they have been recording new music. A couple of singles have been released but a release date for the album has not been announced. Here's the video for Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears For Fears.

No comments:

Post a Comment