Tears for Fears

Formed in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, Tears for Fears were part of the new wave movement then predominant in the UK. They enjoyed immediate international success with the albums The Hurting (1983), which included the songs "Change" (#4), "Pale Shelter " (#5) and the classic "Mad World" (#3), followed by Songs from the Big Chair (1985), ranked #1 in the U.S. (#2 in the U.K.), which brought the hits "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Shout", both ranked #1 across the Atlantic (#2 and #4 respectively in the U.K.). In 1989, a neo-psychedelic turn was taken, reminiscent of the 1960s, on The Seeds of Love, an album certified triple platinum, thanks in particular to its lead single, "Sowing the Seeds of Love" (#2 in the U.S., #5 in the U.K.). The band led by the songwriting duo split up two years later. Roland Orzabal took over the Tears for Fears name and produced Elemental (1993), a solo album, followed two years later by the conceptual Raoul and the Kings of Spain. Its modest success led to the duo reuniting in 2000 to record Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (2004). During the duo's long hiatus, compilations of the band's many classified tracks followed one another: Mad World: The Collection (2010), Everybody Wants to Rule the World: The Collection (2013) and Rule the World: The Greatest Hits (2017) precede the seventh original album The Tipping Point (2022). Released eighteen years after its predecessor, it reached #2 in the UK and #8 in the USA. This return to the top continued on stage with a tour that resulted in the live album Songs for a Nervous Planet (2024), featuring four new studio tracks.